And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gath-rimmon with her suburbs; two cities.
This entry belongs to the register of towns set apart for the Levites throughout the land, and in the portion of the half-tribe of Manasseh it assigns two cities, Tanach with its surrounding pasturelands and Gath-rimmon with its surrounding pasturelands. The Levites were given no separate tribal inheritance for themselves, but instead received forty-eight cities dispersed among all the tribes. They had remained loyal to Jehovah when the other tribes turned to apostasy, and for that loyalty they were confirmed in the service of the sanctuary. Thus the earlier sentence that they should be divided and scattered was transformed from a curse into a blessing.
This entry belongs to the register of towns set apart for the Levites throughout the land, and in the portion of the half-tribe of Manasseh it assigns two cities, Tanach with its surrounding pasturelands and Gath-rimmon with its surrounding pasturelands. The Levites were given no separate tribal inheritance for themselves, but instead received forty-eight cities dispersed among all the tribes. They had remained loyal to Jehovah when the other tribes turned to apostasy, and for that loyalty they were confirmed in the service of the sanctuary. Thus the earlier sentence that they should be divided and scattered was transformed from a curse into a blessing.