Tuesday 2021.07.20
Today I read from Joshua chapters twenty and twenty-one about the designation of six cities of refuge for those who have unintentionally taken the life of a neighbour to hide from the "avenger of death".
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Three cities were chosen from the west side of R.Jordan
- Kadesh, Napthali
- Shechem, Ephraim
- Kiriath Arba, Judah
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And three cities from the east side
- Bezer, Reuben
- Ramoth Gilead, Gad
- Golan Bashan, half tribe of Manasseh
Joshua 20:7 - 8 NIV
7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
8 East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh.
In chapter twenty-one, an account is also given of forty-eight cities being set aside for the tribe of Levi to cultivate crops and raise livestock:
- Kohathite descendants of Aaron: 13 towns (from Judah, Simeon, Benjamin)
- Kohathite not descendants of Aaron: 10 towns (from Ephraim, Dan, half Manasseh)
- Gershonites: 13 towns (from Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, half Manasseh in Bashan)
- Merarites: 12 towns (from Reuben, Gad, Zebulun)
Joshua 21
4 The first lot came out for the Kohathites, according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.
5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.
6 The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The descendants of Merari, according to their clans, received twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.
