Bible Strands
Joshua 21:10
to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua addresses the tribal leaders and Levitical clans, specifying the allocation of designated cities to the descendants of Aaron within the Kohathite division. This designation occurs during the final distribution of conquered territory among Israel's tribes and priestly families.
The words — The conjunction כִּי (ki) translates literally as "for" or "because," introducing the causal clause that explains the allocation. The verb וַיְהִי (va-yehi) functions here to indicate that the first lot "fell" or was formally assigned to this specific group.
The thread — This allocation pattern is established earlier in Joshua 21:4, where the Kohathite clans and Aaron's descendants receive their initial territorial portion. The genealogical lineage of Aaron and Kohath is traced back to Exodus 6:18 and 6:20, grounding the priestly inheritance in ancestral descent.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to recognize that priestly inheritance was determined by divinely directed lot rather than human negotiation. It establishes a concrete precedent for how sacred office and territorial provision were formally linked in Israel's settlement.
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
Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.
Cross-references
- Joshua 21:4 The first lot came out for the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
- Exodus 6:18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.
- Exodus 6:20 And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
- Numbers 3:2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
- Numbers 3:19 The sons of Kohath by their clans were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
- Numbers 3:27 From Kohath came the clans of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites; these were the clans of the Kohathites.
- Numbers 4:2 “Take a census of the Kohathites among the Levites by their clans and families,