Bible Strands
Joshua 21:1
Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The family heads of the Levites approach Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders at Shiloh in Canaan to request their designated cities and pasturelands.
The words — וַֽיִּגְּשׁוּ (vayiggəšû) denotes "they approached" or drew near, while רָאשֵׁי אֲבֹת הַלְוִיִּם (rāšê ʾăḇōṯ haləwîṯ) literally names the "leaders of the fathers of the Levites."
The thread — This petition mirrors earlier inheritance distributions where representatives approached Eleazar and Joshua at Shiloh (Joshua 14:1; Joshua 17:4; Joshua 19:51).
Why it lands — The text records a formal request for land allocation, requiring the reader to observe how leadership and divine command structure the settlement of the promised land.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;
Cross-references
- Joshua 14:1 Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel.
- Joshua 17:4 They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers, in keeping with the command of the LORD.
- Joshua 19:51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.
- Exodus 6:14 These were the heads of their fathers’ houses: The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans of Reuben.
- Exodus 6:25 Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families by their clans.
- Numbers 34:17 “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land as an inheritance for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.