{"commentary":{"id":"john-gill","name":"John Gill Bible Commentary","website":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gill_(theologian)","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/","licenseNotes":null,"licenseNotice":null,"englishName":"John Gill Bible Commentary","language":"eng","textDirection":"rtl","sha256":"f6fcfd6c3a726dc834cfaf1ae1cd0bf49bffb88c1246ac3500699e8af7be71a5","availableFormats":["json"],"listOfBooksApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/books.json","listOfProfilesApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/profiles.json","numberOfBooks":66,"totalNumberOfChapters":1189,"totalNumberOfVerses":29707,"totalNumberOfProfiles":0,"languageName":"English","languageEnglishName":"English"},"book":{"id":"JOS","commentaryId":"john-gill","name":"Joshua","commonName":"Joshua","introduction":"INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA \n\nThe Jews distinguish the prophets into former and latter; the first of the former prophets is Joshua, or Sepher Joshua, the book of Joshua, as it is commonly called in the Hebrew copies; the Syriac inscription is, \n\n\"the book of Joshua, the son of Nun, the disciple of Moses:'' \n\nin the Arabic version it is reckoned a book of the judges, which adds, \n\n\"the first among the judges of the children of Israel was Joshua, the son of Nun, the twenty eighth from Adam, who reigned over Israel after the Prophet Moses.'' \n\nThis book bears the name of Joshua, either because it is concerning him, his actions and exploits in the land of Canaan, or because it was written by him, or both; though some ascribe it to Ezra, and others to Isaiah; but it must have been written before the times of Ahab, as appears from Kg1 16:34; and even before the times of David, as is clear from Jos 15:63, compared with Sa2 5:6; for though mention is made in it of the mountains of Judah and of Israel, from whence some have concluded, that the writer must have lived after the times of Rehoboam, in whose days the kingdom was divided; yet we find the distinction of Israel and Judah took place before, even in the times of David and Asaph, Psa 76:1; It is most likely that this book was written by Joshua himself, as the Jews in their Talmud (a) assert; and, indeed, who more fit for it than himself? and if written or put together by another, it is most probable that it was taken out of his diary, annals, or memoirs; and though there are some things recorded in it, which were done after his death, these might be inserted under a divine direction and influence by Eleazar, or Phinehas, or Samuel, to each of whom some ascribe the writing of this book, just as Joshua is supposed to add some verses concerning Moses at the end of the Pentateuch: however, be it wrote by whom it may, there is no doubt to be made of the divine inspiration and authenticity of it by us Christians, since some histories recorded in it are taken from it, or referred to, in Heb 11:30; and the promise made to Joshua is quoted, and applied to every believer, Heb 13:5; and the Apostle James refers to the case of Rahab, her character and conduct in it, Jam 2:25. The subject matter of this book is Joshua's taking upon him the government of the children of Israel, after the death of Moses, by a divine commission, exhortation, and encouragement given him to engage in war with the Canaanites; his conquests of them, the division of the land of Canaan to the children of Israel, and their settlement in it. It is of great use not only to give us the geography of the land of Canaan, and the history of the church of God, from the death of Moses to the times of the judges; but shows the exact fulfilment of prophecy, and the faithfulness of God to his promises in giving the land of Canaan to Israel, according to those made to their fathers, and the justice of God in punishing the Canaanites for their abominable sins, as had been foretold; and the wonderful care, of God, and his love to the people of Israel in preserving and protecting them, and in settling them in such a good land, notwithstanding all their murmurings, ingratitude, and unbelief, in the wilderness; and may serve to lead us to Christ, whose type Joshua was in the whole affair here related: his name has the signification of the salvation of the Lord in and he is by the Greek writers, and so in the New Testament, called Jesus, a Saviour, Act 7:45, Heb 4:8; and as they agree in their name, so they do in their state, condition, and character; Joshua was a servant of Moses, Christ was made under the law, and became subject to it, both moral and ceremonial; and also in their office, Joshua was the governor of Israel, and the commander of their forces, for which he was well qualified with wisdom, courage, and integrity; Christ is King of saints, the Leader and Commander of the people, who has fought their battles for them, being abundantly qualified, having the spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, and of the fear of the Lord, resting on him. Joshua was a type of Christ in various actions of his; in leading the people through the river Jordan, an emblem either of baptism, or of afflictions, or of death itself, in which Christ is with his people, and carries them through; in saving Rahab and her family, so Christ saves the worst and chief of sinners; in receiving the Gibeonites, who submitted to him, as Christ does all that come to him; in his conquest of the several kings of the Canaanites, so Christ has conquered all the spiritual enemies of his people, sin, Satan, and the world; in bringing and settling the people of Israel in the land of Canaan, their rest, and dividing it to them by lot, which