21:2a

There is a Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of this verse that is often translated as “and.” It introduces the next event in the story. The Berean Standard Bible leaves this conjunction untranslated.

at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them: in 18:1 the Israelites had set up the tent of meeting at Shiloh. Shiloh was a town twelve miles south of Shechem and was in the tribal territory of Ephraim. It was in the center of the Israelite land west of the Jordan River.

Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:

While they were still at Shiloh town in the land of Canaan, they said

21:2b

The LORD commanded through Moses: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The LORD commanded through Moses is more literally “Yahweh commanded by the hand of Moses.” Yahweh had told Moses to give the following command to the Israelites.

that we be given cities in which to live: In Numbers 35:1 Yahweh had told Moses to command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in. These towns belonged to the various clans but the Levites lived in them.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Yahweh told Moses to command you (plur.) to give us towns to live in.
-or-
Yahweh said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to give the Levi people towns to live in.”

21:2c

together with pasturelands for our livestock: The phrase together with pasturelands for our livestock indicates that the Levites should receive the lands around the towns where their livestock could eat grass.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

and the pasturelands around them for our cattle ⌊to graze there⌋
-or-
and the grasslands near them ⌊to provide grass⌋ for our livestock

General Comment on verses 1–2

In some languages it may be more natural to combine verses 1 and 2 and reorder them. For example:

2a While the Israelites were still at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, 1a the heads of the Levi clan went to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, 1b and to the other heads of the clans of Israel. They said to them, 2b “Yahweh told Moses to command you to give us towns to live in 2c and grasslands for our cattle.”

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