New King James Version
Joshua 21:10
10which were for the children of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for the lot was theirs first.
Joshua 21:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.
- New International Version (NIV)(these towns were assigned to the descendants of Aaron who were from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them):
- English Standard Version (ESV)which went to the descendants of Aaron, one of the clans of the Kohathites who belonged to the people of Levi; since the lot fell to them first.
- New Living Translation (NLT)to the descendants of Aaron, who were members of the Kohathite clan within the tribe of Levi, since the sacred lot fell to them first:
Context of Joshua 21:10
8And the children of Israel gave these cities with their common-lands by lot to the Levites, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses. 9So they gave from the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon these cities which are designated by name, which were for the children of Aaron, one of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for the lot was theirs first. 11And they gave them Kirjath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), which is Hebron, in the mountains of Judah, with the common-land surrounding it. 12But the fields of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his possession.
Read all of Joshua 21Joshua 21:10 word by word
וַֽיְהִי֙ לִבְנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֔ן מִמִּשְׁפְּח֥וֹת הַקְּהָתִ֖י מִבְּנֵ֣י לֵוִ֑י כִּ֥י לָהֶ֛ם הָיָ֥ה הַגּוֹרָ֖ל רִיאשֹׁנָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Which the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Aaronאַהֲרֹן'ahărôn · AaronH175
- of the familiesמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- of the Kohathitesקְהָתִיqŏhâthîy · KohathiteH6956
- of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878
- had: for theirs was the firstרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · firstH7223
- lotגּוֹרָלgôrâl gôrâl · allottedH1486
Cross-references for Joshua 21:10
- Joshua 21:4Now the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. And the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of Simeon, and from the tribe of Benjamin.
- Exodus 6:18And the sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three.
- Numbers 3:2And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab, the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
- Numbers 4:2“Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house,
Commentaries on Joshua 21:10
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9-19Verses 9-19 The thirteen priestly cities (see the marginal references) were all in the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. Thus, as Calvin remarks, God so overruled it that the priestly families were placed upon the spot which He had determined before hand to choose as the site of His temple.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-42Verses 9-42 By mixing the Levites with the other tribes, they were made to see that the eyes of all Israel were upon them, and therefore it was their concern to walk so that their ministry might not be blamed. Every tribe had its share of Levites' cities. Thus did God graciously provide for keeping up religion among them, and that they might have the word in all parts of the land. Yet, blessed be God, we have the gospel more diffused amongst us. (Jos…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-42The descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities, the rest of the Kohathite clan received ten, the descendants of Gershon received thirteen, and the Merari clan received twelve. There were a total of forty-eight Levitical cities. Each tribe had four Levitical cities, except Judah had eight, Simeon had one, and Naphtali had three. Six of the Levitical cities were also cities of refuge (20:7–8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-429-40. they gave ... these cities which are here mentioned by name--It was overruled by the unerring providence of the Divine Lawgiver that the cities of the priests lay within the territories of Judah and Benjamin. This was a provision, the admirable wisdom and propriety of which were fully manifested on the schism that took place in the reign of Rehoboam.Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 21:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries