But Aaron and his sons offered on the altar of burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, for all the work of the most holy place, and to make atonement for Israel, according to all that Moses the servant of God had commanded.
Forty-eight cities had been given to the Levites after Joshua’s conquest of Canaan (Joshua 21:41), and these also were divided into four groups. The cities for the priestly Kohathites were all in the region around Jerusalem and therefore within easy reach of the temple (49-60). Cities for the other three Levitical groups were more distant from Jerusalem (61-65). The writer then lists the cities for these three groups: first for the non-priestly Kohathites (66-70), then for the Gershonites (71-76) and finally for the Merarites (77-81).