Numbers 35:1-8

D. CITIES RESERVED FOR THE LEVITES (Numbers 35:1-8)

TEXT

Numbers 35:1. And the Lord spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 2. Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites, of the inheritance of their possession, cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. 3. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. 4. And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. 5. And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side, two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. 6. And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities. 7. So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs. 8. And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 35:1. And the Lord spake to Moses in the plains of Moab near the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, 2. Command that the children of Israel give to the Levites, from the inheritance of their possession, cities in which to dwell; and you shall also give the Levites open ground around the cities. 3. And the cities shall be theirs to live in; and the open ground shall be for their livestock, and for their herds and all their animals. 4. And the open ground of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall extend outward from the city wall one thousand cubits all around. 5. You shall also measure from outside the city on the east two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west two thousand cubits, and on the north two thousand cubits, with the city in the center: this shall be the open ground of the cities. 6. And the cities you shall give the Levites shall be six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man-killer to flee unto; in addition to them, you shall give forty-two other cities. 7. All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities, along with their open ground. 8. Regarding the cities which you shall give from the possessions of the children of Israel, you shall take more from the larger, and less from the smaller; but each one shall give some of his cities to the Levites in proportion to his inheritance which he inherits.

COMMENTARY

No single land inheritance was awarded to the Levites, in the fashion of the areas allocated to the other tribes. Instead, forty-eight cities together with their stipulated suburbs were to be designated Levitical cities. This does not mean that only Levites occupied the cities, but that they were to hold as many residences within the towns as necessary; and their pasturage requirements were to be met through use of the land immediately surrounding the city walls. The arrangement accomplishes several good ends. The Levites are removed from total dependence upon the tithes the offerings of the people; in the event of the failure of the other tribes to fulfill their lawful obligations unto the priests, the priests will not be without any sources of livelihood, since they will be able to maintain their own herds and flocks. The plan disperses the priests among the people, where they will be convenient and available for their services to the congregation. They are not to be an isolated, detached and uninvolved group; they will be able to participate in the day-by-day events of their communities, and become one with those they serve. They will have regular duties themselves to perform in caring for their animalsa responsibility not without its practical values.
The suburbs awarded the Levites were open grounds for tilling and for pasturing their animals. The measure of the first one thousand cubits (about 1500 feet), may be set up for cultivation and the second thousand cubits for grazing the animals. This is certainly the most simple method of explaining the manner in which the suburbs were established. KD, however, accepts the proposal by Michaelis that the city is to be viewed as a square with pasturage stretching one thousand cubits outward in every direction, so that the length of the extreme border of the environs would be two thousand cubits longer than the dimension of its parallel side. The total area in this latter arrangement would have been considerably smaller; but we cannot be certain which method was actually used.

Six of the Levitical cities were to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which any manslayer should flee until proper disposition might be made of his homicide. The general regulations governing the flight of the manslayer, his confinement to the city of refuge until his trial, and the course to be followed in the event of his being found innocent or guilty are now to be given, enlarging upon the previous suggestion found in Exodus 21:13 ff. With the matter of judgment of the manslayer in the hands of the congregation, (Numbers 35:24), any of the cities of Israel might have been selected theoretically; but it is especially appropriate that the cities should be those in which there was a concentration of Levites. Such a fact should augur well toward a careful administration of justice under the Law.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

629.

How many cities were awarded the Levites?

630.

How were these cities distributed among the tribes?

631.

Who lived in the cities?

632.

Describe the manner in which the extent of the suburbs may have been laid out.

633.

To what uses did the Levites put the suburbs?

634.

List the advantages of distributing the Levites in this manner.

635.

What was the purpose of the cities of refuge?

636.

Into whose hands was the judgment of the manslayer delivered?

637.

What favorable results might we have expected from having the Levites living in the cities of refuge?