'Cities' in the Bible

Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot settled in the cities of the plain. And he pitched his tent toward Sodom.

And he overthrew those cities and the whole plain, and the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground.

So it was, when God destroyed the cities of the plain that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out from the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived.

Then they set out on their journey, and the terror of God was upon the cities that [were] all around them, so that they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

Then let them gather all the food of these coming good years and let them pile up grain under the hand of Pharaoh [for] food in the cities, and let them keep [it].

And he gathered all the food of the seven years which [occurred] in the land of Egypt. And he stored the food in the cities. The food of the field that surrounded [each] city he stored in its midst.

As for the people, he transferred them to the cities, from one end of the territory of Egypt to the other.

And they appointed commanders of forced labor over them in order to oppress them with their {forced labor}, and they built storage cities for Pharaoh--Pithom and Rameses.

" 'As for the cities of the Levites, [that is], the houses in their property's cities, it shall be {a lasting redemption} for the Levites.

And whatever [anyone] redeems from the Levites then must go out [of the buyer's hand] in the Jubilee, [including] a house's selling {in his city's property}, because the houses in the cities of the Levites [are] their property in the midst of the {Israelites}.

But a field of their cities' pastureland must not be sold, because {it is their property for all time}.

And I will bring upon you a sword that seeks vengeance [for the] covenant, and you shall be gathered to your cities; and I will send a plague in your midst, and you shall be given into [the] hand of an enemy.

And I will lay your cities [in] ruins, and I will lay waste your sanctuaries; and I shall not smell your [sacrifices'] appeasing fragrance.

And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword behind you; and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a ruin.

and whether the land that they [are] inhabiting [is] good or bad, and whether the cities they [are] inhabiting are camps or fortifications,

Yet the people who are inhabiting [it are] strong and the cities [are] fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the descendants of the Anakites there.

Israel made a vow to Yahweh, and they said, "If you will surely give this people into our hand, then we {will destroy} their cities."

Yahweh heard the voice of Israel; he gave [to them] the Canaanites, and {they destroyed them} and their cities. They called the name of the place Hormah.

Israel took all these cities, and Israel inhabited all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its environs.

They burned all their cities where they dwelled and all their camps with fire.

They came near to him and said, "We will build sheep pens here for [the] flock of our livestock and cities for our little children;

but we ourselves will become armed [and] ready before the {Israelites} until we have brought them to their place, and our little children will live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

Build for yourselves cities for your little children and sheep pens for your flocks; what has gone out from your mouth you will do."

Our little children, our wives, our livestock, and all of our animals {will remain} in the cities of Gilead,

So Moses gave to them, to the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, and to half of the tribe of Joseph's son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon the king of Amorites and the kingdom of Og the king of the Bashan, the land with its cities [and their] territories, the cities of the surrounding land.

and Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, the cities of Mibzar, and the sheep pens for flocks.

and Nebo, Baal Meon (their names [were] changed), and Sibmah, and {they renamed} the cities that they rebuilt.

"Command the {Israelites} that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their property cities to live in; and you will give to the Levites pastureland all around the cities.

The cities will be theirs to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their domestic animals, for their possessions, and their animals.

"The pasturelands of the cities that you will give to the Levites [will extend] from the wall of the city to [a distance of] a thousand cubits all around.

You will measure outside the city the eastern edge two thousand cubits, for the southern edge two thousand cubits, for the western edge two thousand cubits, and for the northern edge two thousand cubits, with the city in the middle; this will be for them the pasturelands of the cities.

"All the cities that you will give the Levites will be six cities of refuge, to which the killer can flee; in addition to them you will give forty-two cities.

All the cities that you will give to the Levites will be forty-eight cities, them with their pasturelands.

And the cities that you will give from the property of the {Israelites}, you will take more from the larger group and less from the smaller group; each of them will give according to the portion of their inheritance according to the portion that he inherits."

you will select for yourselves cities for your cities of refuge, that a killer who has killed a person unintentionally can flee there.

The cities will be to you a refuge from a redeemer, so that the killer will not die until he stands before the community for judgment.

The cities that you are to give will be your six cities of refuge.

You will give three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan; they will be cities of refuge.

To the {Israelites}, to the alien, and to the temporary resident in their midst there will be these six cities as a refuge to which anyone who unintentionally kills a person may flee.

"Then all of you approached me, and [you] said, 'Let us send men {before us}, and let them explore the land for us, and let them bring back {a report} to us [concerning] the way that {we should take} [and concerning] the cities that we shall come to.'

Where [can] we go up? Our brothers have {made our hearts melt}, {saying}, "The people are greater and taller than we are, [and there are] great fortified cities [reaching] up to heaven, and we saw the sons of the Anakites [living] there." '

So we captured all of his cities at that time, and we destroyed each town [of] males and the women and the children; we did not leave behind a survivor.

