2. At Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the heads of the Levite families said to them, “The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns where we may live and pastures for our animals.”
3. So the Israelites obeyed this command of the Lord and gave the Levite people these towns and pastures for their own land:
4. The Kohath family groups were part of the tribe of Levi. Some of the Levites in the Kohath family groups were from the family of Aaron the priest. To these Levites were given thirteen towns in the areas of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
5. The other family groups of Kohath were given ten towns in the areas of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.
6. The people from the Gershon family groups were given thirteen towns in the land of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the East Manasseh in Bashan.
7. The family groups of Merari were given twelve towns in the areas of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8. So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the pastures around them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
9. These are the names of the towns that came from the lands of Judah and Simeon.
10. The first choice of towns was given to the Kohath family groups of the Levites.