Forty-Eight Cities of the Levites

(Numbers 35:1-5; 1 Chronicles 6:54-81)

1Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel; 2And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle. 3And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs. 4And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

5And 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.

6And 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.

7The children of Merari by 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.

8And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

9And 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, 10Which 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. 11And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it. 12But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

13Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs, 14And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, 15And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs, 16And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes. 17And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, 18Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities. 19All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

20And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs, 22And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities. 23And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, 24Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities. 25And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities. 26All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

27And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities. 28And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs, 29Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities. 30And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, 31Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities. 32And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities. 33All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

34And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs, 35Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities. 36And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs, 37Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities. 38And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs, 39Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all. 40So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

41All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs. 42These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.

43And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. 44And the LORD 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; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

King James Bible

Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.

Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites
(Numbers 35:1–8; 1 Chronicles 6:54–81)

1 Then the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel. 2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “Yahweh commanded Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for our livestock.” 3 The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Yahweh, these cities with their suburbs. 4 The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot out of the tribe of Judah, out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin.

5 The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6 The children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7 The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun.

8 The children of Israel gave these cities with their suburbs by lot to the Levites, as Yahweh commanded by Moses.

9 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 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 They gave them Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its suburbs around it. 12 But they gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

13 To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah with its suburbs, 14 Jattir with its suburbs, Eshtemoa with its suburbs, 15 Holon with its suburbs, Debir with its suburbs, 16 Ain with its suburbs, Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth Shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes. 17 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.

20 The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim. 21 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 Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs; four cities. 23 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. 25 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 They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be Eshterah with its suburbs; two cities. 28 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. 30 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. 32 Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammothdor 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.

34 To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, Kartah with its suburbs, 35 Dimnah with its suburbs, and Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities. 36 Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, Jahaz with its suburbs, 37 Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities. 38 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. 40 All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites. 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-eight cities with their suburbs. 42 Each of these cities included their suburbs around them. It was this way with all these cities.

43 So Yahweh gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers. They possessed it, and lived in it. 44 Yahweh gave them rest all around, according to all that he swore to their fathers. Not a man of all their enemies stood before them. Yahweh delivered all their enemies into their hand. 45 Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites
(Numbers 35:1–8; 1 Chronicles 6:54–81)

1 Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel 2 at 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.”

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

4 The 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.

5 The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

6 The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

7 And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

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

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

11 They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) 12 But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah, 14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 15 Holon, Debir, 16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.

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

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

20 The remaining Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted these cities:

From the tribe of Ephraim 21 they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer, 22 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

23 From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon, 24 Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

25 And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

26 In all, ten cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

27 This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given:

From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

28 From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion, Daberath, 29 Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

30 From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal, Abdon, 31 Helkath, and Rehob—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

32 And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.

33 In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the Gershonite clans.

34 This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given:

From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Jokneam, Kartah, 35 Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

36 From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz, 37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands.

38 And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim, 39 Heshbon, and Jazer—four cities in all, together with their pasturelands.

40 In all, twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari, the remaining Levite clans.

41 For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasturelands, within the territory of the Israelites. 42 Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.

43 Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.

44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.

45 Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.

Forty-Eight Cities of the Levites

(Numbers 35:1-5; 1 Chronicles 6:54-81)

1And the heads of the fathers of the Levites draw nigh unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel, 2and they speak unto them in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, saying, 'Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses to give to us cities to dwell in, and their suburbs for our cattle.' 3And the sons of Israel give to the Levites, out of their inheritance, at the command of Jehovah, these cities and their suburbs: 4And the lot goeth out for the families of the Kohathite, and there are for the sons of Aaron the priest (of the Levites), out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, by lot thirteen cities,

5and for the sons of Kohath who are left, out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, by lot ten cities:

6And for the sons of Gershon are, 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, by lot, thirteen cities.

7For the sons of Merari, for their families, are, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

8And the sons of Israel give to the Levites these cities and their suburbs, as Jehovah commanded by the hand of Moses, by lot.

9And they give out of the tribe of the sons of Judah, and out of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, these cities which are called by name; 10and they are for the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathite, of the sons of Levi, for theirs hath been the first lot; 11and they give to them the city of Arba father of Anak (it is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, and its suburbs round about it; 12and the field of the city and its villages they have given to Caleb son of Jephunneh for his possession.

13And to the sons of Aaron the priest they have given the city of refuge for the man-slayer, Hebron and its suburbs, and Libnah and its suburbs, 14and Jattir and its suburbs, and Eshtemoa and its suburbs, 15and Holon and its suburbs, and Debir and its suburbs, 16and Ain and its suburbs, and Juttah and its suburbs, Beth-Shemesh and its suburbs; nine cities out of these two tribes. 17And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its suburbs, Geba and its suburbs, 18Anathoth and its suburbs, and Almon and its suburbs -- four cities; 19all the cities of the sons of Aaron the priests, are thirteen cities and their suburbs.

20And for the families of the sons of Kohath, the Levites, who are left of the sons of Kohath, even the cities of their lot are of the tribe of Ephraim; 21and they give to them the city of refuge for the man-slayer, Shechem and its suburbs, in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Gezer and its suburbs, 22and Kibzaim and its suburbs, and Beth-Horon and its suburbs -- four cities. 23And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and its suburbs, Gibbethon and its suburbs, 24Aijalon and its suburbs, Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs -- four cities. 25And out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and its suburbs, and Gath-Rimmon and its suburbs -- two cities; 26all the cities are ten and their suburbs, for the families of the sons of Kohath who are left.

27And for the sons of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, the city of refuge for the man-slayer, Golan in Bashan and its suburbs, and Beeshterah and its suburbs -- two cities. 28And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon and its suburbs, Dabarath and its suburbs, 29Jarmuth and its suburbs, En-Gannim and its suburbs -- four cities. 30And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal and its suburbs, Abdon and its suburbs, 31Helkath and its suburbs, and Rehob and its suburbs -- four cities. 32And out of the tribe of Naphtali, the city of refuge for the man-slayer, Kedesh in Galilee and its suburbs, and Hammoth-Dor and its suburbs, and Kartan and its suburbs -- three cities; 33all the cities of the Gershonite, for their families, are thirteen cities and their suburbs.

34And for the families of the sons of Merari, the Levites, who are left, are, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and its suburbs, Kartah and its suburbs, 35Dimnah and its suburbs, Nahalal and its suburbs -- four cities. 36And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer and its suburbs, and Jahazah and its suburbs, 37Kedemoth and its suburbs, and Mephaath and its suburbs -- four cities. 38And out of the tribe of Gad, the city of refuge for the man-slayer, Ramoth in Gilead and its suburbs, and Mahanaim and its suburbs, 39Heshbon and its suburbs, Jazer and its suburbs -- in all four cities. 40All the cities for the sons of Merari, for their families, who are left of the families of the Levites -- their lot is twelve cities.

41All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel are forty and eight cities, and their suburbs. 42These cities are each city and its suburbs round about it; so to all these cities.

43And Jehovah giveth to Israel the whole of the land which He hath sworn to give to their fathers, and they possess it, and dwell in it; 44and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about, according to all that which He hath sworn to their fathers, and there hath not stood a man in their presence of all their enemies, the whole of their enemies hath Jehovah given into their hand; 45there hath not fallen a thing of all the good thing which Jehovah spake unto the house of Israel -- the whole hath come.

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Jean Paul Joseph
Jean Paul Joseph

After a dramatic early morning encounter with King Jesus, I just couldn’t put my Bible down. The F.O.G took a hold of me and this website was born. Learn more about the F.O.G.

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