I include all these verses in one point of view for the sake of shortness. If the Reader be desirous to look at them more particularly, he will discover how admirably they were all arranged and disposed of, so as to scatter the Levites over the whole land. And herein he will discover how great a correspondence this dispersion of God's servants in the old church, bore to the dispersion of God's servants in the new, when Jesus sent his disciples forth to preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15. If the Reader be curious to remark the division of the Levites further, he may observe, that there were four divisions of the Levites, and that they were placed according to the divine appointment. The first of the house of Aaron, which were the priests; the second the Kohathites, which were Levites; the third was the sons of Gershon, the eldest son of Levi; and the fourth the Merarites his youngest. But what I conceive to be much more important for the Reader ' s attention, in the provision made for all the house of Aaron, was the typical representation it afforded of the gospel church in the interest it holds, in the person of our great and Almighty High Priest, to whom Aaron ministered. Doth not the peculiar reservation, made for this tribe of Levi, of whom it is expressly again and again said, Levi hath no part with his brethren, for the Lord is his portion, doth it not in effect say, that Jesus is the alone portion of his people, who are in him a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people? And is not the circumstance of their being scattered over all the tribes, a figure of the dispersion of Jesus's priests who are made kings and priests to God and the Father? And in the Lord himself dwelling among them as their portion, is there not a beautiful similitude of the everlasting presence of Jesus, amidst his spiritual Levites? Hail! thou Lord God of the true Hebrews: thou priest of the order of Melchisedeck! Grant me, Lord, a portion in thyself, in the true Canaan of thy gospel church here below, as a pledge of being forever in thy church of Canaan which is above. And do thou consecrate and set me a part by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, and the anointings of the Holy Ghost, as thy servant to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5.
Joshua 21:4-42
4 And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.
5 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.
6 And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.
7 The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
8 And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
9 And 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 here mentioneda by name,
10 Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.
11 And they gave them the cityb of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.
12 But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
13 Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,
14 And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,
15 And Holonc with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,
16 And Aind with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.
17 And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Gebae with her suburbs,
18 Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almonf with her suburbs; four cities.
19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
20 And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.
21 For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,
22 And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.
23 And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,
24 Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.
25 And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.
26 All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.
27 And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.
28 And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,
29 Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.
30 And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,
31 Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.
32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.
33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
34 And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,
35 Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.
36 And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,
37 Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.
38 And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,
39 Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.
40 So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.
41 All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.
42 These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.