Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Joshua 21:17

in Joshua 21

And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs,

KJV

And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,

⋯

This verse in Joshua 21

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

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. 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

they gave them Gibeon, Geba

In 2 Kings 23:8 Josiah gathers the priests from the cities of Judah, from Geba to Beersheba. That span covers the ground where this chapter settles Aaron's sons. Jonathan opened Saul's war with the Philistines by striking their outpost at Geba in 1 Samuel 13:3.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs,.... See Gill on Jos 18:25; from which came the Gibeonites. Geba with her suburbs. Of which See Gill on Jos 18:24.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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 words

Every 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.

  • וּמִמַּטֵּ֣הand from [the] tribe of

    umimatehH4294 →252 times

  • בִנְיָמִ֔ןBenjamin

    vinyaminH1144 →166 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • גִּבְע֖וֹןGibeon

    givonH1391 →38 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָpasture lands its

    migrashehaH4054 →119 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • גֶּ֖בַעGeba

    geva'H1387 →

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • מִגְרָשֶֽׁהָ׃pasture lands its

    migrashehaH4054 →119 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Kings 15:22Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.5 worksJoshua 9:3But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,3 worksJoshua 18:24–25Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages.3 works2 Kings 23:8Then Josiah brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He tore down the high places of the gates at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which was to the left of the city gate.3 worksIsaiah 10:29They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.3 works1 Chronicles 6:60And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 13:3Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”2 worksNehemiah 12:29from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built villages for themselves around Jerusalem.2 worksZechariah 14:10All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 9:3

    But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

    it leads to

    • Joshua 10:2

      So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

    • Joshua 9:17

      So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

    • 2 Samuel 21:1–2

      During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul…

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 6:60

    And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 1:1

      These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

    • Jeremiah 37:12

      Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there among the people.

    • 1 Kings 2:26

      Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried…

    • Joshua 21:17–18

      And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,

    • 1 Samuel 13:3

      Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 21 →

This page draws on 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 Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.

Read on in Joshua 21 →