(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Joshua 14:1–5, “And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them. By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe. For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them. For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance. As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.”
The priests were dedicated to representing the Lord to the people and representing the people to the Lord. They were not given a continuous territory for themselves but given townships and land among the other tribes so that they could, indeed, do their job as required. The rest of the tribe of Levi were dedicated to serving the priests and doing the many ancillary tasks that were required to allow the priest to be effective in their role. These people also were to live close to the priests so that they could allow the priest to be dedicated to their role. This is why the people on the eastern side of the River were required to allocate towns withe their hinterlands to the tribe of Levi for the entire nation was still dedicated to the One Lord.
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