Yehoshua Chapter 21: Symbiosis

Now it is time for the Leviim to get their promised lands. The chapter begins with the Leviim approaching Joshua and Elazar the Kohen Gadol, but Joshua and Elazar are not the ones who give out the cities at all. In fact, it seems like there is a contradiction. “So the Israelites, in accordance with the LORD’s command, assigned to the Levites, out of their own portions, the following towns with their pastures” (וַיִּתְּנוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לַלְוִיִּם מִנַּחֲלָתָם אֶל־פִּי ה׳ אֶת־הֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְאֶת־מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶן) (verse 3). Verse 3 seems to indicate that the individual tribes gave over the cities. But the next verse says there was a lottery: “The [first] lot among the Levites fell to the Kohathite clans” (וַיֵּצֵא הַגּוֹרָל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹת הַקְּהָתִי) (verse 4). Which is it- Yehoshua and Elazar, the tribes, or a lottery? Most likely this was a three step process. The first step was back in Deuteronomy when Moshe promised that the Leviim and kohanim would be entitled to cities scattered throughout the land. The purpose of this scattering was to make sure that representatives of the temple/Mishkan were spread throughout the land and not just concentrated in one area. It also allowed the priestly class to focus on their temple service and teaching torah without having to defend of handle whole territories. This was the initial ask to Yehoshua and Elazar- to begin the process to fulfill the promise of Moshe. The Leviim being scattered among the tribes was also a way to make sure that the priestly class was always reliant on the various tribes around them. At the same time, each tribe- through the laws of Teruma and Maaser, were responsible for supporting the priestly class. That brings up step two. Each tribe was given the task of donating a certain number of cities to the Leviim. This way, the tribes had a direct interest in this process, and these were not simply cities mandated by God. Then, once these cities were “donated” to the lottery, Joshua initiated the lottery to determine which families would live in which city. The lottery also left out the possibility of favoritism or bribing that could happen if each tribe could both donate the priestly city and choose its inhabitants.