Saturday - Joshua 21 - A Holy Breakdown

This chapter lists the breakdown of the 48 cities that were assigned to the tribe of Levi (including the 6 cities that were already theirs due to the status of those municipalities as cities of refugee). All 12 of the secular tribes gave up cities to be inhabited by the people of the sacred tribe of Levi. Now, the tribe of Levi was subdivided into 4 groups. You may recall that these groups had been camping in 4 sections around the Tabernacle for several decades. Although they were all Levites, doubtlessly they had developed very distinct identities. The 4 groups were 1) the descendants of Aaron, 2) the descendants of Kohath, 3) the descendants of Gershon and 4) the descendants of Merari. (Aaron was also a Kohathite). Those 4 groups were given land from tribal lands that lay together... evidently so that each family group could maintain their own unique distinctions.