to be (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
Kedesh
קֶ֤דֶשׁKe.desh
H6943
Kedesh · proper noun, a place name
Galilee
בַּגָּלִיל֙ba.ga.Lil
H1551
Galil (as a special circuit) in the North of Palestine · preposition with the article + proper noun, a place name
mount
בְּהַ֣רbe.Har
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Naphtali
נַפְתָּלִ֔יnaf.ta.Li
H5321
Naphtali · proper noun, a man's name
Shechem
שְׁכֶ֖םshe.Khem
H7927
Shekem · proper noun, a place name
mount
בְּהַ֣רbe.Har
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Ephraim
אֶפְרָ֑יִם'ef.Ra.yim
H669
Ephrajim · proper noun, a man's name
Kirjath-arba
קִרְיַ֥תkir.Yat
H7153
Kirjath-Arba or Kirjath-ha-Arba · proper noun, a place name
Hebron
חֶבְר֖וֹןchev.Ron
H2275
Chebron · proper noun, a place name
mountain
בְּהַ֥רbe.Har
H2022
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Judah
יְהוּדָֽהye.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Joshua 21:11 And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round a…
Joshua 21:32 And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammoth-dor with her suburb…
1 Chronicles 6:76 And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.
Luke 1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
Joshua 14:15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 21:13 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 subur…
Joshua 21:21 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,
Genesis 33:18-19 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the c…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 20:7–end
We have here the nomination of the cities of refuge in the land of Canaan, which was made by the advice and authority of Joshua and the princes (Jos 19:7); and upon occasion of the mention of this is repeated the nomination of the other three in the lot of the other two tribes and a half, which was made by Moses (Deu 4:43), but (as bishop Patrick thinks) they had not the privilege till now. 1. They are said to sanctify these cities, that is the original word for appointed, Jos 19:7. Not that any ceremony was used to signify the consecration of them, only they did by a public act of court solemnly declare them cities of refuge, and as such sacred to the honour of God, as the protector of expo…
THE ISRAELITES APPOINT BY NAME THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:7-9)
they appointed . . . cities--There were six; three on the west, and three on the east, of Jordan. In the first instance, they were a provision of the criminal law of the Hebrews, necessary in the circumstances of that people (see on Num 35:11; Deu 19:2). At the same time they were designed also typically to point out the sinner's way to Christ (Heb 6:18).
Next: Joshua Chapter 21
Adam Clarke on Joshua 20:7
They appointed Kedesh in Galilee - The cities of refuge were distributed through the land at proper distances from each other that they might be convenient to every part of the land; and it is said they were situated on eminences, that they might be easily seen at a distance, the roads leading to them being broad, even, and always kept in good repair. In the concluding note on Num 35:33 it has been stated that these cities were a type of our blessed Lord, and that the apostle refers to them as such, Heb 6:17, Heb 6:18. Hence their names have been considered as descriptive of some character or office of Christ. I shall give each and its signification, and leave the application to others.
1. ק…
Cities Of Refuge — six Levitical cities specially chosen for refuge to the involuntary homicide until released from banishment by the death of the high priest. (Numbers 35:6,13,15; Joshua 20:2,7,9) There were three on…
Ephraim, Mount — The central mountainous district of Palestine occupied by the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 17:15; 19:50; 20:7), extending from Bethel to the plain of Jezreel. In Joshua’s time (Josh. 17:18) these hills…
Galilee — Circuit. Solomon rewarded Hiram for certain services rendered him by the gift of an upland plain among the mountains of Naphtali. Hiram was dissatisfied with the gift, and called it “the land of…
Hebron — A community; alliance. (1.) A city in the south end of the valley of Eshcol, about midway between Jerusalem and Beersheba, from which it is distant about 20 miles in a straight line. It was built…
Kedesh — Sanctuary. (1.) A place in the extreme south of Judah (Josh. 15:23). Probably the same as Kadesh-barnea (q.v.). (2.) A city of Issachar (1 Chr. 6:72). Possibly Tell Abu Kadeis, near Lejjun. (3.) A…
Kirjatharba — (the city of Arba), an early name of the city which after the conquest is generally known as Hebron. (Joshua 14:15; Judges 1:10) The identity of Kirjath-arba with Hebron is constantly asserted.…
Naphtali, Mount — The mountainous district of Naphtali (Josh. 20:7).
Shechem — Shoulder. (1.) The son of Hamor the Hivite (Gen. 33:19; 34). (2.) A descendant of Manasseh (Num. 26:31; Josh. 17:2). (3.) A city in Samaria (Gen. 33:18), called also Sichem (12:6), Sychem (Acts…
Avenger Of Blood · SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Cities Of Refuge · Names &c of — Names &c of
Galilee · .A city of refuge in
on Joshua 20:7
And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in Mount Naphtali,.... Of which see Joshua 19:37; the appointment of this and the two cities following was made by the children of Israel at this time:
and Shechem in Mount Ephraim; called Sichem, Genesis 12:6; and Shechem from a prince of that name that possessed it, Genesis 34:2; it fell to the lot of the tribe of Ephraim; its name in the New Testament is Sychar, John 4:5; and it is now called Neapolis, or Naplouse:
and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah; it stood in the hill country of Judea, Luke 1:39; of which see Joshua 14:15. There seems to be a difficulty here, since this city was before given to Caleb, Joshua 14:13; and yet…
And they appointed Kedesh, etc The Hebrew word Kedesh here used, signifies also to fit and consecrate. Accordingly, I interpret, that cities were selected according as common use required. [174] Hence it is inferred that matters were well arranged so as to make private yield to public interest. Moreover, we shall see in the next chapter, that Ciriath-Arbah, which was afterwards called Hebron, was transferred to the Levites, though it had formerly been the property of Caleb. Hence appeared the rare, nay, the incomparable moderation of this aged saint, who readily gave up to others both the city and suburbs, which he had justly claimed as his right, the moment the lot showed that this was plea…
List of the cites: Levitical cities were chosen, for the reasons explained in the Commentary on the Pentateuch.
Jos 20:7
In the land on this side (viz., Canaan) they sanctified the following cities. In the north, Kedesh (see at Jos 12:22), in Galil, on the mountains of Naphtali. Galil (a circle) was a district in the northern part of the subsequent province of Galilee; it is called הגּוים גּליל, circle of the heathen, in Isa 9:1, because an unusually large number of heathen or Gentiles were living there. In the centre of the land, Shechem, upon the mountains of Ephraim (see at Jos 17:7). And in the south, Kirjath-arba, i.e., Hebron, upon the mountains of Judah (see at Jos 10:3).
Jos 20:8-9
T…
Joshua designated six cities of refuge: three on the east side of the Jordan, and three on the west. From anywhere in the land, one of these six well-known Levitical cities was no more than two days’ travel away.
Rashi on Joshua 20:6
Until he stands, etc. for judgement. If he is acquited from exile, he is discharged. If he is sentanced to exile, he is returned to the city of his refuge, and he must reside there until the death of the Kohein-godol.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
