What Does 1 Chronicles 6:61 Mean in the King James?
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.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The allotment carries an act of placing: ten cities are given from Manasseh’s portion, making another tribe’s land a home for Kohath’s families.
THE MEANING
A place to belong can come through another’s share; it need not be self-claimed to be real. The ten cities given to Kohath’s remaining families show provision taking a concrete form: a bounded place assigned by lot.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A place counts as yours only if it comes from your own inheritance.
THE ROOT
וַיִּתְּנוּ
wayyittenu
GROWS FROM
נתן
נָתַן (natan): to give, set, or place.
“given” in this verse is wayyittenu. The Hebrew verb is active: “they gave,” giving the allotment an active giver alongside its recipients. The root holds giving and placing together, so this is provision with a location.
ALSO GROWS
mattanah: gift
מַתָּנָה
A gift is something placed into another’s hands; here, the cities are a concrete gift of place.
nethinim: “Given ones,” a group assigned to temple service
נְתִינִים
The same root can describe people set into an assigned role, echoing how giving can establish a place or relation.
THE PATTERN
A place becomes provision when it is assigned from a shared inheritance.
Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.THE THREAD
And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.Joshua uses the same root נתן (natan, “give”) for the cities Israel gives the Levites. The shared root makes the allotment here part of a wider pattern: inheritance becomes provision by being given a place.
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