Some of the cities and land given
to the priests in the Promised Land:
Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, and Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs, and Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes. And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities. All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.-Joshua 21:13-19***Aaron the priest and his siblings Miriam the prophetess and Moses the prophet were Israelites from the tribe of Levi, descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 1st wife Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. When Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83, they led the Israelites away from Egyptian slavery, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, according to the commands of the Lord God. In the desert wilderness of Sinai, in the region of Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim the Ten Commandments to them, and the Lord God began giving Moses judgments, statutes and laws for the Israelites. The Lord God described to Moses the punishment that must take place after an intentional killing or an unintentional killing occurred. When Moses was upon Mount Sinai with the Lord God for 40 days and nights, the Lord God told Moses that only Aaron, and Aaron's sons and the sons born to their descendants were to serve the Lord God as priests. While the Israelites were still camped in the region of Mount Sinai, the Lord God told Moses that the other men in the tribe of Levi, the Levites, were to assist the priests and all the Israelites at the tabernacle, and the Lord God told Moses that he had taken the Levites for himself. When the Israelites were in the desert wilderness of Paran, the Lord God told Aaron that Aaron was not to have any inheritance in Canaan, the Promised Land. The Lord God told Aaron that Aaron was not to have any portion among the Israelites, and the Lord God told Aaron that the Lord God is Aaron's portion and inheritance. During the 40-year journey to the Promised Land, Miriam died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron died. Sometime thereafter, the Lord God told Moses to command the Israelites to give the Levites cities and pastures from each tribe's portion of the Promised Land, 48 cities altogether. Six of the cities were to be cities of refuge for anyone involved in an unintentional killing. When Moses went upon Mount Nebo, the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses died and was divinely buried. Joshua, Moses' successor, was from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Jacob and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim. In Egypt, Jacob had proclaimed Ephraim and Ephraim's older brother Manasseh to be his own sons, and the tribe of Joseph became the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. After conquering Jericho, Ai, and some more of the idol worshiping inhabitants in Canaan, Joshua, and the appointed tribal leaders, and Aaron's son and successor Eleazar the priest allotted each tribe their portion of the Promised Land, according to the commands that the Lord God gave Moses, and the commands that the Lord God gave Joshua. The Israelites in the tribe of Gad, the Gadites, descended from Jacob and Zilpah, Leah's maidservant. Before Moses died, he gave the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Jacob and Leah's firstborn son Reuben, and 1/2 the tribe of Manasseh land and cities on the same side of the Jordan River that the Israelites had wandered through during the journey, according to their request, and Moses appointed 3 of the cities to be cities of refuge. The Levites eventually received 7 additional cities from the Reubenites, Gadites, and 1/2 the tribe of Manasseh, giving the Levites a total of 10 cities. On the side of the Jordan River, Joshua continued leading the Israelites, and 38 cities were given to the priests and Levites, with 3 of the cities being cities of refuge. The tribe of Jacob and Leah's 2nd born son Simeon and the tribe of Jacob and Leah's 4th born son Judah gave a combined total of 9 cities: Hebron, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh. The tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin gave 4 cities: Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, Almon. Over 300 years after 110-year-old Joshua died and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, became the 1st king to rule over the Israelites in the Promised Land. David, from the tribe of Judah, became the 2nd king to reign over all of the Israelites. Over 900 years after Solomon, the 2nd child born to David and Bathsheba, became the 3rd king to reign over all of the Israelites, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem, David's hometown, into the tribe of Judah, in the portion of the Promised Land previously allotted to the tribe of Judah, to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. Before Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, and after Jesus was betrayed, arrested, crucified, buried in a tomb, resurrected, seen by over 500 people, and retuned to heaven less than 33 1/2 years after he was born, the Roman Empire was ruling the land whereupon the kingdoms of the Israelites previously stood.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy 31:1-34:12, Joshua, Judges 1:1-2:23, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra 1:1-11, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
Reference Information:
suburbs = migraseha/migrash/migrashah/garash = common land, open country, pastureland, open country or space
Reference Scriptures:
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, and Hillen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs, And Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs: And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.-1 Chronicles 6:57-60...And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.-1 Chronicles 6:65
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