7So they set aside Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba—that is, Hebron—in the hill country of Judah. 8And across the Jordan, east of Jericho, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness, in the Tableland, from the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9Those were the towns designateda for all the Israelites and for aliens residing among them, to which anyone who killed a person unintentionally might flee, and not die by the hand of the blood avenger before standing trial by the assembly.
21 The heads of the ancestral houses of the Levites approached the priest Eleazer, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the ancestral houses of the Israelite tribes, 2and spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, as follows: “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given towns to live in, along with their pastures for our livestock.” 3So the Israelites, in accordance with the LORD’s command, assigned to the Levites, out of their own portions, the following towns with their pastures:
4The [first] lot among the Levites fell to the Kohathite clans. To the descendants of the priest Aaron, there fell by lot 13 towns from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of Simeon, and the tribe of Benjamin; 5and to the remaining Kohathites [there fell] by lot 10 towns from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6To the Gershonites [there fell] by lot 13 towns from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the halftribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7[And] to the Merarites, by their clans—12 towns from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun. 8The Israelites assigned those towns with their pastures by lot to the Levites—as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
9From the tribe of the Judites and the tribe of the Simeonites were assigned the following towns, which will be listed by name; 10they went to the descendants of Aaron among the Kohathite clans of the Levites, for the first lot had fallen to them. 11To them were assigned in the hill country of Judah Kiriath-arba—that is, Hebron—together with the pastures around it. [Arba was] the father of the Anokites.a 12They gave the fields and the villages of the town to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his holding. 13But to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron—the city of refuge for manslayers—together with its pastures, Libnah with its pastures, 14Jattir with its pastures, Eshtemoa with its pastures, 15 Holon with its pastures, Debir with its pastures, 16Ain with its pastures, Juttah with its pastures, and Beth-shemesh with its pastures—9 towns from those two tribes. 17And from the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon with its pastures, Geba with its pastures, 18Anathoth with its pastures, and Almon with its pastures—4 towns. 19All the towns of the descendants of the priest Aaron, 13 towns with their pastures.
20bAs for the other clans of the Kohathites, the remaining Levites descended from Kohath, the towns in their lot were: From the tribe of Ephraim 21they were given, in the hill country of Ephraim, Shechem— the city of refuge for manslayers—with its pastures, Gezer with its pastures, 22Kibzaim with its pastures, and Beth-horon with its pastures—4 towns. 23From the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pastures, Gibbethon with its pastures, 24Aijalon with its pastures, and Gath-rimmon with its pastures—4 towns. 25And from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pastures, and Gath-rimmon with its pastures—2 towns. 26All the towns for the remaining clans of the Kohathites came to 10, with their pastures.
27To the Gershonites of the levitical clans: From the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan—the city of refuge for manslayers—with its pastures, and Beeshterah with its pastures—2 towns. 28From the tribe of Issachar: Kishion with its pastures, Dobrath with its pastures, 29Jarmuth with its pastures, and En-gannim with its pastures—4 towns. 30From the tribe of Asher: Mishal with its pastures, Abdon with its pastures, 31Helkath with its pastures, and Rehob with its pastures—4 towns. 32From the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee—the city of refuge for manslayers—with its pastures, Hammoth-dor with its pastures, and Kartan with its pastures—3 towns. 33All the towns of the Gershonites, by their clans, came to 13 towns, with their pastures.
34To the remaining Levites, the clans of the Merarites: From the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pastures, Kartah with its pastures, 35Dimnah with its pastures, and Nahalal with its pastures—4 towns.c36From the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead—the city of refuge for manslayers— with its pastures, Mahanaim with its pastures, 37Heshbon with its pastures, and Jazer with its pastures—4 towns in all. 38All the towns which went by lot to the Merarites, by their clans—the rest of the levitical clans— came to 12 towns. 39All the towns of the Levites within the holdings of the Israelites came to 48 towns, with their pastures. 40d“Thus those towns were assigned, every town with its surrounding pasture; and so it was with all those towns.
41The LORD gave to Israel the whole country which He had sworn to their fathers that He would assign to them; they took possession of it and settled in it. 42The LORD gave them rest on all sides, just as He had promised to their fathers on oath. Not one man of all their enemies withstood them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hands. 43Not one of the good things which the LORD had promised to the House of Israel was lacking. Everything was fulfilled.
22 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2and said to them, “You have observed all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed me in everything that I commanded you. 3You have not forsaken your kinsmen through the long years down to this day, but have faithfully observed the Instruction of the LORD your God. 4Now the LORD your God has given your kinsmen rest, as He promised them. Therefore turn and go to your homes, to the land of your holdings beyond the Jordan that Moses the servant of the LORD assigned to you. 5But be very careful to fulfill the Instruction and the Teaching that Moses the servant of the LORD enjoined upon you, to love the LORD your God and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments and hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and soul.” 6Then Joshua blessed them and dismissed them, and they went to their homes.
7To the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had assigned territory in Bashan, and to the other Joshua assigned [territory] on the west side of the Jordan, with their kinsmen.a
Furthermore, when Joshua sent themb off to their homes, he blessed them 8and said to them, “Return to your homes with great wealth—with very much livestock, with silver and gold, with copper and iron, and with a great quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your kinsmen.” 9So the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, and made their way back to the land of Gilead, the land of their own holding, which they had acquired by the command of the LORD through Moses. 10When they came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a great conspicuous altar.
11A report reached the Israelites: “The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar opposite the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, across from the Israelites.” 12When the Israelites heard this, the whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh to make war on them. 13But [first] the Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, 14accompanied by ten chieftains, one chieftain from each ancestral house of each of the tribes of Israel; they were every one of them heads of ancestral houses of the contingents of Israel. 15When they came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, they spoke to them as follows:
16“Thus said the whole community of the LORD: What is this treachery that you have committed this day against the God of Israel, turning away from the LORD, building yourselves an altar and rebelling this day against the LORD! 17Is the sin of Peor, which brought
