Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Thirty-eight cities in various tribes are assigned to the Levites for dwelling.
Vulgate Text: Joshua 21:1-43
1. And the heads of the families of Levi came to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the families throughout the tribes of the children of Israel. 2. And they spoke to them in Shiloh in the land of Canaan, and said: The Lord commanded through Moses that cities be given to us to dwell in, and their pasture lands for our cattle. 3. And the children of Israel gave from their possessions, according to the commandment of the Lord, cities and their pasture lands. 4. And the lot came out for the family of Kohath, of the children of Aaron the priest, from the tribes of Judah, and Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities. 5. And to the remaining children of Kohath, that is, the Levites who were left over, from the tribes of Ephraim, and Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities. 6. And for the children of Gershon the lot came out, that they should receive from the tribes of Issachar, and Asher and Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities in number. 7. And for the children of Merari according to their families, from the tribes of Reuben and Gad and Zebulun, twelve cities. 8. And the children of Israel gave to the Levites cities and their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, distributing to each by lot. 9. From the tribes of the children of Judah and Simeon, Joshua gave cities, whose names are these: 10. to the children of Aaron, of the families of Kohath of the Levitical order (for to them the first lot came out) 11. Kiriath-arba of the father of Anak, which is called Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, and its pasture lands round about. 12. But the fields and villages of it he had given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh to possess. 13. He gave therefore to the children of Aaron the priest, Hebron the city of refuge, and its pasture lands, and Libnah with its pasture lands; 14. and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, 15. and Holon, and Debir, 16. and Ain, and Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, with their pasture lands: nine cities from the two tribes, as was said. 17. And from the tribe of the children of Benjamin, Gibeon, and Geba, 18. and Anathoth and Almon with their pasture lands, four cities. 19. All the cities of the children of Aaron the priest together were thirteen, with their pasture lands. 20. And to the remaining families of the children of Kohath of the Levitical order, this possession was given. 21. From the tribe of Ephraim, cities of refuge: Shechem with its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer, 22. and Kibzaim and Beth-horon, with their pasture lands, four cities. 23. And from the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and Gibbethon, 24. and Aijalon and Gath-rimmon, with their pasture lands, four cities: 25. and from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach and Gath-rimmon, with their pasture lands, two cities. 26. All the cities were ten, and their pasture lands, which were given to the children of Kohath of the lower rank. 27. And to the children of Gershon of the Levitical order he gave from the half-tribe of Manasseh cities of refuge: Golan in Bashan and Beeshterah, with their pasture lands, two cities. 28. And from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion and Daberath, 29. and Jarmuth, and En-gannim, with their pasture lands, four cities. 30. And from the tribe of Asher, Mishal and Abdon, 31. and Helkath and Rehob, with their pasture lands, four cities. 32. And from the tribe of Naphtali, cities of refuge: Kedesh in Galilee, and Hammoth-dor and Kartan, with their pasture lands, three cities. 33. All the cities of the families of Gershon were thirteen with their pasture lands. 34. And to the children of Merari, the Levites of the lower rank, according to their families, was given from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam and Kartah, 35. and Dimnah and Nahalal, four cities with their pasture lands. 36. From the tribe of Reuben beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho, cities of refuge: Bezer in the wilderness, Misor and Jazer and Jethson and Mephaath, four cities with their pasture lands. 37. From the tribe of Gad, cities of refuge: Ramoth in Gilead, and Mahanaim and Heshbon and Jazer, four cities with their pasture lands. 38. All the cities of the children of Merari according to their families and kindreds were twelve. 39. And so all the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight, 40. with their pasture lands, each distributed according to their families. 41. And the Lord God gave to Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers: and they possessed it and dwelt in it. 42. And peace was given by Him among all the surrounding nations, and none of their enemies dared to resist them; but all were brought under their dominion. 43. Not even one word of all that He had promised to give them was unfulfilled, but all things were accomplished in deed.
Verse 1: The Levites' Dispersion Transformed into Glory
1. AND THE HEADS OF THE FAMILIES OF LEVI CAME. — Note that the patriarch Jacob on his deathbed, Genesis 49:7, imposed upon his son Levi and his descendants the Levites, as punishment for the slaughter of the Shechemites, the penalty of dispersion among their brothers: but God, who is rich in tempering vengeance and in clemency, turned this penalty on account of the merits of their descendants into praise and glory, and willed that the assemblies and colleges of Levites and priests be scattered throughout all the tribes, so that all might receive from the priesthood both the dignity and the benefit of learning sound doctrine and the divine law. For these colleges were like seminaries of religion and piety, from which neighboring cities could seek the seeds of heavenly instruction and examples of a holier life. Thus God promises at Hosea 2:23 that He will sow throughout the whole land "Jezreel," that is, "the seed of God," namely priests as Apostles and apostolic men. So St. Basil, as attested by St. Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 20, built monasteries near cities, so that the inhabitants of both might share their advantages with one another, as do land and sea, intermingled for that purpose; namely that monasteries might be sustained by cities, while cities might learn a holier life from monasteries as from gymnasiums of piety. For this reason, throughout Germany and in other places, most ancient monasteries were built near the more celebrated cities — indeed older than the cities themselves, and which gave the cities themselves their occasion and beginning, as Thomas Bozius rightly observes in his Signs of the Church.
