Numbers 35:1-34

The Old Testament Book of Numbers

In the Desert

Numbers

Marion Adams

Chapter 35

The towns for Levi’s *tribe – Numbers 35:1-8

v1 Still the *Israelites were camping on the plains of the country called Moab. Their camp was opposite Jericho city, across the Jordan river.

The *LORD said to Moses, v2 ‘Speak to the *Israelites. When the *tribes receive their land, they must give towns for Levi’s *tribe to live in. Also, they must give *pasture round those towns to Levi’s *tribe. v3 Then Levi’s *tribe will have towns where they can live. Also, they will have *pasture for their cows, sheep and all their other animals. v4-5 The *pasture must be in the shape of a square. It must surround each of their towns. The *pasture must measure 900 metres on each side. Measure this distance on the north, south, east and west; with the town in the centre. So there must be 450 metres of land outside each of the town’s four walls. This *pasture will belong to Levi’s *tribe.

v6 You must give 6 towns to Levi’s *tribe as *safe towns. So a person can escape to a *safe town if he kills someone by accident. Also, give 42 other towns to Levi’s *tribe v7 with their *pasture. This makes a total of 48 towns. v8 These towns are part of the other *tribes’ land. So the larger *tribes must give more towns than the smaller *tribes.’

Verses 1-8 When the leaders divided the country called Canaan between the *tribes, Levi’s *tribe did not receive any particular area. God had ordered this (Numbers 18:20-24; also Deuteronomy 10:8-9). Levi’s *tribe had special jobs because they helped the priests. However, they needed places to live while they did this special work. So God gave instructions that Levi’s *tribe should have 48 towns to live in. They did not own these towns. The *tribes who gave them still owned them. But they could live there. These towns had to have *pasture round them. Then Levi’s *tribe would be able to live there with their cows and sheep. Levi’s *tribe had cows and sheep for food. This was in addition to the food that they received from the *offerings (Numbers 18:8-32).

These 48 towns were not in one area, so they were not near to each other. They were in different parts of Canaan that belonged to different *tribes. The *tribes that received more land had to give more towns to Levi’s *tribe.

Again, God showed that he is fair completely in all matters. This includes practical matters. We should be careful to be fair in all that we do, too. God cares about every part of our daily lives.

The *safe towns – Numbers 35:9-33

v9 The *LORD said to Moses, v10 ‘Give these instructions to the *Israelites. When they cross the Jordan river into the country called Canaan, v11 they must choose some towns to be *safe towns. A person who has killed someone by accident can escape to a *safe town. v12 The *redeemer of blood might try to kill the person whom he accuses of murder. But the person whom he accuses can run to a *safe town for protection. And then nobody may kill that person before he receives a fair *trial in a court.

v13 There must be 6 towns that are *safe towns. v14 There must be three *safe towns on each side of the Jordan river. v15 These towns will be places of protection for people who have killed someone by accident. This rule about *safe towns is for anyone who lives in *Israel. This includes foreigners and anyone who is living among the *Israelites.

v16-19 A person might hit another person with a piece of iron, or a big stone, or a wooden object. The other person might die. If this happens, this is murder. The *redeemer of blood must kill the *murderer. The *redeemer of blood must kill the *murderer as soon as he finds him.

v20-21 A person who hates someone might kill that person on purpose. For example, he might push the other person down. Or he might throw something at the other person. Or he might hit the person whom he hates with his fist. Anyone who kills someone in such a way is a *murderer. The *redeemer of blood must kill him. The *redeemer of blood must kill the *murderer as soon as he finds him.

v22-24 But a person might kill someone in any of these ways by accident. Perhaps he suddenly pushed someone whom he did not hate. Perhaps he threw something but he did not expect it to hit anyone. Perhaps he dropped a large stone on someone whom he did not see. But the person whom he killed was not his enemy. He was not trying to hurt anyone. It was an accident. Then, the people in the town must give him a *trial. They must decide if the person is guilty. v25 They might decide that the person is innocent. Then that person will receive protection against the *redeemer of blood. The people will send him to stay in one of the *safe towns. He must stay there until the *High Priest dies. (This means the *High Priest whom God appointed by the *anointing ceremony.) v26 But if he ever leaves the *safe town, v27 the *redeemer of blood can kill him. And the *redeemer of blood cannot receive a punishment because of this. v28 So the person who killed someone must stay inside the town. He must stay there until the *High Priest dies. When the *High Priest dies, the person can return to his home.

