Leviticus 25:32-33

25:32 As for ¹  the cities of the Levites, the houses in the cities which they possess, ²  the Levites must have a perpetual right of redemption. 25:33 Whatever someone among the Levites might redeem – the sale of a house which is his property in a city – must revert in the jubilee, ³  because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their property in the midst of the Israelites.

Joshua 14:3-4

14:3 Now Moses had assigned land ⁴  to the two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan, but he assigned no land ⁵  to the Levites. ⁶  14:4 The descendants of Joseph were considered as two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites were allotted no territory, though they were assigned cities in which to live, along with the grazing areas for their cattle and possessions. ⁷ 

Joshua 21:2-42

21:2 in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said, “The Lord told Moses to assign us cities in which to live along with the grazing areas for our cattle.” 21:3 So the Israelites assigned these cities and their grazing areas to the Levites from their own holdings, as the Lord had instructed.

21:4 The first lot belonged to ⁸  the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 21:5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten cities from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, and from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 21:6 Gershon’s descendants were allotted thirteen cities from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, and from the tribes of Asher and Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 21:7 Merari’s descendants by their clans were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 21:8 So the Israelites assigned to the Levites by lot these cities and their grazing areas, as the Lord had instructed Moses.

21:9 They assigned from the tribes of Judah and Simeon the cities listed below. 21:10 They were assigned to the Kohathite clans of the Levites who were descendants of Aaron, ⁹  for the first lot belonged to them. 21:11 They assigned them Kiriath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding grazing areas. 21:12 (Now the city’s fields and surrounding towns they had assigned to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.) 21:13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Libnah, 21:14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 21:15 Holon, Debir, 21:16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of nine cities taken from these two tribes. 21:17 From the tribe of Benjamin they assigned ¹⁰  Gibeon, Geba, 21:18 Anathoth, and Almon, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:19 The priests descended from Aaron received thirteen cities and their grazing areas.

21:20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted cities from the tribe of Ephraim. 21:21 They assigned them Shechem (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer, 21:22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:23 From the tribe of Dan they assigned Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 21:24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned Taanach and Gath Rimmon, ¹¹  along with the grazing areas of each – a total of two cities. 21:26 The rest of the Kohathite clans received ten cities and their grazing areas.

21:27 They assigned to the Gershonite clans of the Levites the following cities: ¹²  from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) and Beeshtarah, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of two cities; 21:28 from the tribe of Issachar: Kishon, Daberath, 21:29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:30 from the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon, 21:31 Helkath, and Rehob, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:32 from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of three cities. 21:33 The Gershonite clans received thirteen cities and their grazing areas.

21:34 They assigned to the Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) the following cities: from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, 21:35 Dimnah, and Nahalal, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:36 ¹³  from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer, Jahaz, 21:37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:38 from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Mahanaim, 21:39 Heshbon, and Jazer, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:40 The Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) were allotted twelve cities.

21:41 The Levites received within the land owned by the Israelites ¹⁴  forty-eight cities in all and their grazing areas. 21:42 Each of these cities had grazing areas around it; they were alike in this regard. ¹⁵ 

Ezekiel 45:1-8

The Lord’s Portion of the Land

45:1 “‘When you allot the land as an inheritance, you will offer an allotment ¹⁶  to the Lord, a holy portion from the land; the length will be eight and a quarter miles ¹⁷  and the width three and one-third miles. ¹⁸  This entire area will be holy. ¹⁹  45:2 Of this area a square 875 feet ²⁰  by 875 feet will be designated for the sanctuary, with 87½ feet ²¹  set aside for its open space round about. 45:3 From this measured area you will measure a length of eight and a quarter miles ²²  and a width of three and one-third miles; ²³  in it will be the sanctuary, the most holy place. 45:4 It will be a holy portion of the land; it will be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary who approach the Lord to minister to him. It will be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ²⁴  45:5 An area eight and a quarter miles ²⁵  in length and three and one-third miles ²⁶  in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities ²⁷  in which they will live.

45:6 “‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles ²⁸  wide and eight and a quarter miles ²⁹  long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.

45:7 “‘For the prince there will be land on both sides of the holy allotment and the allotted city, alongside the holy allotment and the allotted city, on the west side and on the east side; it will be comparable in length to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border 45:8 of the land. This will be his property in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress my people, but the land will be allotted to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

Ezekiel 48:8

48:8 “Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles ³⁰  wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it.

Ezekiel 48:22

48:22 The property of the Levites and of the city will be in the middle of that which belongs to the prince. The portion between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin will be for the prince.

Ezekiel 48:1

The Tribal Portions

48:1 “These are the names of the tribes: From the northern end beside the road of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the border of Damascus, toward the north beside Hamath), extending from the east side to the west, Dan will have one portion.

Colossians 1:10-14

1:10 so that you may live ³¹  worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects ³²  – bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ³³  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully 1:12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share ³⁴  in the saints’ ³⁵  inheritance in the light. 1:13 He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, ³⁶  1:14 in whom we have redemption, ³⁷  the forgiveness of sins.

[25:32]  ¹ tn Heb “And.”

[25:32]  ² tn Heb “the houses of the cities of their property.”

