Joshua 21 · Verse 5

Joshua 21:5

And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
Joshua 21:5, King James Version

Joshua 21:5 in other translations

BSBThe remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
WEBThe rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh.
ASVAnd the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
YLTand for the sons of Kohath who are left, out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half of the tribe of Manasseh, by lot ten cities:
DARBYAnd the children of Kohath that remained had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
BBEThe rest of the children of Kohath by their families were given ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
WebsterAnd the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

What does Joshua 21:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 21:4-8

4-8. the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites--The Levites were divided into Kohathites, Gershonites, and Merarites. Among the former the family of Aaron were exclusively appointed to the priesthood, and all the rest were ranked in the common order of Levites. The first lot was drawn by the Kohathites; and the first of theirs again by the priests, to whom thirteen cities were granted, and ten to the rest…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 And the rest of the children of Kohath - That is, the remaining part of that family that were not priests, for those who were priests had their lot in the preceding tribes. Those, therefore, of the family of Kohath, who were simply Levites, and not of the priests or Aaron's family, (see Jos 21:10), had their habitations in Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh. It has been asked in what sense did the Levites possess those cities, seeing they had no inheritance? To which it may be answered that it is not likely the Levites had the exclusive property of the cities in which they dwelt, for it is evident that the other Israelites dwelt among them. We know, says Calmet, by history, that the cities of the Levites were almost entirely filled with Israelites of other tribes. For instance, Gibeah of Benjamin, which is here given to the Levites, Jos 21:17, was always peopled by the Benjamites, as appears from the history of the Levite, whose wife was so horribly abused by them; Jdg 19:22-27. Saul and all his family dwelt in the same city; and David and his court spent the first years of his reign at Hebron, which was also a city of the Levites, Jos 21:10. It appears, therefore, that they had no other property in those cities than merely the right to certain houses, which they might sell, but always with the right of perpetual redemption, for they could finally alienate nothing; and if the possessor of such a house, having sold it, did not redeem it at the year of jubilee, it reverted to the Levites. And as to their lands for their cattle, which extended two thousand cubits without the city, these they were not permitted to sell: they were considered as the Lord's property. See Lev 25:32-34 (note), and the notes there. It is therefore very likely that, in the first instance, the Levites had simply the right to choose, in all the cities assigned them, the houses in which they were to dwell, and that those of the tribe to which the city belonged occupied all the other dwellings. There is also reason to believe that in process of time, when the families of the Levites increased, they had more dwellings assigned to them, which were probably built at the public expense. We may also observe that the Levites were not absolutely bound to live in these and no other cities: for when the tabernacle was at Nob, priests and Levites dwelt there, see 1Sam 21:1, etc.; and when the worship of God was established at Jerusalem, multitudes both of priests and Reviles dwelt there, though it was no Levitical city: as did the courses of priests afterwards at Jericho. This was a circumstance which Moses had foreseen, and for which he had provided. See Deu 18:6, etc.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 21:1-8

Chapter Outline Cities for the Levites. (1-8) The cities allotted to the Levites. (9-42) God gave the land and rest to the Israelites, according to his promise. (43-45) Verses 1-8 The Levites waited till the other tribes were provided for, before they preferred their claim to Joshua. They build their claim upon a very good foundation; not their own merits or services, but the Divine precept. The maintenance of…

Read the full comment on Joshua 21:1-8 →

Joshua 21:5 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְלִבְנֵ֨יve.liv.Neiand [belonged] to [the] descendants ofH1121
קְהָ֜תke.HatKohathH6955
הַנּוֹתָרִ֗יםha.no.ta.Rimwhich remainedH3498
מִמִּשְׁפְּחֹ֣תmi.mish.pe.Chotfrom [the] clans ofH4940
מַטֵּֽה\־ma.teh-[the] tribe ofH4294
אֶ֠פְרַיִם'Ef.ra.yimEphraimH669
וּֽמִמַּטֵּה\־u.mi.ma.teh-and from [the] tribe ofH4294
דָ֞ןdanDanH1835
וּמֵחֲצִ֨יu.me.cha.Tziand from [the] half ofH2677
מַטֵּ֧הma.Teh[the] tribe ofH4294
מְנַשֶּׁ֛הme.na.ShehManassehH4519
בַּגּוֹרָ֖לba.go.Ralby the lotH1486
עָרִ֥ים'a.RimcitiesH5892
עָֽשֶׂר\׃\ \ס'A.sertenH6235

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 21:5

  • Joshua 21:20-26

    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. 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, And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth–horon with her suburbs; four cities. And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, …

  • 1 Chronicles 6:18-19

    And the sons of Kohath were, Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. And these are the families of the Levites according to their fathers.

  • 1 Chronicles 6:61

    And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.

  • 1 Chronicles 6:66-70

    And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim. And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs, And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Beth–horon with her suburbs, And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath–rimmon with her suburbs: …

  • Numbers 3:27

    And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izeharites, and the family of the Hebronites, and the family of the Uzzielites: these are the families of the Kohathites.

  • Exodus 6:16-25

    And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years. The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years. And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. …

  • Genesis 46:11

    And the sons of Levi; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
20-26; Ge 46:11; Ex 6:16-25; Nu 3:27; 1Ch 6:18,19,61,66-70

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 21:4

    And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

  • Joshua 21:5

    And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.

  • Joshua 21:6

    And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

Read all of Joshua 21

Joshua 21:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y á los otros hijos de Coath se dieron por suerte diez villas de las familias de la tribu de Ephraim, y de la tribu de Dan, y de la media tribu de Manasés;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		et pour les autres fils de Kehath, dix villes des familles de la tribu d’Éphraïm, et de la tribu de Dan, et de la demi-tribu de Manassé, par le sort;
German
Elberfelder 1871		und die übrigen Söhne Kehaths, von den Geschlechtern des Stammes Ephraim und vom Stamme Dan und vom halben Stamme Manasse, durchs Los, zehn Städte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et reliquis filiorum Caath, id est Levitis, qui superfuerant, de tribubus Ephraim, et Dan, et dimidia tribu Manasse, civitates decem.