v29 The *Israelites must obey these laws always, wherever they live. v30 You must *execute *murderers. That is their punishment. But there must be two or more witnesses who give evidence about the crime. You must not *execute a person if there is one witness only. v31 Do not accept money that someone gives in order to escape their punishment of death. The person who murders deserves to die. He must receive his punishment.

v32 Also, an innocent person who lives in a *safe town cannot pay in order to return to his home. He must stay there until the *High Priest dies.

v33-34 I, the *LORD, live among the *Israelites. Therefore, you must keep your land *clean. When a person murders another person, blood makes the land *unclean. You must *execute the *murderer. His blood is the only way to make the land *clean again. You must not allow murders to ruin the land where you are living!’

Verses 9-34 The other *tribes had to give 48 towns to Levi’s *tribe. 6 of these towns were called *safe towns. If a person had killed someone, he could run away to one of these *safe towns. This was necessary because the *redeemer of blood had a right to kill the other person. This was the law and therefore people expected it to happen (Genesis 9:6). They expected it to happen even if a person had killed someone by accident.

Usually, but not always, the *redeemer of blood was a close relative. The *redeemer of blood was a particular person who had certain rights and duties. For example, he could buy back land that belonged to the family. He could buy back relatives who were *slaves. Also, he had the right and the responsibility to kill his relative’s *murderer.

But in this passage, God gave a new law. He allowed any person who had killed another person by accident to go to a *safe town. Then, the people there would arrange a fair *trial. At the *trial, they would decide whether the person had intended to kill the other person. If the person had not intended to kill the other person, he was not guilty of murder.

Verses 16-24 describe the difference between murder and a death by accident. If the person had caused the other person’s death by accident, then the *redeemer of blood could not kill him. The *redeemer of blood did not have the legal right to do this. However, the person had to remain in the *safe town. The person had to live there until the *High Priest died. The *High Priest’s death removed the person’s *uncleanness. Until the *High Priest’s death, the person could not return to his own home. If he did this, then the *redeemer of blood had the legal right to kill him.

If the person had caused the other person’s death on purpose, he was a *murderer. Therefore, the *redeemer of blood had to kill the *murderer. The *redeemer of blood was carrying out God’s judgement against the *murderer. This was right and fair.

It was very important that there had to be witnesses (verse 30). There had to be clear evidence of murder. These new rules were not providing the right to take revenge. (To take revenge means to hurt someone just because they have hurt you. Someone might want to do this in order to feel better about it.) Rather, the new rules were there to protect innocent people who had not intended to kill. So the *redeemer of blood must not kill an innocent person such as this. If the *redeemer of blood did that, then he was himself guilty of murder.

This new law protected people who had caused someone’s death by accident. But also, it showed that it was a serious matter to cause a person’s death, even by accident.

God emphasised that blood made his land *unclean (verse 33-34). Therefore, any death that a person had caused, even an accident, made *Israel’s land *unclean. The *Israelites had to punish people who murdered. So their laws had to prevent murder. And then their land would not become *unclean.

Also, God’s *Law did not allow the family of a dead person to take revenge. (To take revenge means to hurt someone just because they have hurt you. A person might want to do this in order to feel better about it.) Instead, there was a proper legal arrangement. There had to be a *trial. There had to be witnesses. There were *safe towns where an innocent person would receive protection. And there was a proper legal punishment for anyone who was guilty of murder.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.

Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.

Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
pasture ~ land where grass grows that is suitable for animals such as cows and sheep.'redeemer of blood ~ a person who had the right and the responsibility to do certain acts on a person’s behalf, usually their closest relative. If a person murdered someone, the dead person’s redeemer of blood had the right to kill the *murderer.
trial ~ the time when a prisoner is in a legal court. The purpose of the trial is to decide whether the person is guilty of a crime.'High Priest ~ the most important priest.
anoint ~ to pour oil over a person. This shows that God has chosen that person for a special purpose.
execute ~ to kill a person legally because they are guilty of a crime.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
Law ~ the rules that God gave to Moses for the *Jews.