Joshua 21:12
in Joshua 21But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
KJV
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
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This verse in Joshua 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe fields of the city - gave they to Caleb - This was an exclusive privilege to him and his family, with which the grant to the Levites did not interfere. See the notes on Jos 14:14.
This site's exposition
they designated these cities by name
on Joshua 21:9-19
Hebron goes to the priests as a city of refuge, and verse 12 keeps Caleb's grant of 14:13 by leaving him the fields and villages. Anathoth at verse 18 is where Solomon banishes Abiathar at 1 Kings 2:26 and Jeremiah's home at Jeremiah 1:1. The parallel list at 1 Chronicles 6:54-81 differs in several names, which Barnes treats as variant forms and copyists' slips rather than a different grant.
This site's exposition
the fields and villages around
Caleb's claim rests on Deuteronomy 1:36, where Moses promised him the land on which he had set foot, for he followed the LORD wholeheartedly. Joshua 14:14 gives the same reason. Both promises of Moses stand side by side at Hebron.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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 words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׂדֵ֥ה | sedeh | [the] field[s] of | H7704 → | 334 times |
| הָעִ֖יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֲצֵרֶ֑יהָ | chatzereiha | villages its | H2691 → | 191 times |
| נָֽתְנ֛וּ | natenu | they gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְכָלֵ֥ב | lekhalev | to Caleb | H3612 → | 35 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְפֻנֶּ֖ה | yefuneh | Jephunneh | H3312 → | 16 times |
| בַּאֲחֻזָּתֽוֹ׃ ס | baachuzato | <in> possession his | H272 → | 66 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
שְׂדֵ֥ה[the] field[s] of
sedehH7704 →334 times
הָעִ֖ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חֲצֵרֶ֑יהָvillages its
chatzereihaH2691 →191 times
נָֽתְנ֛וּthey gave
natenuH5414 →2011 times
לְכָלֵ֥בto Caleb
lekhalevH3612 →35 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
יְפֻנֶּ֖הJephunneh
yefunehH3312 →16 times
בַּאֲחֻזָּתֽוֹ׃ ס<in> possession his
baachuzatoH272 →66 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Joshua
Who and where
1 name 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.