Joshua 21:7

The children of Merari by their families,.... The descendants of Merari, the third son of Levi: [had] out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad; which were both on the other side

And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities. No JFB commentary on these verses.

(4-8) The order of the distribution—viz., (1) to priests, (2) to Kohathites, (3) to Gershonites, (4) to Merarites—is in strict agreement with the order of priority observed in the exodus. In the camp of Israel there were two squares surrounding the tabernacle: an inner square of priests and Levites, an outer square of the tribes of Israel, three on each side. The inner square was arranged thus:—The priests, with Moses and Aaron, on the east, by the entrance of the tabernacle; the Kohathites on the south, the Gershonites on the west, and the Merarites on the north. On the march the priests were the chief officers of this portion of the army. The Kohathites carried the sacred vessels, the Gershonites the curtains and various fabrics of the tent and tabernacle, and the Merarites the bars and boards. When they received their inheritances in Palestine, the same relative order was preserved. OF THE PRIESTS (Joshua 21:9-19). (9) Out of the tribe of . . . Judah . . . and Simeon; and (17) out of the tribe of Benjamin.—It is worthy of notice that, with the exception of a single city in the tribe of Simeon (viz., Ain, Joshua 21:16), all the priestly cities are so arranged as to fall ultimately within the kingdom of Judah, of which the capital was Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put His name there. The Levites also left their cities and their suburbs in the reign of Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 11:14), and came over to Judah. But the fact that all the priests, with the trifling exception noted above, were already settled in that kingdom, must have been a great attraction. When these facts are observed, it is hardly possible not to be struck with the undesigned agreement between the Book of Joshua and the later history, as well as with the Divine foresight which arranged the distribution of the people thus. (13) Hebron (El Khalil).(14) Jattir (Attir).Eshtemoa (Es Semϋ’a).(15) Debir.—Probably identical with the town of this name in Joshua 15:49 (Edh. Dhβherξyeh), south-west of Hebron. (16) Juttah (Yuttah). Beth-shemesh (Ain Shemes).(17) Gibeon (El Jib). Geba (Jeb’a).(18) Anathoth (‘Anβta).Almon (’Almit).(20) The children of Kohath . . . had the cities . . . out of the tribe of Ephraim.—In this instance the most honoured among the families of the Levites (after the house of Aaron) is grouped with the tribe next in honour after Judah. The tribes of Dan and Manasseh (Joshua 21:23-25) also were highly honoured, as they received Kohathites to settle among them. (21) Shechem . . . in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge.—The metropolis of Israel for the time being is made a city of refuge; and there is an obvious convenience in this. In the same way Solomon made Jerusalem a city of refuge for Shimei, binding him not to leave the city under penalty of death (1 Kings 2:36-46). Gezer (Tell Jezer).(22) Kibzaim (Tell el-Kabϋs).Beth-horon (Beit-’Ur).(23, 24) For these Danite cities, see Joshua 19:40-46.

7. The children of Merari] The descendants of the third son of Levi, had been stationed during the encampment to the north of the Tabernacle, being placed together with the Gershonites “under the hand” of Ithamar “the son of Aaron.” They had been entrusted with the heavier portions of the Tabernacle furniture, such as the boards, pillars, and bars, and therefore had been permitted together with the Gershonites to use the oxen and waggons contributed by the congregation, while the Kohathites were only supposed to remove the sacred vessels on their shoulders (Numbers 7:1-9). had out of the tribe of Reuben] They received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

7. Merari — The third division of the Levites. The three families take their names from the sons of Levi. See the genealogy at Exodus 6:16-19, also Numbers 3:17-39, and 1 Chronicles 6.