Joshua 21:1-19

1Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel 2at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.”

3So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

4The first lot came out for the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 6The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

9From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they designated these cities by name 10to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them:

11They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) 12But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession. 13So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah, 14Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15Holon, Debir, 16Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.

17And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba, 18Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

19In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.