And to the sons of Aaron they gave one of the cities of refuge, Hebron; also Libnah with its common-lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its common-lands,
Parallel translations
- WEB To the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of refuge, Hebron; Libnah also with its suburbs, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its suburbs,
- KJV And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,
- BSB So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa,
- NASB To the sons of Aaron they gave the following cities of refuge: Hebron, Libnah together with its pasture lands, Jattir, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands,
- NLT So the descendants of Aaron were given the following towns, each with its pasturelands: Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The priests received cities of refuge including Hebron, plus Libnah, Jattir, and Eshtemoa with their pasturelands. These towns served both as priestly homes and as places of legal sanctuary.
Overview
Several of the Levitical cities doubled as cities of refuge, where someone guilty of accidental killing could flee for protection until a fair trial (Numbers 35:6). Placing these under the priests linked justice and mercy with the ministry of God's appointed servants. The cities of refuge beautifully foreshadow Christ, to whom sinners flee for refuge and find safety (Hebrews 6:18).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 15:48In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
- Josh 21:13–14To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Libnah with its suburbs,
- Josh 15:42Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
- Josh 10:29Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah, and fought against Libnah.
- Josh 20:7–9They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
- Num 35:13–15The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.
- Josh 21:19All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
- 1 Chr 4:17The sons of Ezrah: Jether, Mered, Epher, and Jalon; and she bore Miriam, Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.
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Original language
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