[25:33]  ³ tn Heb “And which he shall redeem from the Levites shall go out, sale of house and city, his property in the jubilee.” Although the end of this verse is clear, the first part is notoriously difficult. There are five main views. (1) The first clause of the verse actually attaches to the previous verse, and refers to the fact that their houses retain a perpetual right of redemption (v. 32b), “which any of the Levites may exercise” (v. 33a; J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 418, 421). (2) It refers to property that one Levite sells to another Levite, which is then redeemed by still another Levite (v. 33a). In such cases, the property reverts to the original Levite owner in the jubilee year (v. 33b; G. J. Wenham, Leviticus [NICOT], 321). (3) It refers to houses in a city that had come to be declared as a Levitical city but had original non-Levitical owners. Once the city was declared to belong to the Levites, however, an owner could only sell his house to a Levite, and he could only redeem it back from a Levite up until the time of the first jubilee after the city was declared to be a Levitical city. In this case the first part of the verse would be translated, “Such property as may be redeemed from the Levites” (NRSV, NJPS). At the first jubilee, however, all such houses became the property of the Levites (v. 33b; P. J. Budd, Leviticus [NCBC], 353). (4) It refers to property “which is appropriated from the Levites” (not “redeemed from the Levites,” v. 33a) by those who have bought it or taken it as security for debts owed to them by Levites who had fallen on bad times. Again, such property reverts back to the original Levite owners at the jubilee (B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 177). (5) It simply refers to the fact that a Levite has the option of redeeming his house (i.e., the prefix form of the verb is taken to be subjunctive, “may or might redeem”), which he had to sell because he had fallen into debt or perhaps even become destitute. Even if he never gained the resources to do so, however, it would still revert to him in the jubilee year. The present translation is intended to reflect this latter view.

[14:3]  ⁴ tn Or “assigned an inheritance.”

[14:3]  ⁵ tn Or “no inheritance.”

[14:3]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in their midst.”

[14:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they did not assign a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities [in which] to live and their pastures for their cattle and property.”

[21:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “came out for.”

[21:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Aaron, from the Kohathite clans, from the sons of Levi.”

[21:17]  ¹⁰ tn The words “they assigned” are supplied for clarification (also in vv. 23, 25).

[21:25]  ¹¹ tn The name “Gath Rimmon” is problematic here, for it appears in the preceding list of Danite cities. The LXX reads “Iebatha”; 1 Chr 6:55 HT (6:70 ET) reads “Bileam.” Most modern translations retain the name “Gath Rimmon,” however.

[21:27]  ¹² tn The words “they assigned” and “the following cities” are supplied for clarification (also in v. 34).

[21:36]  ¹³ tc 21:36-37 are accidentally omitted from a number of significant Hebrew mss. They are, however, found in some Hebrew mss, the LXX and Vulgate.

[21:41]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel.”

[21:42]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “these cities were city [by] city, and its grazing areas [were] around it; so [it was] for all these cities.”

[45:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a contribution.”

[45:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers). The measuring units here are the Hebrew “long” cubit, consisting of a cubit (about 18 inches or 45 cm) and a handbreadth (about 3 inches or 7.5 cm), for a total of 21 inches (52.5 cm). Because modern readers are not familiar with the cubit as a unit of measurement, and due to the additional complication of the “long” cubit as opposed to the regular cubit, all measurements have been converted to American standard miles (one mile = 5,280 feet), with the Hebrew measurements and the metric equivalents given in the notes.

[45:1]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX reads “twenty thousand cubits.”

[45:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “holy it is in all its territory round about.”

[45:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “five hundred cubits” (i.e., 262.5 meters); the phrase occurs twice in this verse.

[45:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “fifty cubits” (i.e., 26.25 meters).

[45:3]  ²² tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[45:3]  ²³ tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).

[45:4]  ²⁴ tc The LXX apparently understood “open land” instead of “sanctuary.”

[45:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[45:5]  ²⁶ tn Heb “ten thousand cubits” (i.e., 5.25 kilometers).

[45:5]  ²⁷ tc The translation follows the LXX here. The MT reads “twenty.” See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:246.

[45:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “five thousand cubits” (i.e., 2.625 kilometers).

[45:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[48:8]  ³⁰ tn Heb “twenty-five thousand cubits” (i.e., 13.125 kilometers).

[1:10]  ³¹ tn The infinitive περιπατῆσαι (peripathsai, “to walk, to live, to live one’s life”) is best taken as an infinitive of purpose related to “praying” (προσευχόμενοι, proseucomenoi) and “asking” (αἰτούμενοι, aitoumenoi) in v. 9 and is thus translated as “that you may live.”

[1:10]  ³² tn BDAG 129 s.v. ἀρεσκεία states that ἀρεσκείαν (areskeian) refers to a “desire to please εἰς πᾶσαν ἀ. to please (the Lord) in all respects Col 1:10.”

[1:11]  ³³ tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

[1:12]  ³⁴ tn BDAG 473 s.v. ἱκανόω states, “τινὰ εἴς τι someone for someth. Col 1:12.” The point of the text is that God has qualified the saints for a “share” or “portion” in the inheritance of the saints.

[1:12]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the inheritance of the saints.” The genitive noun τῶν ἁγίων (twn Jagiwn) is a possessive genitive: “the saints’ inheritance.”

[1:13]  ³⁶ tn Here αὐτοῦ (autou) has been translated as a subjective genitive (“he loves”).

[1:14]  ³⁷ tc διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ (dia tou {aimato" autou, “through his blood”) is read at this juncture by several minuscule mss (614 630 1505 2464 al) as well as a few, mostly secondary, versional and patristic witnesses. But the reading was prompted by the parallel in Eph 1:7 where the wording is solid. If these words had been in the original of Colossians, why would scribes omit them here but not in Eph 1:7? Further, the testimony on behalf of the shorter reading is quite overwhelming: {א A B C D F G Ψ 075 0150 6 33 1739 1881 Ï latt co as well as several other versions and fathers}. The conviction that “through his blood” is not authentic in Col 1:14 is as strong as the conviction that these words are authentic in Eph 1:7.