📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 6:78
What does 1 Chronicles 6:78 mean?
"and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them, out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah with its suburbs,"
— 1 Chronicles 6:78 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Hukok with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs;
and out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, Hammon with its suburbs, and Kiriathaim with its suburbs.
To the rest of the Levites, the sons of Merari, were given, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Rimmono with its suburbs, Tabor with its suburbs;
and beyond the Jordan at Jericho, on the east side of the Jordan, were given them, out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the wilderness with its suburbs, and Jahzah with its suburbs,
Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs;
and out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, Mahanaim with its suburbs,
Heshbon with its suburbs, and Jazer with its suburbs.
Explanation
This verse comes in the middle of a long genealogical and administrative list in 1 Chronicles 6, which traces the lineage of Levi and then documents the cities assigned to the various Levitical clans throughout Israel. Verse 78 specifically identifies cities given to the descendants of Merari, one of the three sons of Levi, from the territory of the tribe of Reuben, located east of the Jordan River across from Jericho. The cities named are Bezer, a city of refuge situated in the wilderness, and Jahzah (also called Jahaz elsewhere in Scripture), along with their surrounding pastureland or "suburbs" — a term referring to the open grazing land attached to each town.
The Chronicler, writing after the Babylonian exile (traditionally understood to be Ezra or a similar scribe/priestly figure), compiled these genealogies to help the returning Jewish community reestablish their identity, their tribal boundaries, and especially the proper functioning of temple worship. Because the Levites received no single tribal territory of their own (as recorded in Joshua 21), they were instead given forty-eight cities scattered among the other tribes, along with pasturelands to sustain their flocks and families. This arrangement fulfilled God's provision for the priestly and Levitical class, who were to be supported by the community since
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