We took only the livestock as spoil for ourselves, and [also] the booty of the cities that we had captured.

Then Moses set apart three cities {on the other side of the Jordan}, {toward the east},

[in order for] {a manslayer} to flee there [who] has killed his neighbor {without intent} and was not hating him {previously}, and [so] he could flee to one of these cities {and be safe}.

"And then it will happen [that] when Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you large and fine cities that you did not build,

"Hear, Israel, you [are] about to cross the Jordan today to go to dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you, great cities fortified {with high walls},

you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you to take possession of it.

{For example}, when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron [head] slips from the handle [of the tool] and strikes his neighbor and he dies, [then] he may flee to one of these cities, and [so] he may live.

Therefore I [am] commanding you, {saying}, 'You shall set apart three cities.'

[then] {if you diligently observe this entire commandment} that I [am] commanding you {today} by loving Yahweh your God and by going in his ways {at all times}, then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three.

But if someone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him {and murders him}, and [the murderer] flees to one of these cities,

Thus you shall do to all the far cities from you, which [are] not from the cities of these nations located {nearby}.

But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes.

then your elders and your judges shall go out and shall measure [the distance] to the cities that [are] around the slain one.

And the {Israelites} set out and went to their cities on the third day (their cities [were] Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim).

he became very afraid because Gibeon [was] a very large city, {like one of the royal cities}, and because it [was] larger than Ai, and all its men [were] mighty warriors.

But do not stay [there]; pursue after your enemies and attack them from the rear. Do not allow them to go into their cities, for Yahweh your God has given them into your hand."

When Joshua and the {Israelites} had finished striking them [with] a very great blow, until they perished, {those of them who survived} went into the fortified cities,

and captured it, and they struck it with {the edge of the sword}, its king and all its cities, and all the people that [were] in it; he left behind no survivor, as he had done to Eglon, and he utterly destroyed it and all the people that [were] in it.

and he captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with {the the edge of the sword}, and they utterly destroyed all the people that [were] in it; he left behind no survivor, just as he had done to Hebron. Thus he did to Debir and its king what he had done to Libnah and its king.

And Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he utterly destroyed them with {the edge of the sword}, as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded.

Israel did not burn the cities standing on their mounds, except Hazor alone, [which] Joshua burned.

And all the spoil and livestock of these cities the {Israelites} took as booty; they struck the people with {the edge of the sword}, until they had destroyed them--they left behind no one who breathed.

At that time Joshua came and exterminated the Anakites from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.

and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon up to the border of the {Ammonites};

Heshbon and its cities that [are] on the plateau; Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon,

all of the cities of the plateau, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and whom Moses defeated with the leaders of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the princes of Sihon who dwelled in the land.

And the border of the descendants of Reuben [was] the Jordan and [its] banks. This [was] the inheritance of the descendants of Reuben according to their families, the cities, and their villages.

Their territory was Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the {Ammonites} up to Aroer, {which is east of Rabbah};

This [is] the inheritance of the {Gadites} according to their families, the cities, and their villages.

Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair, which [are] in Bashan, sixty cities,

and half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth, Edrei, and the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan; [these were allotted] to the children of Makir son of Manasseh, for half of the children of Makir according to their families.

For the descendants of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a plot of ground to the Levites in the land, only cities to live [in], with their pastureland for their flocks and for their goods.

So now give me this hill country that Yahweh spoke [of] on that day, for you heard on that day that the Anakites [were] there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps Yahweh [is] with me, and I will drive them out just as Yahweh promised."

then the border turns from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and continues from there to the cities of Mount Ephron; the border [then] turns [to] Baalah (that [is], Kiriath Jearim);

the cities belonging to the tribe of the descendants of Judah to the far south, to [the] border of Edom to the south, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,

Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon; [in] all, twenty-nine cities and their villages.

Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities and their villages.

Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.

Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah; nine cities and their villages.

Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities and their villages.

Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that [is], Hebron), and Zior; nine cities and their villages.

Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities and their villages.

Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities and their villages.

Kiriath Baal (that [is], Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah; two cities and their villages.

Nibshan, the city of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities and their villages.

with the cities that were set apart for the descendants of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages.

Then the border goes down [to] the wadi of Kanah to the south of the wadi. These cities [belong] to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh [is] north of the wadi, and {it ends} at the sea.

And the men went and passed through the land, and they {described} the cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua to the camp [at] Shiloh,

Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities and their villages.

Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that [is], Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath; fourteen cities and their villages. This [is] the inheritance of the descendants of Benjamin according to their families.

Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages.

Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages,

Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; twelve cities and their villages.

This [is] the inheritance of the descendants of Zebulun according to their families, these cities and their villages.

and the border touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. {Its border ends} at the Jordan; sixteen cities and their villages.

This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.

[Included were] Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob; twenty-two cities and their villages.

This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Asher according to their families, these cities and their villages.