Moses might not do; so Christ only brings souls into the true rest, into spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter; in whom they obtain the inheritance of the heavenly glory by lot, and by whom only they enjoy salvation and eternal life, and not by the works of the law. This book contains an history of Joshua, of his government, his acts and deeds, from the death of Moses to his own; how long that was is not certain; the Jewish chronologers (b) observe, that the time of his principality we find not in the text; though they (c) say he succeeded Moses when he was eighty two years of age, and governed Israel twenty eight years; Eupolemus (d), an Heathen writer, says thirty years. Christian writers commonly make his reign to be twenty seven years (e); but an Arabic writer (f) stretches it further to thirty one years; he says, he took the government of the people in the seventy ninth year of his age, and reigned thirty one; but it seems more probable that he was ninety three years of age when Moses died, who lived to be an hundred ten, so that only seventeen years intervened between the death of the one and of the other; seven years Joshua was in subduing the land, and ten years more were taken up in dividing it to the people, and settling them in it, and in the government of them; after which Eleazar might rule ten years more, whose death is mentioned in it; so indeed the book may be reckoned an history of twenty seven years, though Joshua lived only seventeen of them. The Chronicle, to which the Samaritans give the name of the book of Joshua, is a spurious work; an epitome of which Hottinger (g) has compiled, and translated out of the Arabic exemplar into Latin. \n\n(a) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 14. 2. (b) Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 7. 2. (c) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 12. p. 33. Juchasin, fol. 10. 1. (d) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 30. (e) Tertullian, Lactantius, Eusebius, Augustin. apud Hottinger. Thesaur. Philolog. l . 2. c. 1. sect. 2. p. 960. so Ben Gersom in Jud. 11. 26. & Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 25. (f) Elmacinus apud Hottinger. p. 524. (g) Ad Calcem Exercitat. Antimorin. \n\n\n\nNext: Joshua Chapter 1\n\n","order":6,"numberOfChapters":24,"sha256":"4e39585f1661a78454434acff60b102e5d8c49d7554035e673cac47054538aec","firstChapterNumber":1,"firstChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/JOS/1.json","firstChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"JOS","chapter":1},"lastChapterNumber":24,"lastChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/JOS/24.json","lastChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"JOS","chapter":24},"totalNumberOfVerses":658},"chapter":{"number":21,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":1,"content":["Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites,.... When the land was divided to the several tribes, and everyone knew the cities that belonged to them, and what they could and should part with to the Levites, and when the six cities of refuge were fixed; the Levites came to put in their claim for cities of habitation, they having no share in the division of the land; and yet it was necessary they should have habitations; the persons that undertook to put in a claim for them were the principal men among them; the fathers of them were Kohath, Gershon, and Merari; the heads of those were the chief men that were then living: these came\n\nunto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun; the high priest and chief magistrate:\n\nand unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel; the princes appointed to divide the land with the two great personages before mentioned, Numbers 34:17. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan,.... Where the tabernacle was fixed, at or near which the above persons met to cast lots for the division of the land to the seven tribes that had not received their inheritance:\n\nsaying, the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle; this command is extant in Numbers 35:2. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":3,"content":["And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance,.... Knowing full well there was such a command, made no objection to their motion, but freely gave them cities out of the portion of inheritance allotted to them; this they did\n\nat the commandment of the Lord, and in obedience to it, even gave these cities and suburbs; after mentioned: this was done by the tribes themselves; as there were a certain number fixed by the commandment of God, they agreed among themselves how many and what cities should be given out of each tribe; and then lots were cast for them by Joshua, what and which cities should be appropriated to their several divisions, as the Kohathites that sprang from Aaron, and the rest of them that did not, and the Gershonites and Merarites, as follows. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":4,"content":["And the lot came out for the family of the Kohathites,.... The first lot that was drawn out of the pot or urn was for the descendants of Kohath, a son of Levi:\n\nand the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites; who descended from Amram, the eldest son of Kohath, and these were not only Levites, but priests: these\n\nhad by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon,\n\nand out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities; which are after mentioned by name; and as these were priests, whose business was to serve in the temple, and at the altar, the cities assigned them by the lot, were, by the wise disposal of divine Providence, ordered them out of those tribes which lay nearest to Jerusalem; the place God had chosen to put his name in, where the temple would be built, and the altars erected for sacrifices and incense. