Bible Strands
Joshua 21:42
Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua records the final details of the Levitical city allotment to the assembled Israelite tribes as the territorial distribution concludes. This verse functions as a repetitive confirmation that the preceding allocation rules applied uniformly across every assigned urban center.
The words — The Hebrew מִגְרָשֶׁׁיהָ (mig.rasheha) literally means "its pasture lands," paired with סְבִיבֹתֶיהָ (sevivoteha) for "around it." These terms specify the required agricultural buffer zone surrounding each city, grounded in the verb תִּֽהְיֶ֙ינָה֙ (tih.Yei.nah) meaning "they were."
The thread — This verse reinforces the territorial allocation theme running through Joshua 13–21, where each tribe and the Levites receive defined boundaries and resources. It directly follows Joshua 21:41’s count of forty-eight Levitical cities and precedes Joshua 21:43’s declaration of land possession.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that the covenant land grant included practical provisions for sustenance, not just urban boundaries. The reader must acknowledge that divine promise and human settlement were structured around measurable, shared resources.
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
These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.