1 Then the heads of fathers’ houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.
2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “Yahweh commanded through Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their pasture lands for our livestock.”
3 The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Yahweh, these cities with their pasture lands.
4 The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot out of the tribe of Judah, out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin.
5 The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh.
6 The children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun.
8 The children of Israel gave these cities with their pasture lands by lot to the Levites, as Yahweh commanded by Moses.
Note · Josué 21.1–8
Le rappel d’une promesse appelle une contribution des autres
Les représentants de Lévi ne se contentent pas d’un titre honorifique. Ils demandent les villes et les espaces nécessaires aux troupeaux. Le don prélevé sur les parts tribales traduit matériellement un service commun. Le texte peut ainsi interroger une communauté qui louerait un ministère tout en refusant de considérer les conditions de vie de ceux qui l’exercent.
9 They gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are mentioned by name :
10 and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi ; for theirs was the first lot.
11 They gave them Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (also called Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its pasture lands around it.
12 But they gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
13 To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Libnah with its pasture lands,
14 Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands,
15 Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands,
16 Ain with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth Shemesh with its pasture lands : nine cities out of those two tribes.
17 Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands,
18 Anathoth with its pasture lands, and Almon with its pasture lands : four cities.
19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
Note · Josué 21.9–19
Hébron associe plusieurs droits qu’il faut distinguer
Les fils d’Aaron reçoivent des villes dans plusieurs tribus. À Hébron, le texte précise que le territoire environnant et les villages restent à Caleb, tandis que la ville et ses abords sont attribués au service lévitique. Les mentions antérieures de Caleb ne doivent donc pas être lues comme si elles excluaient toute autre fonction du lieu.
20 The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.
21 They gave them Shechem with its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Gezer with its pasture lands,
22 Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth Horon with its pasture lands : four cities.
23 Out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands,
24 Aijalon with its pasture lands, Gath Rimmon with its pasture lands : four cities.
25 Out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasture lands, and Gath Rimmon with its pasture lands : two cities.
26 All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their pasture lands.
27 They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Be Eshterah with its pasture lands : two cities.
28 Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasture lands, Daberath with its pasture lands,
29 Jarmuth with its pasture lands, En Gannim with its pasture lands : four cities.
30 Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands,
31 Helkath with its pasture lands, and Rehob with its pasture lands : four cities.
32 Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Hammothdor with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands : three cities.
33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their pasture lands.
Note · Josué 21.20–33
Les familles de Lévi sont présentes au milieu des autres
Les autres Kehathites et les descendants de Guershôn reçoivent des villes réparties entre plusieurs héritages. Des villes de refuge figurent dans ces attributions, associant service et protection judiciaire. La dispersion lévitique relie des territoires différents sans créer une tribu propriétaire d’un ensemble comparable à celui de Juda ou de Joseph.
34 To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands,
35 Dimnah with its pasture lands, and Nahalal with its pasture lands : four cities.
36 Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands,
37 Kedemoth with its pasture lands, and Mephaath with its pasture lands : four cities.
38 Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
39 Heshbon with its pasture lands, Jazer with its pasture lands : four cities in all.
40 All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites. Their lot was twelve cities.
41 All the cities of the Levites among the possessions of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture lands.
42 Each of these cities included their pasture lands around them. It was this way with all these cities.
Note · Josué 21.34–42
Le nombre total rassemble des lieux concrets d’habitation
Les descendants de Merari complètent la répartition, dont le total annoncé est de quarante-huit villes. Chacune est accompagnée de ses abords. Le souci de l’espace matériel revient ainsi jusqu’au bilan : avoir Dieu pour héritage, selon le langage des chapitres précédents, ne retire pas aux personnes les besoins de la vie ordinaire.
43 So Yahweh gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers. They possessed it, and lived in it.
44 Yahweh gave them rest all around, according to all that he swore to their fathers. Not a man of all their enemies stood before them. Yahweh delivered all their enemies into their hand.
45 Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Note · Josué 21.43–45
La fidélité reconnue ne dispense pas de lire les limites déjà dites
Le sommaire affirme le don du pays et le repos. Le même livre a pourtant nommé des habitants non chassés et des tâches inachevées. Le bilan est une parole de reconnaissance globale, qui ne doit pas être forcée en inventaire exhaustif d’un contrôle territorial parfait ; la suite demandera encore fidélité et discernement.