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":5,"content":["And the rest of the children of Kohath,.... Which did not descend from him in the line of Amram and Aaron, but of Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, who were not priests, but Levites:\n\nhad by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities; these other sort of Kohathites had their cities in tribes next to the other three where the Kohathites that were priests had theirs. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":6,"content":["And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar,.... These were Levites who descended from Gershon, the eldest son of Levi, and had their cities by lot assigned them in tribes at a greater distance, not only out of Issachar, but\n\nout of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan; which was the other half of the tribe beyond Jordan:\n\nthirteen cities; as many as were given out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":7,"content":["The children of Merari by their families,.... The descendants of Merari, the third son of Levi:\n\nhad out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad; which were both on the other side Jordan:\n\nand out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities; in all forty eight, as the Lord commanded, Numbers 35:7. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs,.... Reaching two thousand cubits from the cities all around: these cities did not lie all together, and so could not be described by their coasts; but in the several tribes, and intermixed with their cities; which fulfilled Jacob's prophecy, that they should be divided and scattered in Israel, Genesis 49:7; as well as it was so ordered for the benefit of the several tribes, that they might have the assistance of the priests and Levites, to instruct them in the knowledge of the laws and commandments of God, and all divine things:\n\nas the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses; Numbers 35:2. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":9,"content":["And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah,.... Here follows a particular account of the several cities which were given out of each tribe, and first out of this:\n\nand out of the tribe of the children of Simeon; which is joined with that of Judah, because the cities of it lay within it, Joshua 19:1,\n\nthese cities which are here mentioned by name; Joshua 21:13. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":10,"content":["Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites,.... Who descending from Kohath, in the line of Aaron, were priests:\n\nwho were of the children of Levi, had; they were Levites, as descending from Levi, but were priests also, as being of the stock of Aaron, and the cities hereafter mentioned in the said tribe fell to their portion:\n\nfor theirs was the first lot; for being of the line of Aaron, and priests, they had the honour and privilege to have the first lot drawn for them, and out of the tribe for which the first lot was also drawn, the tribe of Judah; here they had their cities allotted them, for a reason before given. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":11,"content":["And they gave them the city of Arba, the father of Anak,.... Which from him was called Kirjatharba, Joshua 14:15; and Anak, according to Kimchi, is not the name of a man, but a general name, comprehending the Anakims, a race of giants, among whom Arba was the chief and principal man, a prince and ruler over them, as Ben Melech:\n\nwhich city is Hebron in the hill country of Judah; as in Joshua 14:15; see Luke 1:39,\n\nwith the suburbs thereof round about it; as far as two thousand cubits, which were to put their cattle in, and provision for them. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":12,"content":["But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof,.... Which lay beyond the two thousand cubits:\n\ngave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, for his possession; as Moses had promised, and Joshua had confirmed to him; and now the children of Israel gave them to him, and put him in the possession of, Joshua 14:6; and the same is to be observed of all the other cities given to the Levites, that they and their suburbs, extending to such a distance only, were given to them; but the fields and villages, which belonged to them, continued the inheritance of the tribes in which they were. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":13,"content":["Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest,.... The families of the Kohathites, that part of them which descended from him, and were priests:\n\nHebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; that had slain a person unawares, and without design; see on Joshua 20:3,\n\nand Libnah with her suburbs; a royal city, of which see Joshua 10:29. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":14,"content":["And Jattir with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Joshua 15:48,\n\nand Eshtemoa with her suburbs; See Gill on Joshua 15:50. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":15,"content":["And Holon with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Joshua 15:51,\n\nand Debir with her suburbs; See Gill on Joshua 15:49. