Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 21:20

And 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.

20 26. Cities of the rest of the Kohathites

20. And the families of the children of Kohath ] i. e. those who were not of the priestly order, received

( a) Four cities in Ephraim,

( b) Four in Dan,

( c) Two in Western Manasseh.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Of the cities of the non-priestly Kohathites, for Kibzaim we find Jokmeam in 1Ch 6:68. This is perhaps another name for the same place, since both names may be derived from roots having a similar meaning; and for Gath-rimmon in 1Ch 6:70, Bileam is given, and probably correctly; Gath-rimmon having apparently been repeated inadvertently from the preceding verse. Bileam is but another form of Ibleam Jos 17:11.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

The families which remained of the children of Kohath, over and above those of them who were priests.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites,…. Who were not priests:

which remained of the children of Kohath; these are the children of Moses, as Jarchi says, and those that descended from Kohath in the lines of Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel,

even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim; and were as follow.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Kohathite Cities, vs. 20-26

Among the cities assigned the rest of the Kohathites was another of the cities of refuge, Shechem. Shechem was a very prominent city, the chief of the tribe of Ephraim.

It was notable throughout Israel’s history. Aijalon is memorable as the reference point of Joshua’s call to the moon to stand still (Jos 10:12). Two Gath-rimmons are named, one in Dan, the other in Manasseh west.

Since no Gath-rimmon in Manasseh has ever been located, Bible scholars think the reference in verse 25 is due to a copyist’s error in the long ago when scribes copied the Scriptures. What city was meant is not now ascertainable.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

20. And the families of the children of Kohath, etc Why it was necessary that the Levites should be dispersed among the different tribes, the reader may see in my Commentaries on the Books of Moses. This dispersion had, indeed, been imposed on their progenitor as a punishment for the cruelty and perfidy of which he had been guilty toward the children of Shechem, but the disgrace of it had been converted into the highest honor by their appointment as a kind of guardians in every district to retain the people in the pure worship of God. It is true, they were everywhere strangers; but still it was with the very high dignity of acting as stewards for God, and preventing their countrymen from revolting from piety. This is the reason for stating so carefully how many cities they obtained from each tribe; they were everywhere to keep watch, and preserve the purity of sacred rites unimpaired.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

Cities Given to the Family of Kohath Jos. 21:20-26

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

9.

What important cities were given to the families of the Kohathites? Jos. 21:20-26

Prominent among the cities given to the Kohathites was Shechem, which was also one of the cities of refuge. Gezer was on the Shephelah, and was one of Solomons fortified cities. Beth-horon was a point on the western border of Benjamin and served to identify the line between Benjamin and Dan. Aijalon was the point over which the moon stood when Joshua prayed for an extension of time as he fought against the kings of the South. Tanach has been excavated in recent times and was an important citadel on the northern border of Ephraim.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

‘ And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the remainder of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.’

These were the descendants of Moses (see Jdg 18:30) and of Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel (1Ch 6:1-3). Their lot was among the Ephraimites. Thus the Kohathites had their dwellings among the two most powerful tribes.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Cities of the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merabites

v. 20. And the families of the children of Kohath, the descendants of Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, and of Moses, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, namely, after the priests, the children of Aaron, had received their allotment, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

v. 21. For they gave them, the Levites, Shechem with her suburbs in Mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer, Jos 20:7; and Gezer with her suburbs,

v. 22. and Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs: four cities.

v. 23. And out of the tribe of Dan, El-tekeh with her suburbs, Gibbe-thon with her suburbs,

v. 24. Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath-rimmon with her suburbs, four cities.

v. 25. And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, west of Jordan, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon, or, Bileam (Ibleam), with her suburbs, Jos 17:11: two cities.

v. 26. All the cities were ten with their suburbs, their meadow-lands, for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.

v. 27. and unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh, east of Jordan, they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer, Jos 20:8; and Beesh-terah with her suburbs: two cities.

v. 28. And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,

v. 29. Jarmuth with her suburbs, En-gan-nim with her suburbs, Jos 19:12-21: four cities.

v. 30. And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,

v. 31. Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs, Jos 19:25-28: four cities.

v. 32. And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer, Jos 20:7; and Hammoth-dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs, Jos 19:35-37: three cities.

v. 33. All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

v. 34. And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, the last family to be supplied, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs and Kartah with her suburbs,

v. 35. Dimnah, or Rimmono, with her suburbs, Nahalal, or Tabor, with her suburbs, Jos 19:11-15: four cities.

v. 36. And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,

v. 37. Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs, Jos 20:8; Jos 13:18; Deu 4:43: four cities.

v. 38. And out of the tribe of Gad, in Southern Gilead, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

v. 39. Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs, Jos 20:8; Jos 13:17-26: four cities in all.

v. 40. So 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.

v. 41. All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs, including the six cities set apart as cities of refuge.

v. 42. These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them, the meadow-land was distinctly included for the perpetual use of the Levites; thus were all these cities.

v. 43. And the Lord, by this distribution of the country, gave unto Israel all the land which He sware to give unto their fathers, Gen 12:7; Gen 15:18; Num 11:12; Deu 21:12; and they possessed it and dwelt therein.

v. 44. And the Lord gave them rest round about, all the heathen nations being subdued for the time being, according to all that He sware unto their fathers; and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them, not one was able to offer a successful resistance; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Although not entirely subjugated, the enemies were in a condition where they dared no enterprise against the Israelites while Joshua lived.

v. 45. There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. God is always faithful in His promises, but we, through unbelief and indifference, stand in His way. Perfection, true happiness, lasting joy, will be ours in the rest of yonder life, Hebrews 4.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Jos 21:5, 1Ch 6:66

Reciprocal: 1Ch 6:61 – left 2Ch 11:14 – suburbs

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jos 21:20. Which remained Over and above those who were priests.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

21:20 And the families of the children of Kohath, {g} the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

(g) That were not priests.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The other Kohathites’ towns 21:20-26

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

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)