2. The cities of the Levites ch. 21:1-42

 

The tribes also had to set aside 42 additional cities for the priests and Levites to inhabit (cf. Num. 35:1-8).

 The casting of lots 21:1-8

Probably the leaders identified the towns first and then assigned the various groups of Levites to particular cities by lot (vv. 3-4). The priests (Aaron's descendants) received 13 cities within the tribal territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin (v. 4). The rest of the Kohathites--Aaron was a descendant of Kohath--obtained 10 cities in Ephraim, Dan, and western Manasseh (v. 5). The Gershonites lived in 13 cities in Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and eastern Manasseh (v. 6). The Merarites inherited 12 cities in Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun (v. 7). The names of these Levitical towns appear in the following verses (vv. 9-40).

 The priests' towns 21:9-19

The Lord spread out the priests' 13 towns as follows. Nine were in Judah and Simeon (vv. 9-16), and four were in Benjamin (vv. 17-19).

 The other Kohathites' towns 21:20-26

There were 10 of these towns: four in Ephraim (vv. 21-22), four in Dan (vv. 23-24), and two in western Manasseh (v. 25).

 The Gershonites' towns 21:27-33

The Gershonites occupied 13 towns: two in eastern Manasseh (v. 27), four in Issachar (vv. 28-29), four in Asher (vv. 30-31), and three in Naphtali (v. 32).

 The Merarites' towns 21:34-42

There were 12 towns in which the Merarites resided: four in Zebulun (vv. 34-35), four in Reuben (vv. 36-37), and four in Gad (vv. 38-39).

In all, the Levites received 48 cities with their surrounding pasture lands including the six cities of refuge (vv. 41-42). God provided so that the Levites, whose responsibilities included the teaching and counseling of the other Israelites in the law, were not far from anyone in Israel. They were to provide a positive spiritual influence on the whole nation.¹⁸⁷

"For Christians, the allotment of Levitical towns from each tribe illustrates the principle of returning to God a portion of what has been given to them. These gifts are then used to support others in need and to encourage the proclamation of the faith (cf. Acts 2:44-47; Rom. 15:26-27; Phil. 4:10-18)."¹⁸⁸

"Take special care of the poor clergy! This is the theme of the complex formed by Num 35 and Josh 21, along with the relevant Deuteronomic laws."¹⁸⁹