So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
Parallel translations
- WEB The children of Israel gave these cities with their suburbs by lot to the Levites, as Yahweh commanded by Moses.
- KJV And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
- NKJV And the children of Israel gave these cities with their common-lands by lot to the Levites, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses.
- NASB Now the sons of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their pasture lands, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
- NLT So the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s command to Moses and assigned these towns and pasturelands to the Levites by casting sacred lots.
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 Israelites give these cities with their pasturelands to the Levites by lot, as the LORD commanded through Moses. The whole arrangement rests on God's earlier word.
Overview
This summary verse stresses that the entire allocation was carried out by lot and in obedience to the command given through Moses. The repeated emphasis on God's word and the lot underscores that the Levites' provision was divinely ordered, not humanly contrived. It assures the reader that God faithfully provided for His servants exactly as He had promised.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Josh 21:3So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:
- Num 35:3The cities will be for them to live in, and the pasturelands will be for their herds, their flocks, and all their other livestock.
- Num 32:2So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the congregation, and said,
- Josh 18:6When you have mapped out the seven portions of land and brought it to me, I will cast lots for you here in the presence of the LORD our God.
- Num 33:54And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one by lot will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to the tribes of your fathers.
- Prov 16:33The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
- Prov 18:18Casting the lot ends quarrels and separates strong opponents.
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 21:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.