Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 21:2
And they spoke 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.
2. The Lord commanded ] They reminded them of the command of Jehovah respecting themselves, which is found in Numbers 35, and where directions had been given that 48 cities (Num 35:6-7), with outlying suburbs of meadow-land for the pasturage of their flocks and herds, should be assigned them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan,…. Where the tabernacle was fixed, at or near which the above persons met to cast lots for the division of the land to the seven tribes that had not received their inheritance:
saying, the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle; this command is extant in Nu 35:2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. With the suburbs thereof The area of these suburbs is laid down in Num 35:4-5, but so obscurely that great diversity of computation has arisen among expositors. The suburbs were to reach a thousand cubits from the wall of the city on each of the four sides, and yet the measure on each side of the city was to be two thousand cubits. This Keil explains, as in the following diagram by picturing the city and its suburbs in squares, with the city in the midst, and understanding the two thousand cubits as the length of each outer side of the suburbs, apart from the walls of the cities, which latter, of course, might vary in size. Or we may understand with Maimonides that the two thousand cubits were added to the one thousand as “fields of the suburbs,” (Lev 25:34,) and lay outside the suburbs proper.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “YHWH commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for our cattle.” ’
The approach would probably be made before the Tent of Meeting with due solemnity. The Levites had a responsibility to Israel in respect of guidance in accordance with the Law, overseeing the tithes, and generally observing that the Law was fulfilled. In return they had to be given cities to dwell in and land for their cattle, but not land to plant and sow.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“Cities to dwellin.” Jos 21:2 .
This chapter deals with the distribution of the Levitical cities. They were given to priests, to Kohathites, to Gershonites, and to Merarites. We are told that in the camp of Israel there were two squares surrounding the tabernacle: an inner square of priests and Levites, an outer square of the tribes of Israel, three on each side. Our point, however, is that every tribe had a city. The distribution was so made as to involve each and all in some responsibility or trust. The Kohathites carried the sacred vessels, the Gershonites the curtains and various fabrics of the tent and tabernacle, and the Merarites were entrusted with the bars and boards. Wherever we find distribution in Scripture we find it so meted out that every man has his own particular vocation or trust. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man who took his journey into a far country, and distributed his goods to his servants, giving every one a portion to profit withal. We have nothing to do with the amount of the distribution, but we have a distinct responsibility in relation to its fact. Let every man ask himself, What have I, what am I expected to do, what burden have I to carry, and what is the strength wherewith I am endowed? No one man has all the talents: the greatest cannot do without the least. Greatness is often misunderstood in this matter; the probability is that there is nothing so dreary as the solitude of greatness when it is deprived of popular recognition and sympathy. The mountains may be very great, but they are often very barren. The valley can do better without the mountain than the mountain can do without the valley. Though the talents be few in number they can be applied to great purposes. The reward is not in the dowry but in the industry. It is not humility to deny the possession of talents; it may be simple dishonesty and unfaithfulness
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Jos 21:2 And 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.
Ver 2. The Lord commanded. ] He left not his Levites to the will and devotion of the people: for then they should have had Micah’s allowance, Jdg 17:10 prisoners’ pittances, such as will neither keep them alive, nor suffer them to die. Spoliantur parochiae et scholae, non aliter ac si tame necare nos velint, is Luther’s complain: they keep us so poor as if they meant to famish us all. Therefore the Lord commanded, as here; lest men should deal by his Levites, as Louis XI of France did by his chaplains, to whom he allowed twenty shillings a month, whereas to his barber, John Cottier, he allowed ten thousand crowns a month.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Shiloh. See note on Jos 18:1.
The LORD commanded = Jehovah commanded. Compare Num 35:1-4. Lev 25:33.
hand. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause) for what is effected by it.
suburbs = common lands, or pasture lands; and so throughout the chapter, fifty-seven times.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Shiloh: Jos 18:1
The Lord: Num 35:2-8, Eze 48:9-18, Mat 10:10, Gal 6:6, 1Ti 5:17, 1Ti 5:18
Reciprocal: Jos 14:4 – save cities
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 21:2. The Lord commanded Observe: the maintenance of ministers is not an arbitrary thing, left purely to the good-will of the people. No: as the God of Israel commanded that the Levites should be provided for, so hath the Lord Jesus ordained (and a perpetual ordinance it is) that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21:2 And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded {a} by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.
(a) By Moses, by whose ministry God showed his power.