Joshua 21:11
in Joshua 21They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they gave them Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.
KJV
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 about it.
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This verse in Joshua 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
And they gave out of
on Joshua 21:9-19
Hebron goes to the priests as a city of refuge, and verse 12 keeps Caleb's grant of Joshua 14:13 intact by giving him the fields and the villages while the walled town becomes Levite ground. Anathoth in verse 18 is where Solomon banishes Abiathar in 1 Kings 2:26 and where Jeremiah comes from in Jeremiah 1:1, so two of the sharpest turns in the history of the priesthood happen in a town listed here without comment. Gibeon heads the Benjamin group at verse 17, the town that deceived Joshua in chapter 9 and was bound to serve the house of God, and the tabernacle itself stands there in 1 Chronicles 16:39. The parallel list at 1 Chronicles 6:54-81 differs in several names, which Albert Barnes treats as variant forms and copyists' slips rather than a different grant.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they gave them the city of Arba, the father of Anak,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they gave . . . these cities which are here mentioned by name--It was overruled by the unerring providence of the Divine Lawgiver that the cities of the priests lay within the territories of Judah and Benjamin. This was a provision, the admirable wisdom and propriety of which were fully manifested on the schism that took place in the reign of Rehoboam.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The city of Arba - See the note on Jos 14:15.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּתְּנ֨וּ | vaiyitenu | and they gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָהֶ֜ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קִרְיַת֩ | kiryat | Kiriath | H7153 → | 18 times |
| אַרְבַּ֨ע | ʾarba' | Arba | H7153 → | 18 times |
| אֲבִ֧י | ʾavi | [the] father of | H1 → | 1212 times |
| הָֽעֲנ֛וֹק | haanok | <the> Anak | H6061 → | 9 times |
| הִ֥יא | hi' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| חֶבְר֖וֹן | chevron | [is] Hebron | H2275 → | 72 times |
| בְּהַ֣ר | behar | in [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| יְהוּדָ֑ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H854 → | 929 times |
| מִגְרָשֶׁ֖הָ | migrasheha | pasture lands its | H4054 → | 119 times |
| סְבִיבֹתֶֽיהָ׃ | sevivoteiha | around it | H5439 → | 336 times |
וַיִּתְּנ֨וּand they gave
vaiyitenuH5414 →2011 times
לָהֶ֜םto <the> them
lahem
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קִרְיַת֩Kiriath
kiryatH7153 →18 times
אַרְבַּ֨עArba
ʾarba'H7153 →18 times
אֲבִ֧י[the] father of
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
הָֽעֲנ֛וֹק<the> Anak
haanokH6061 →9 times
הִ֥יאthat
hi'H1931 →1879 times
חֶבְר֖וֹן[is] Hebron
chevronH2275 →72 times
בְּהַ֣רin [the] hill country of
beharH2022 →546 times
יְהוּדָ֑הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH854 →929 times
מִגְרָשֶׁ֖הָpasture lands its
migrashehaH4054 →119 times
סְבִיבֹתֶֽיהָ׃around it
sevivoteihaH5439 →336 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Joshua 14:15(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.
it leads to
- Joshua 15:13
According to the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 23:2
She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then…
- Judges 3:11
So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
- Judges 5:31
So may all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.
- Joshua 15:13
Through
1 Chronicles 6:55They were given Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands.
it leads to
- Joshua 14:13
Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.
- Joshua 14:13
Through
Luke 1:39In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,
it leads to
- Luke 1:65
All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events.
- Joshua 15:48–59
These were in the hill country:
- Luke 1:65
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Joshua
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJudean hill countryHebronThe city of the patriarchs, where Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah, Caleb took his inheritance, and David reigned seven years…
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 and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).