Eleven and Gibbethon Joshua 21:23

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs, 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. 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, and Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities”, and in chapter twenty-one and verse twenty-three of Joshua we learn about, “Eltekeh and Gibbethon” where we read, 

And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,

The verse reads, “And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and out of the tribe of Dan” which means “and from the clan or people group of Dan whose name means ‘a judge’ and was the fifth son of Jacob, the first of Bilbah who was Rachel’s handmaid, and the name of the tribe that descended from Dan who was the son of Jacob”, “Eltekeh” whose name means “let God spare you out” and was “a Levitical city in the tribe of Dan between Ekron and Timna” “with her suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by her, Eltekeh’s, open and common land”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Eltekeh” and it’s common land were given to the “Levites” by the “tribe of Dan”.

The verse continues, “… Gibbethon with her suburbs,” Joshua or the writer added the word, “Gibbethon” whose name means “mound” and was “a Philistine town in Dan allocated to the Kohathite Levites”, “with her suburbs” or “alongside and accompanied by her, Gibbethon’s, open and common land”. Joshua or the writer added “Gibbethon” and it’s common land to the locations in “Dan” that were given to the “Levites”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover two locations, “Eltekeh and Gibberthon” and their common lands that were provided to “Levites” through the “tribe of Dan”. “Dan” was located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and “Eltekeh and Gibberthon” were to be used by the people of Israel who were located in that area as “cities of refuge” if they accidentally killed another person. God provided for the people of Israel whether they were on the eastern or western side of the Jordan, and He provides for us wherever we are in the world. (See Matthew 5:45) When He sent His Son Jesus to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the grave after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to take refuge in Him all the days of our lives. (See Psalm 23; John 3:16; 16:13; Revelation 4:11)

Next time we learn about, “Aijalon and Gathrimmon”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".