Section 30 of 1226:54–811 Chronicles

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King James Version1 Chronicles 6:54–81

Now these are their dwelling places throughout their castles in their coasts, of the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites: for theirs was the lot.

And they gave them Hebron in the land of Judah, and the suburbs thereof round about it.

But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

And to the sons of Aaron they gave the cities of Judah, namely, Hebron, the city of refuge, and Libnah with her suburbs, and Jattir, and Eshtemoa, with their suburbs,

And Hilen with her suburbs, Debir with her suburbs,

And Ashan with her suburbs, and Beth-shemesh with her suburbs:

And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.

And unto the sons of Kohath, which were left of the family of that tribe, were cities given out of the half tribe, namely, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, by lot, ten cities.

And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

Unto the sons of Merari were given by lot, throughout their families, out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

And the children of Israel gave to the Levites these cities with their suburbs.

And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by their names.

And the residue of the families of the sons of Kohath had cities of their coasts out of the tribe of Ephraim.

And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,

And Jokmeam with her suburbs, and Beth-horon with her suburbs,

And Aijalon with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs:

And out of the half tribe of Manasseh; Aner with her suburbs, and Bileam with her suburbs, for the family of the remnant of the sons of Kohath.

Unto the sons of Gershom were given out of the family of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, and Ashtaroth with her suburbs:

And out of the tribe of Issachar; Kedesh with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs,

And Ramoth with her suburbs, and Anem with her suburbs:

And out of the tribe of Asher; Mashal with her suburbs, and Abdon with her suburbs,

And Hukok with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs:

And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.

Unto the rest of the children of Merari were given out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmon with her suburbs, Tabor with her suburbs:

And on the other side Jordan by Jericho, on the east side of Jordan, were given them out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with her suburbs, and Jahzah with her suburbs,

Kedemoth also with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs:

And out of the tribe of Gad; Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, and Mahanaim with her suburbs,

And Heshbon with her suburbs, and Jazer with her suburbs.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

1 Chronicles 6:54–81

Levitical towns distribute service across tribal land

Priestly and Levitical families are housed across Israel

Dwelling places are given throughout their castles in their coasts. Aaronic Kohathites receive Hebron in Judah, with its suburbs, while the fields and villages of Hebron go to Caleb son of Jephunneh. Cities of refuge are included: Hebron, and later Shechem, Golan, Bezer, Ramoth in Gilead. Thirteen, ten, thirteen, and twelve cities are allotted to the four family groups.

Temple-serving families are located throughout the tribes, not only at Jerusalem. 'Suburbs' here are surrounding pasturelands, not modern residential sprawl.

A town list is not a deed

Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Manasseh, Ephraim, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad all supply named towns: Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Anathoth, Gezer, Aijalon, Kedesh in Galilee, Heshbon, Jazer, and the rest. The catalogue distributes service geographically. It does not erase earlier or later residents, settle every identification on a map, or justify clerical property privilege. Names and counts also differ from Joshua 21; those differences should stay visible.

How this should shape us

If a religious group claims housing or land from this chapter, remember that the list locates workers among other tribes' towns. It is not a modern title, and pasture around a shrine does not make clergy a landed class.

Teach it back

Explain 1 Chronicles 6:54–81 in your own words. Include its movement, placement in Chronicles, one Samuel-Kings comparison, one material uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one modern use the complete context rules out.

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Go deeper

The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

Best judgment: The list differs in names and counts from Joshua 21 and contains textual and geographic problems; copy error, source difference, administrative ideal, and historical layering remain live possibilities.

How certain? probable

Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

1 Chronicles 6:54–81, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 6:54–81

NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles

Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.

STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 6:54–81, verse-attached translation and translator notes

Reading the Pentateuch's Genealogies after the Exile: The Chronicler's Usage of Genesis 1-11 in Negotiating an All-Israelite Identity

Supports: Complete article on the reuse of Genesis genealogies to negotiate a broad all-Israel identity after exile, used as a contextual proposal rather than an ethnic prescription.

Jonker, Old Testament Essays 25.2 (2012), pp. 316–333, especially pp. 316–323 and 328–331

1 and 2 Chronicles as a Discourse of Power

Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.

Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11

History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility: Chronicles in Its Ancient Context

Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.

Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25

The Historical Reality behind the Genealogical Lists in 1 Chronicles

Supports: Only accessible arguments about possible historical-geographical layers in selected genealogical lists; not a complete archaeological proof or an inspected full article.

Finkelstein, Journal of Biblical Literature 131.1 (2012), pp. 65–83; official record and limited exposed page images

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.

Exact location: 1 Chronicles 6:54–81, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus

Open source ↗

hebrew text and morphology

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles

Open Scriptures

Open Scriptures, release 2.2

Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.

Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 6:54–81

Open source ↗

translation and translator notes

NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation

Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.

Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 6:54–81, verse-attached translation and translator notes

Open source ↗

peer reviewed open access scholarly article

Reading the Pentateuch's Genealogies after the Exile: The Chronicler's Usage of Genesis 1-11 in Negotiating an All-Israelite Identity

Louis C. Jonker

Old Testament Essays 25(2), pp. 316-333, 2012

Supports: Complete article on the reuse of Genesis genealogies to negotiate a broad all-Israel identity after exile, used as a contextual proposal rather than an ethnic prescription.

Exact location: Jonker, Old Testament Essays 25.2 (2012), pp. 316–333, especially pp. 316–323 and 328–331

Open source ↗

peer reviewed open access scholarly article

1 and 2 Chronicles as a Discourse of Power

Ananda Geyser-Fouche

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 79(1), article 8011, pp. 1-13, 2023

Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.

Exact location: Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11

Open source ↗

peer reviewed open access scholarly article

History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility: Chronicles in Its Ancient Context

Isaac Kalimi

Poznan Theological Studies repository edition, pp. 7-25, 2019 repository edition

Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.

Exact location: Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25

Open source ↗

peer reviewed scholarly article limited access

The Historical Reality behind the Genealogical Lists in 1 Chronicles

Israel Finkelstein

Journal of Biblical Literature 131(1), pp. 65-83, 2012

Supports: Only accessible arguments about possible historical-geographical layers in selected genealogical lists; not a complete archaeological proof or an inspected full article.

Exact location: Finkelstein, Journal of Biblical Literature 131.1 (2012), pp. 65–83; official record and limited exposed page images

Open source ↗

1 Chronicles 6:54–81, King James Version

Priestly and Levitical families are housed across Israel

A town list is not a deed

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

Where do careful interpreters disagree?

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles

NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles

Reading the Pentateuch's Genealogies after the Exile: The Chronicler's Usage of Genesis 1-11 in Negotiating an All-Israelite Identity

1 and 2 Chronicles as a Discourse of Power

History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility: Chronicles in Its Ancient Context

The Historical Reality behind the Genealogical Lists in 1 Chronicles