Bible Strands
Joshua 21:37
Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua 21:37 records the narrator's conclusion of the Levitical city allotment from the tribe of Reuben, listing specific towns and their required agricultural zones. This moment concludes the Reuben portion of the land distribution detailed in the surrounding verses.
The words — קְדֵמוֹת (Kedemoth) and מֵיפָעַת (Mephaath) name two of the assigned locations, while מִגְרָשֶׁהָ (migra shehah) denotes the open pasturelands attached to each. The text explicitly pairs these town names with their designated grazing territory.
The thread — This verse continues the systematic inventory of Levitical settlements scattered across Israelite tribal territories. The pattern of naming specific towns alongside their pasturelands recurs in the Gadite allotment immediately following in Joshua 21:38.
Why it lands — The passage demands precise attention to the physical boundaries and economic provisions of the priestly inheritance. It requires the reader to recognize that spiritual leadership was structurally integrated into the agricultural landscape rather than isolated from it.
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
Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.