Wherefore St. Chrysostom, Homily 59 to the People, exhorts him to visit monasteries and monks frequently. "For there, he says, everything is free from enticements and from all disturbance and unrest: moreover they are the most tranquil harbors, and those who inhabit them are like fires which, shining from a lofty place, display light from afar to those approaching, and having settled in the harbor, draw others to their tranquility; nor do they allow those who look upon them to suffer shipwreck, or to be in darkness who have turned their eyes toward them. Go therefore to such men, enjoy their companionship, approach, I say, the saints, touch their feet; for it is far more honorable to embrace their feet than the head of others. For tell me, if certain people who grasp the feet of statues, because they bear only the image of the king, will you not be saved if you hold fast to him who has Christ in himself? Holy therefore are such feet, even if they be the lowliest."
Verse 3: The Distribution of Cities to the Levites
3. AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GAVE. — Note: This distribution of cities made by the twelve tribes to the Levites took place shortly after the casting of lots and the division of the land, before the individual tribes went to take possession of their allotments; and this was so that the first possessors would not be driven from their seats by the Levites. The rest I discussed at Numbers 35:1 and following.
Moreover, more cities are listed here as given to the Levites than to the other tribes, both for the honor of the priesthood, so that priests and Levites, not worried about houses, might devote themselves entirely to the worship of God, says Philo in his book On the Honor of the Priesthood; and also because the other tribes, besides cities, had many villages and hamlets; but the Levites did not, having only pasture lands extending a thousand paces. So Abulensis. Finally, for the Levites scattered throughout all Judea, the priests obtained cities near Jerusalem and the future temple, so that they might more easily visit it, as well as its citizens and leaders, and contract marriages with the tribe of Judah, because God willed that these two tribes be intermixed, "since Christ, who was to be born from the tribe of Judah, was to be not only king but also High Priest," says Theodoret.
Verse 11: Kiriath-arba of Anak
11. KIRIATH-ARBA OF THE FATHER OF ANAK. — That is, the city of Arba the giant, who was the father of Anak, from whom the Anakim giants descended.
Verse 21: Shechem — City of Refuge
21. CITIES OF REFUGE: SHECHEM. — The Hebrew, Chaldean, and many Latin manuscripts with Abulensis read city in the singular. For there was only one city of refuge here, namely Shechem; the others, namely Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horon, were given to the Levites only for dwelling, not for homicides to flee to. The same applies to verses 26, 31, 35, 36, for in all these verses, instead of cities of refuge, the Hebrew, Chaldean, and manuscripts with Abulensis read in the singular city of refuge, for the reason already stated. See Francis Lucas here, Annotation 36.
Verse 36: The Missing Verse in Hebrew
36. FROM THE TRIBE OF REUBEN, etc. — This entire verse is now missing in the Hebrew: Our translator seems to have translated it from the Septuagint. See Francis Lucas, Annotation 37. It appears to have existed formerly in the Hebrew; for some Hebrew manuscripts have it, as well as the Chaldean, which instead of Jazer and Jethson reads Jahaz and Kedemoth. So also our translator reads at 1 Chronicles 6:78 and 79; therefore these cities seem to have had two names.
Verse 41: God Gave Israel All the Promised Land
41. AND THE LORD GOD GAVE TO ISRAEL ALL THE LAND WHICH HE HAD SWORN TO GIVE TO THEIR FATHERS, AND THEY POSSESSED IT AND DWELT IN IT. — You will object: This seems to contradict what was said here at verse 4, and what will be said at Judges 1, where it is asserted that the Hebrews in many places were unable to exterminate the Jebusites and Canaanites: therefore much still remained unpossessed by the Hebrews but yet to be possessed. I answer first that God gave the Hebrews all of Canaan as to right and dominion, which they held over all of it, and for that reason He distributed it to them by lot. Again, as to possession of it, but with a limitation which He Himself expressed at Exodus 23:29, saying: "I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you; I will drive them out from before you little by little, until you increase and possess the land." For this was more convenient and beneficial for the Hebrews. God therefore gave all the promised land, not all at once and at the same time, but gradually and step by step, driving out the Canaanites from it, lest it lie uncultivated and wild beasts occupy it, until the Hebrews could inhabit and cultivate all of it. For this was the condition He had added to His promise; which condition was not burdensome but advantageous for the Hebrews. So Abulensis, Masius and others. We heard a similar phrase at chapter 11, last verse.
More subtly, St. Augustine answers, Question 21, that all the promised land was given by God to the Hebrews; because even those portions which they themselves did not possess were given to them for a certain benefit of exercise, namely so that they might learn to fight against enemies.