Joshua 21:3
And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs. And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.
The children of Israel gave to the Levites forty-eight cities with their surrounding lands, distributed throughout the territories of the other tribes, rather than granting Levi a separate tribal inheritance of its own. This arrangement fulfilled Jacob's prophetic declaration that Levi would be divided and scattered within Israel. Because the Levites proved faithful to God they were appointed to the sacred service of the sanctuary, and by that appointment the predicted scattering as a curse was transformed into a blessing.