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":16,"content":["And Ain with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Joshua 15:32,\n\nand Juttah with her suburbs; See Gill on Joshua 15:55,\n\nand Bethshemesh with her suburbs; which is not mentioned among the cities of Judah, Joshua 15:21; only as in the borders of it, Joshua 21:10; and perhaps is the same Bethshemesh to which the ark was directed by the Philistines from Ashdod, 1 Samuel 6:9; in it formerly was a temple dedicated to the sun, from whence it had its name:\n\nnine cities out of those two tribes; and they seem all but one, which is Ain, to be of the tribe of Judah, and that originally belonged to it; and as that tribe had the largest number of cities in its lot, the more were given out of it to the Levites, according to a rule prescribed, Numbers 35:8. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":17,"content":["And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Joshua 18:25; from which came the Gibeonites.\n\nGeba with her suburbs. Of which See Gill on Joshua 18:24. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":18,"content":["Anathoth with her suburbs,.... This is not mentioned among the cities of Benjamin, Joshua 18:11; it was the native place of the Prophet Jeremiah; see Gill on Jeremiah 1:1; it lay about two or three miles north of Jerusalem; three, says, Jerom (k). Rauwolff (l) speaks of it as a small village, when he travelled into those parts, and as lying on a height or eminence, and which was within twenty furlongs of Jerusalem, as Josephus writes (m):\n\nand Almon with her suburbs; this also is not mentioned among the cities of Benjamin, Joshua 18:11; it is called Alemeth, 1 Chronicles 6:60. Jarchi and Kimchi say it is the same with Bahurim, 2 Samuel 3:16; where the Targum renders it by Almeth, and both words signify the same thing, \"youth\":\n\nfour cities; which were a large number for so small a tribe as little Benjamin to give.\n\n(k) De loc. Heb. fol. 88. H. (l) Travels, par. 3. c. 2. p. 216. (m) Antiqu. l. 10. c. 7. sect. 3. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":19,"content":["All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests,.... Those of the Kohathites that came from him:\n\nwere thirteen cities with their suburbs; and just so many are mentioned by name in Joshua 21:11. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":20,"content":["And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites,.... Who were not priests:\n\nwhich remained of the children of Kohath; these are the children of Moses, as Jarchi says, and those that descended from Kohath in the lines of Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel:\n\neven they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim; and were as follow. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":21,"content":["For they gave them Shechem, with her suburbs, in Mount Ephraim,.... Of which see Joshua 20:7,\n\nto be a city of refuge for the slayer; which being on a mountain, was the more conspicuous, and the fitter for this purpose, as was Hebron in the hill country of Judea, Joshua 21:11; this is the second; city of refuge mentioned:\n\nand Gezer with her suburbs: a place from whence the Canaanites were not expelled; See Gill on Joshua 16:10. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":22,"content":["And Kibzaim with her suburbs,.... Which seems to, be the same with Jokneam, 1 Chronicles 6:68; of it we read nowhere else:\n\nand Bethhoron with her suburbs; upper Bethhoron, for there were two, an upper and a nether: see Joshua 16:3,\n\nfour cities; as mentioned by name. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":23,"content":["And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Joshua 19:44,\n\nGibbethon with her suburbs; see Gill on Joshua 19:44. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":24,"content":["Aijalon with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Joshua 19:42,\n\nGathrimmon with her suburbs, four cities; See Gill on Joshua 19:45. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":25,"content":["And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with her suburbs,.... Of which see Joshua 17:10,\n\nand Gathrimmon with her suburbs, there was a city of this name in Dan, as in Joshua 21:24; nor was it unusual for cities to be called by the same name in different tribes:\n\ntwo cities; these are called Aner and Bilean in 1 Chronicles 6:70; in process of time cities changed their names; two cities were a proper proportion for this half tribe; two more were given out of the other half tribe on the other side Jordan, as appears by what follows. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":26,"content":["All the cities were ten, with their suburbs,.... Four out of Ephraim, four out of Dan, and two out of the half tribe of Manasseh: which were\n\nfor the families of the children of Kohath that remained: who were of the other branch of the Kohathites, and who did not descend from Aaron, and were only Levites, and not priests; See Gill on Joshua 21:20. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":27,"content":["And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites,.... The descendants of the second son of Levi:\n\nout of the other half tribe of Manasseh; that which was settled beyond Jordan:\n\nthey gave Golan in Bashan, with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; see Joshua 20:8; this is the third city of refuge mentioned:\n\nand Beeshterah with her suburbs; called Ashtaroth, 1 Chronicles 6:71; which had been the royal city of Og, king of Bashan, where he had his palace, Deuteronomy 1:4. Here seems to have been formerly a temple dedicated to the goddess Astarte; for Beeshterah is a compound of \"Beth\" and \"Ashterah\", or Astarte; that is, the house or temple of Astarte, but now become a city of the Levites:\n\ntwo cities; two more having been before given out of the other half tribe. