The cities with their pasture lands allotted to the Levites were claimed by them at Shiloh. They were given to the Levites by the children of Israel according to God’s command to Moses (21:1-3). In total, there were forty-eight cities, including six cities of refuge (v. 41).
To the families of the Kohathites and the children of Aaron the priest were given thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin (vv. 4, 8-19).
To the rest of the children of Kohath were given ten cities from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (vv. 5, 20-26).
To the children of Gershon were given thirteen cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (vv. 6, 27-33).
To the children of Merari were given twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun (vv. 7, 34-40).
The allotment of the good land recorded in these chapters was the fulfillment of Jehovah’s promise to the fathers of Israel that He would give them the good land for their possession and dwelling place (vv. 43-45). Regarding this, verse 45 says, “Not a word failed of all the good things that Jehovah had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass.”
Chapter twenty-two gives us an account of the return of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to their land east of the Jordan.
Joshua sent them with blessing (vv. 1-9). He called them and said to them that they had kept all that Moses had commanded them and had listened to Joshua’s voice in all that he had commanded them, telling them that they had kept the charge of the commandment of Jehovah their God.
When the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh came into that region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, they built at the river Jordan an altar great in appearance (v. 10).
When the children of Israel heard about the altar that had been built out in front of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, they wanted to go up in battle against the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (vv. 11-12). The children of Israel sent Phinehas the priest with ten leaders of the ten tribes of Israel to deal with them (vv. 13-20).
The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh explained to Phinehas and the ten leaders of Israel that they built the altar not for offerings to God but for a witness (vv. 21-29). They claimed that they did not build the altar in rebellion or in trespass against Jehovah (v. 22). They concluded by saying, “Far be it from us that we would rebel against Jehovah and turn away today from following after Jehovah by building an altar for burnt offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God, which is before His tabernacle!” (v. 29).
Phinehas the priest and the ten leaders of Israel were satisfied with their explanation and returned to their land (vv. 30-33).
The children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar, saying that it was a witness that Jehovah is God (v. 34).