For “Kiriath-arba” (Revised Standard Version), the old name of Hebron in verse 11, see verses 14.15 and 15.13. In verses 11-12 the point is made that the city of Hebron itself was assigned to the Levites, while the fields of the city, as well as its towns, belonged to Caleb (see 14.13-14). It is difficult to distinguish precisely between the pasture land around Hebron, which belonged to the Levites (verse 11), and the fields of the city, which belonged to Caleb (verse 12); the fields of the city should perhaps be understood to mean “the open country near the city” (New English Bible; see New American Bible).

Verses 11-16 name nine cities from the territories of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.In verse 16, instead of the Masoretic text Ain, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (and others), following some manuscripts of the Septuagint and 1 Chr 6.59, prefers “Ashan”; so New English Bible Bible de Jérusalem Jerusalem Bible New American Bible. Verse 13 calls attention to the fact that Hebron was a city of refuge (see 20.7).

If verses 9-10 are translated as a unit, then verses 11-16 may be dealt with similarly:

• They received the city of Hebron, which was also a city of refuge, and the cities of Libnah … and Beth Shemesh. The city of Hebron lay in the hill country of Judah, and at that time it was called the city of Arba, after Arba, the father of Anak. The city and its pasture lands were given to the descendants of Aaron, but its fields and towns had already been given to Caleb.

Or, so as not to separate the initial mention of Hebron from the description of the city:

• They received the city of Hebron, which was also a city of refuge. It lay in the hill country of Judah, and at that time it was called Arba City, after Arba, the father of Anak. The fields and towns around it had already been given to Caleb, but the city and its pasture lands were now given to the descendants of Aaron. They also received the cities of Libnah … and Beth Shemesh.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .