Day 68: Joshua 19-21

(The previous post continued to cover Israel's land distribution.)

Joshua 19

(This chapter continued the distribution of the land.)

(Verses 1-9: the borders and cities of Simeon.)

¹ And the second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah.

(As you see above, Simeon's inheritance was completely surrounded by Judah's inheritance.)

² And they had for their inheritance Beer-sheba, or Sheba, and Moladah,

(Beer-sheba was the city named after a profitable interaction between Abraham and king Abimelech (Genesis 21:28-31).)

³ and Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Ezem,
⁴ and Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
⁵ and Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah,
⁶ and Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages:
⁷ Ain, Rimmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages:
⁸ and all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath-beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
⁹ Out of the part of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon; for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

(Verses 10-16: the borders and cities of Zebulun.)

¹⁰ And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families; and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid;
¹¹ and their border went up westward, even to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth; and it reached to the brook that is before Jokneam;
¹² and it turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor; and it went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia;
¹³ and from thence it passed along eastward to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin; and it went out at Rimmon which stretcheth unto Neah;
¹⁴ and the border turned about it on the north to Hannathon; and the goings out thereof were at the valley of Iphtah-el;
¹⁵ and Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.

(Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David and Jesus Christ, was in the tribe of Zebulun’s inheritance.)

¹⁶ This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

(Zebulun's inheritance was also completely surrounded. Specifically by Asher, Naphtali, Issachar, and Manasseh.)

(Verses 17-23: the borders and cities of Issachar.)

¹⁷ The fourth lot came out for Issachar, even for the children of Issachar according to their families.
¹⁸ And their border was unto Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,
¹⁹ and Hapharaim, and Shion, and Anaharath,
²⁰ and Rabbith, and Kishion, and Ebez,
²¹ and Remeth, and Engannim, and En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez,
²² and the border reached to Tabor, and Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh; and the goings out of their border were at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.
²³ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

(Issachar was surrounded by Manasseh, Gad, Naphtali, and Zebulun. It was a northern tribe and on the Mediterranean Sea.)

(Verses 24-31: the borders and cities of Asher.)

²⁴ And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
²⁵ And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph,
²⁶ and Allammelech, and Amad, and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel westward, and to Shihor-libnath;
²⁷ and it turned toward the sunrising to Beth-dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah-el northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; and it went out to Cabul on the left hand,
²⁸ and Ebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, even unto great Sidon;
²⁹ and the border turned to Ramah, and to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea by the region of Achzib;

(The city of Tyre had many prophecies pronounced against it and its king. The most famous being Ezekiel 28, which refers to Lucifer's fall.)

³⁰ Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty and two cities with their villages.
³¹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

(Verses 32-39: the borders and cities of Naphtali.)

³² The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.
³³ And their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adaminekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakkum; and the goings out thereof were at the Jordan;
³⁴ and the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor, and went out from thence to Hukkok; and it reached to Zebulun on the south, and reached to Asher on the west, and to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrising.
³⁵ And the fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth,
³⁶ and Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor,

(Within the tribe of Naphtali was a city named Adamah which meant "the earth.")

³⁷ and Kedesh, and Edrei, and En-hazor,
³⁸ And Iron, and Migdal-el, Horem, and Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.
³⁹ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.

(Naphtali was north and between Asher and East Manasseh.)

(Verses 40-48: the borders and cities of Dan.)

⁴⁰ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
⁴¹ And the border of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh,
⁴² and Shaalabbin, and Aijalon, and Ithlah,
⁴³ and Elon, and Timnah, and Ekron,
⁴⁴ and Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath,
⁴⁵ and Jehud, and Bene-berak, and Gath-rimmon,
⁴⁶ and Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border over against Joppa.
⁴⁷ And the border of the children of Dan went out beyond them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.
⁴⁸ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

(In the KJV, verse 47 began: "And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them:..."

Dan was on the Mediterranean Sea and made up part of Judah's north border.)

(Verses 49-51: Joshua's inheritance.)

⁴⁹ So they made an end of distributing the land for inheritance by the borders thereof; and the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun in the midst of them:
⁵⁰ according to the commandment of Jehovah they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath-serah in the hill-country of Ephraim; and he built the city, and dwelt therein.

(Joshua received Timnath-serah which was in the hills of Ephraim.)

⁵¹ These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Jehovah, at the door of the tent of meeting. So they made an end of dividing the land.

(The dividing of the land was finished.)




Joshua 20

(This chapter covered the Cities of Refuge.)

¹ And Jehovah spake unto Joshua, saying,
² Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign you the cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by Moses,

(God commanded Joshua to assign the cities of refuge which was a fulfillment of what God commanded Moses in Numbers 35. What followed was a brief explanation of the purpose for the cities of refuge.)

³ that the manslayer that killeth any person unwittingly and unawares may flee thither: and they shall be unto you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.

(Refuge is an environment of safety and mercy. Mercy is "the time period between an unjust act and the judgment for that act." These cities provided that "time period." When refuge is provided, the first thing that happens is the destruction stops. These cities would have been a safe place for these people to wait for their trial.)

⁴ And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
⁵ And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand; because he smote his neighbor unawares, and hated him not beforetime.

(There were two conditions:
1) the manslayer did it unintentionally and,
2) did not hate him before he was killed.)

⁶ And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the manslayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.
⁷ And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah.
⁸ And beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

(Cities of Refuge: Kedesh, Shechem, Kiriath-arba (Hebron), Bezer, Ramoth, Golan.)

⁹ These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person unwittingly might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.




Joshua 21

(This chapter covered the cities and their suburbs that were given to the Levites.)

¹ Then came near the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel;
² and they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, Jehovah commanded Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.

(The leaders of the Levites reminded Eleazar and Joshua of the command God gave to Moses regarding the cities for the Levites.)

³ And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Jehovah, these cities with their suburbs.

(Verses 4-42: the cities appointed to the Levites are done according the their three family divisions.)

⁴ And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.
⁵ And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
⁶ And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.
⁷ The children of Merari according to their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
⁸ And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded by Moses.

(The Israelites obeyed the command from God to Moses regarding the cities to be given to the Levites.)

⁹ And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name:
¹⁰ and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot.
¹¹ And they gave them Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.
¹² But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

(Remember, Caleb was given land that used to belong to the children of Anak.)

¹³ And unto the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with its suburbs,
¹⁴ and Jattir with its suburbs, and Eshtemoa with its suburbs,
¹⁵ and Holon with its suburbs, and Debir with its suburbs,
¹⁶ and Ain with its suburbs, and Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.

(The cities that Judah and Simeon gave to the Levites were named.)

¹⁷ And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs,
¹⁸ Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs; four cities.
¹⁹ All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

(The cities that Benjamin gave to the Levites were named.)

²⁰ And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.
²¹ And they gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill-country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its suburbs,
²² and Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth-horon with its suburbs; four cities.

(The cities that Ephraim gave to the Levites were named.)

²³ And out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs,
²⁴ Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; four cities.

(The cities that Dan gave to the Levites were named.)

²⁵ And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with its suburbs; two cities.
²⁶ All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs.
²⁷ And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be-eshterah with its suburbs; two cities.

(The cities that the half-tribe of Manasseh gave to the Levites were named.)

²⁸ And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs,
²⁹ Jarmuth with its suburbs, En-gannim with its suburbs; four cities.

(The cities that Issachar gave to the Levites were named.)

³⁰ And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs,
³¹ Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four cities.

(The cities that Asher gave to the Levites were named.)

³² And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Hammoth-dor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities.
³³ All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

(The cities that Naphtali gave to the Levites were named.)

³⁴ And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, and Kartah with its suburbs,
³⁵ Dimnah with its suburbs, Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities.

(The cities that Zebulun gave to the Levites were named.)

³⁶ And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, and Jahaz with its suburbs,
³⁷ Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities.

(The cities that Reuben gave to the Levites were named.)

³⁸ And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs,
³⁹ Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all.

(The cities that Gad gave to the Levites were named.)

⁴⁰ All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.
⁴¹ All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.
⁴² These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus it was with all these cities.
⁴³ So Jehovah gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

(God gave Israel all the land that He swore to their fathers, and they possessed it.)

⁴⁴ And Jehovah gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; Jehovah delivered all their enemies into their hand.

(God gave them rest.)

⁴⁵ There failed not aught of any good thing which Jehovah had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

(Every good thing that God said He would do to Israel came to pass.)

(This post concluded the distribution of land in Israel, listed the cities of refuge, and listed the cities given to the Levites.)

Day 69