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":28,"content":["And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs,.... From whence the river Kishon probably had its name, or the city from that; it is the same with Kishion, Joshua 19:20; and called Kedesh, 1 Chronicles 6:72.\n\nDabareh with her suburbs; the same with Daberath on the border of Zebulun; see Gill on Joshua 19:12. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":29,"content":["Jarmuth with her suburbs,.... Called Ramoth, 1 Chronicles 6:73; very probably the same with Remeth, Joshua 19:21,\n\nEngannim with her suburbs; called Anem, 1 Chronicles 6:73,\n\nfour cities; so many are mentioned by name. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":30,"content":["And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs,.... The same with Misheal, Joshua 19:26; called Mashal, 1 Chronicles 6:74,\n\nAbdon with her suburbs; not mentioned among the cities of Asher, unless the same with Hebron, Joshua 19:28. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":31,"content":["Helkath with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Joshua 19:25; the same with Hukok in 1 Chronicles 6:75,\n\nand Rehob with her suburbs, four cities; See Gill on Joshua 19:28. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":32,"content":["And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs,.... Of which see Joshua 20:7,\n\nto be a city of refuge for the slayer; this is the fourth city of refuge mentioned:\n\nand Hammothdor with her suburbs; the same with Hammon, 1 Chronicles 6:76; and with Hammath, Joshua 19:35; and is thought by some to be Tiberias, so called from the hot baths in or near it:\n\nand Kartan with her suburbs; called Kirjathaim, 1 Chronicles 6:76; but cannot be the Kirjathaim in Numbers 32:37; for that belonged to the tribe of Reuben, and was on the other side Jordan:\n\nthree cities; this being a lesser tribe than some others gave fewer cities, according to the rule in Numbers 35:8. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":33,"content":["All the cities of the Gershonites, according to their families,.... Which were divided among them, according to the number of their families:\n\nwere thirteen cities with their suburbs; two out of the half tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan, four out of Issachar, four out of Asher, and three out of Naphtali. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":34,"content":["And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites,.... The descendants of the youngest son of Levi, who were all that remained of the Levites unprovided of cities:\n\nout of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs; which lay near Carmel, and was a royal city; See Gill on Joshua 12:22,\n\nand Kartah with her suburbs; perhaps the same with Kattath, Joshua 19:15. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":35,"content":["Dimnah with her suburbs,.... Nowhere mentioned, unless the same with Rimmon, 1 Chronicles 6:77,\n\nNahalal with her suburbs; see Joshua 19:15,\n\nfour cities; only two are mentioned, 1 Chronicles 6:77; and they by different names; the one is Rimmon, before observed, and the other Tabor; perhaps the same with Chislothtabor, Joshua 19:12. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":36,"content":["And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs,.... Which was a city of refuge, and the fifth of them in this account, though not observed as such here, but is in the Greek version; see Joshua 20:8,\n\nand Jahazah with her suburbs; called Jahaz; see Gill on Numbers 21:23. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":37,"content":["Kedemoth with her suburbs,.... Near to which was a wilderness of that name; see Deuteronomy 2:26,\n\nand Mephaath with her suburbs; of which See Gill on Joshua 13:18; where the two preceding cities are mentioned along with it:\n\nfour cities, Joshua 21:35, are not in some ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, as is noted by the Masorites; but are in some others, as Kimchi owns, and stand in the Targum, in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and in a manuscript referred to by Hottinger (e); and the same words are to be, found in 1 Chronicles 6:78, and are absolutely necessary to be retained, since without them there would be but eight cities for the Merarites, whereas they are expressly said to be twelve, Joshua 21:40.\n\n(e) Thesaur. Philolog. l. 1. c. 2. p. 181, &c. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":38,"content":["And out of the tribe of Gad,.... Which also, as that of Reuben, lay on the other side Jordan:\n\nRamoth in Gilead with her suburbs; of which see Joshua 20:8,\n\nto be a city of refuge for the slayer; and is the sixth and last city of refuge in this account:\n\nand Mahanaim with her suburbs; here it was the angels met Jacob, which gave rise to the name of the place, Genesis 32:1; afterwards a city was built here, and was on the borders of the tribe of Gad, and belonged to it, Joshua 13:26; mention is made of it in other places, 2 Samuel 2:8 1 Kings 2:8. