Jehozadak was forced to leave his home when the Lord sent the people of Judah and Jerusalem away. Through Nebuchadnezzar the Lord caused them all to be made prisoners in another country.
These men served by singing at the Holy Tent. The Holy Tent is also called the Meeting Tent. These men served until Solomon built the Lord's Temple in Jerusalem. They served by following the rules given to them for their work.
These are the names of the men and their sons who served with music: The descendants from the Kohath family were Heman the singer who was Joel's son; Joel was Samuel's son;
Merari's descendants were the relatives of Heman and Asaph. They were the singing group on Heman's left side. Ethan was Kishi's son. Kishi was Abdi's son. Abdi was Malluch's son.
Heman and Asaph's brothers were from the tribe of Levi. The tribe of Levi was also called Levites. The Levites were chosen to do the work in the Holy Tent. The Holy Tent was God's house.
But only Aaron's descendants were permitted to burn incense on the altar of burnt offering and on the altar of incense. Aaron's descendants did all the work in the Most Holy Place in God's house. They also did the ceremonies to make the Israelites pure. They followed all the rules and laws that Moses, God's servant, commanded.
These are the places where Aaron's descendants lived. They lived in their camps in the land that was given to them. The Kohath families got the first share of the land that was given to the Levites.
From the tribe of Benjamin they got the cities of Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth. They got all the cities and the fields around them. Thirteen cities were given to the Kohath families.
The tribes that were the descendants of Gershon got 13 cities. They got the cities from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the part of Manasseh living in the area of Bashan.
The tribes that were the descendants of Merari got 12 cities. They got the cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. They got them by throwing lots.
And from half the tribe of Manasseh, the Israelites gave the towns of Aner and Bileam to the Kohath families. The Kohath families also got fields with those towns.
The Gershon families got the towns of Golan in the area of Bashan and Ashtaroth from half the tribe of Manasseh. They also got the fields near those towns.
The Gershon families also got the towns of Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim from the tribe of Naphtali. They also got the fields near those towns.
The rest of the Levites, from the Merari families, got the towns of Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmono, and Tabor from the tribe of Zebulun. They also got the fields near those towns.
The Merari families also got the towns of Bezer in the desert, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath from the tribe of Reuben. The tribe of Reuben lived on the east side of the Jordan River, east of the city of Jericho. These Merari families also got the fields near those towns.
And the Merari families got the towns of Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer from the tribe of Gad. They also got the fields near those towns.