Joshua 21:37

_AND OUT OF THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN, GIBEON WITH HER SUBURBS, GEBA WITH HER SUBURBS,_ No JFB commentary on these verses....

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....

Merarite cities. Some of these places are not found in the list of Zebulonite cities in Joshua 19:10. The text is considered corrupt....

EXPOSITION THE INHERITANCE OF THE LEVITES. JOSHUA 21:1 THEN CAME NEAR THE HEADS OF THE FATHERS OF THE LEVITES. We are not to suppose, with Calvin, that the Levites had been overlooked. Such a supposition is little in keeping with the devout spirit of him who now directed the affairs of the Israelites, who had been minister to Moses the Levite, and had but lately been concerned with Eleazar, the high priest, in making a public recognition of that God to whose service the Levites had been specially set apart. The delay in appointing to the Levites their cities arose from the nature of the arrangement which had to be made for the Levitical cities. The prophecy which threatened ...

KEDEMOTH WITH HER SUBURBS,.... Near to which was a wilderness of that name; see Deuteronomy 2:26; AND MEPHAATH WITH HER SUBURBS; of which Joshua 13:18; where the two preceding cities are mentioned along with it: FOUR CITIES, Joshua 21:35, are not in some ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, as is noted by the Masorites; but are in some others, as Kimchi owns, and stand in the Targum, in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and in a manuscript referred to by Hottinger e; and the same words are to be, found in 1 Chronicles 6:78, and are absolutely necessary to be retained, since wi

8. THE PORTION OF THE LEVITES CHAPTER 21 _ 1. The Levites, the children of Aaron, and their portions (Joshua 21:1)_ 2. Kohath (Joshua 21:9) 3. Gershon (Joshua 21:27) 4. Merari (Joshua 21:34) 5. The Lord's faithfulness (Joshua 21:41) In Chapter s 13:14, 33 and 14:3, 4 the statement is made that Moses gave no inheritance to the Levites. The Lord was their inheritance. After the tribes had received their allotments the heads of the fathers of the Levites came to Joshua and Eleazar with a petition. They b

THE LEVITICAL CITIES. The cities promised by Moses to the Levites are here assigned to them. The sons of Aaron have 13 in Judah, the Levites 10 in Ephraim and Manasseh, 13 in Galilee, and 12 in the E. Jordan territory. Both promises and performance are unhistorical. The simple fact that the descendants of Aaron could at this time have numbered only a few families shows the assignment of 13 cities to them to be purely imaginary. For the true history of the priesthood, reference must be made to the Introduction to the Pentateuch. JOSHUA 21:11 is an interesting piece of harmonising. The conquest and possession of the city of Hebron by Caleb was so prominent in the old tradition that the assignment of it to the Priests had to be explained. The fields and villages are therefore said to have been assigned to Caleb, while the city and the suburbs go to the Priests....

KEDEMOTH. Some codices, with six early printed editions, and Septuagint, read "and Kedemoth...

The Cities of the Merarites 34. _And unto the families of the children of Merari_ were assigned twelve cities, viz., (_a_) Four in _Zebulun_, (_b_) Four in _Reuben_, (_c_) Four in _Gad_. _Jokneam_ See Joshua 19:11; _Kartah_and _Dimnah_unknown....

_VER._ 36, 37. _AND OUT OF THE TRIBE OF REUBEN,_ &C.— These two verses are not in the oldest Hebrew copies. The Massoretes themselves say as much: they mention, however, that they are found in several very ancient copies; and the learned Hottinger, who has carefully entered into the subject, remarks, that they are found in the incomparable manuscript of the duke of Roan, found in Italy, A.C. 1495. See his Thesaur. Philolog. lib. 1: cap. 2 qu. 4 p. 181. Besides, the whole connection evidently shews that these two verses belong to the text; (see Bishop Walton's _Considerator considered,_ ch. 6: sect. 14.) and we read them in the version of the LXX. They are also found in other manuscripts. See Houbigant's note, and _Kennicott's_ Dissert. vol. 1, &c....