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":39,"content":["Heshbon with her suburbs,.... Which was formerly the royal city of Sihon king of the Amorites, and was first given to and rebuilt by the Reubenites, but was upon the border of the tribe of Gad; and appears from hence to have been one of their cities, Numbers 21:26,\n\nJazer with her suburbs; sometimes called Jaazer, another city in the same country, and near Heshbon; see Numbers 21:32,\n\nfour cities in all: which were Ramothgilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":40,"content":["So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families,.... Which were distributed by lot to them, according to the number of their families, and were sufficient for them:\n\nwhich were remaining of the families of the Levites; the last division of them, besides those of the Kohathites, Levites, and the Gershonites:\n\nwere by their lot twelve cities; four out of the tribe of Zebulun, four out of the tribe of Reuben, and four out of the tribe of Gad, whose names are before given, \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":41,"content":["All the cities of the Levites, within the possession of the children of Israel,.... As comprised in one sum total:\n\nwere forty and eight cities with their suburbs; which is just the number that Moses from the mouth of God ordered to be given unto them, before they entered into the land, and before they were in possession of one city in it, Numbers 35:7; which, as it is a proof of the omniscience, prescience, and predetermination of God; so of the sure and true prediction of Moses, who could not be otherwise certain than from the Lord of the Israelites being able to give so many cities to them, out of each of their tribes: and it is to be observed, that this tribe of Levi, though it had no share in the division of the land, yet had more cities by lot given to it than any other, excepting the tribe of Judah; though indeed, in the account of some of the tribes, all the cities in them are not mentioned; and besides, they had only the cities they had with their suburbs round about them, but not the lands belonging to them, nor the villages; however this shows that a large and liberal maintenance of the ministers of the Lord, that serve in his sanctuary should be allowed and made for them, as in the legal, so under the Gospel dispensation. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":42,"content":["These cities were everyone with their suburbs round about them,.... Which reached to the space of two thousand cubits on every side; and such a space was assigned to everyone of the above cities for their cattle, to keep them in and lay up provision for them:\n\nthus were all their cities; six of them cities of refuge, and forty two for the priests and Levites to dwell in, and for the commodious use of their herds and flocks. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":43,"content":["And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers,.... It was all given them by lot, whether subdued or not subdued, and the far greater part was actually put into their hands, and they had as much as they could for the present occupy and cultivate; and such as were in the hands of the Canaanites, were subject to pay tribute to them; and it was owing to their own slothfulness and sluggishness that they did not possess more hereafter; though it was the will of God that their enemies should be driven out by little and little, until the Israelites were so increased as to occupy the whole, lest any part of the land should lie waste and become barren, and lest the wild beasts of the field should multiply upon them:\n\nand they possessed it, and dwelt therein; each according to their lot in the several places assigned them, as many cities as they could at present people, and as much land as they could now manage. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":44,"content":["And the Lord gave them rest round about,.... Not only from their travels, with which they had been fatigued forty years in the wilderness, but from wars with the Canaanites they had been engaged in for some years past:\n\naccording to all that he sware unto their fathers; not only to give them the land, but peace, rest, and safety in it:\n\nand there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; for whenever any rose up to oppose them, they were immediately cut off: this is to be understood while Joshua was living; for afterwards, sinning against God, they were again and again delivered up into the hands of their enemies:\n\nthe Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands; that is, that made war with them. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":45,"content":["There failed not ought of any good thing,.... Not only every good thing in general, but every part and particular of that good thing; that, with all that was included in it, or were appendages to it, or circumstances of it:\n\nwhich the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel; as of their deliverance out of Egypt, and passage through the Red sea and wilderness, with all conveniences for them therein; so of their passage through Jordan, success of their arms, the conquest of their enemies, possession of their land, a land flowing with milk and honey:\n\nall came to pass; exactly, precisely, and punctually, even everything relative to their temporal and spiritual good: so all that God promises to his spiritual Israel, with respect to their present comfort or everlasting happiness, all is exactly fulfilled, all his promises in Christ are yea and amen. \n"]}]},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/john-gill/JOS/21.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"JOS","chapter":21},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/JOS/22.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"JOS","chapter":22},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/john-gill/JOS/20.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"john-gill","book":"JOS","chapter":20},"numberOfVerses":45}