Cities for the Levites

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After the Israelites had settled in the promised land, the heads of the Levites came before the priest Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the tribes, reminding them that Yahweh had commanded through Moses to give the cities and pasturelands to the Levites for habitation. Accordingly, the tribes allocated cities from their own inheritance to the Levites by lot. The descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin; the remaining Kohathites received ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half‑tribe of Manasseh; the Gershonites received thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half‑tribe of Manasseh in Bashan; the Merarites received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. In total, the Levites received forty‑eight cities with their surrounding pasturelands. In this way Yahweh gave the whole land He had sworn to the ancestors of Israel, and they took possession of it and lived in it. Yahweh, in accordance with all that He had promised to their ancestors, gave them peace on every side, and every promised blessing was fulfilled, none of them failing.