דברי הימים א, פרק ו׳, פסוק נ״ה

The ongoing distribution of land among the tribes of Israel involved setting aside specific residential cities for the tribe of Levi, as they did not receive a standard territorial inheritance. As this process continued, individual families within the tribe were granted designated homes from the land already given to the other tribes.

One portion of these cities was taken from the territory belonging to the half-tribe of Manasseh. Specifically, this refers to the half of the tribe that settled within the borders of the Land of Israel [רש"י]. From this region, two specific cities, Aner and Bileam, were allocated to the Levites. While historical records from the era of Joshua list these locations under the names Taanach and Gath-rimmon, they are recorded here under their updated titles. Over the centuries leading up to the time of Ezra the Scribe, the names of these cities naturally evolved [מלבי"ם].

The distribution of these cities was organized carefully, with allocations made for each family individually [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The recipients of these particular cities were the remaining members of the Kohath family [רש"י]. The Kohathites included the priests, but the priests had already received their own designated cities earlier in the process. Therefore, this specific allocation from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh was directed toward the rest of the Kohath family, namely the Levites who did not hold the status of priests, ensuring they too received their proper inheritance [מצודת דוד, רש"י].