Joshua 18:7
in Joshua 18The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the Levites have no portion among you; for the priesthood of Jehovah is their inheritance: and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave them.
KJV
But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.
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This verse in Joshua 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance - We have already seen that the priests and Levites had the sacrifices, oblations tithes, first-fruits, redemption-money of the firstborn, etc., for their inheritance; they had no landed possessions in Israel; the Lord was their portion.
This site's exposition
How long will you put off entering
on Joshua 18:3-7
Joshua rebukes his own people for slowness rather than rebellion, the one place in the book where he does. Barnes reads the delay as reluctance to leave the camp life they were born into for the fighting that settlement would still cost. Three men from each tribe survey the land before the lot, and verse 7 leaves the Levites no portion, since "their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD".
This site's exposition
their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD
Clarke lists what the priesthood brought the Levites in place of fields: sacrifices, offerings, tithes, firstfruits and the redemption money of the firstborn. Chapter 21 still gives them towns to live in. The eastern grant to Gad, Reuben and half of Manasseh is the one Moses made at Numbers 32:33.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) why they must divide it into seven parts only, because the Levites were to have no temporal estate (as we say), but their benefices only, which were entailed upon their families: The priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance, and a very honourable, comfortable, plentiful inheritance it was.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But the Levites have no part among you,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
For this purpose a commission was given to twenty-one persons--three chosen from each of the seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance, to make an accurate survey of the country.
The words behind it
25 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֠י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵֽין־ | ʾein- | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| חֵ֤לֶק | chelek | a portion | H2506 → | 67 times |
| לַלְוִיִּם֙ | lalviyim | [will belong] to the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֔ם | bekirbekhem | in midst your | H7130 → | 227 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כְהֻנַּ֥ת | khehunat | [is] [the] priesthood of | H3550 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נַחֲלָת֑וֹ | nachalato | inheritance its | H5159 → | 222 times |
| וְגָ֡ד | vegad | and Gad | H1410 → | 72 times |
| וּרְאוּבֵ֡ן | ureuven | and Reuben | H7205 → | 72 times |
| וַחֲצִי֩ | vachatzi | and [the] half of | H2677 → | 125 times |
| שֵׁ֨בֶט | shevet | [the] tribe of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| הַֽמְנַשֶּׁ֜ה | hamnasheh | <the> Manasseh | H4519 → | 146 times |
| לָקְח֣וּ | lakechu | they have received | H3947 → | 966 times |
| נַחֲלָתָ֗ם | nachalatam | inheritance their | H5159 → | 222 times |
| מֵעֵ֤בֶר | meever | from [the] other side | H5676 → | 90 times |
| לַיַּרְדֵּן֙ | laiyarden | of the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| מִזְרָ֔חָה | mizrachah | east -ward | H4217 → | 74 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָתַ֣ן | natan | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| עֶ֥בֶד | ʾeved | [the] servant of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כִּ֠יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵֽין־not
ʾein-H369 →789 times
חֵ֤לֶקa portion
chelekH2506 →67 times
לַלְוִיִּם֙[will belong] to the Levites
lalviyimH3881 →291 times
בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֔םin midst your
bekirbekhemH7130 →227 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כְהֻנַּ֥ת[is] [the] priesthood of
khehunatH3550 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
נַחֲלָת֑וֹinheritance its
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
וְגָ֡דand Gad
vegadH1410 →72 times
וּרְאוּבֵ֡ןand Reuben
ureuvenH7205 →72 times
וַחֲצִי֩and [the] half of
vachatziH2677 →125 times
שֵׁ֨בֶט[the] tribe of
shevetH7626 →190 times
הַֽמְנַשֶּׁ֜ה<the> Manasseh
hamnashehH4519 →146 times
לָקְח֣וּthey have received
lakechuH3947 →966 times
נַחֲלָתָ֗םinheritance their
nachalatamH5159 →222 times
מֵעֵ֤בֶרfrom [the] other side
meeverH5676 →90 times
לַיַּרְדֵּן֙of the Jordan
laiyardenH3383 →182 times
מִזְרָ֔חָהeast -ward
mizrachahH4217 →74 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָתַ֣ןhe gave
natanH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֔םto <the> them
lahem
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
עֶ֥בֶד[the] servant of
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 18:20Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:9
That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance among his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God promised him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 18:1–2
The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the offerings made by fire to the LORD; that is their inheritance.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 44:28
In regard to their inheritance, I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.
- Joshua 13:33
To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
- Lamentations 3:24
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”
- Deuteronomy 10:9
Through
Joshua 13:33To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
it leads to
- Joshua 13:14
To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The offerings made by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
- Numbers 18:20
Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the Israelites.
- Joshua 13:14
About Joshua

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and The Berean Standard Bible, Joshua 18, with the verses cited in the note.
