Numbers 35
Cities for the Levites
1The LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
2“Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites cities to dwell in out of their inheritance. You shall give pasture lands for the cities around them to the Levites.
3They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their pasture lands shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.
4“The pasture lands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits around it.
5You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall be the pasture lands of their cities.
6“The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.
7All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their pasture lands.
8Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many, and from the few you shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give some of his cities to the Levites.”
Cities of Refuge
9The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
10“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
12The cities shall be for your refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
13The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.
14You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge.
15These six cities shall be refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreigner living among them, that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
16“‘But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.
17If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.
18Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.
19The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death.
20If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled something at him while lying in wait, so that he died,
21or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
22“‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait,
23or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him so that he died, and he was not his enemy and not seeking his harm,
24then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.
25The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
26“‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees,
27and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,
28because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
29“‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30“‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain based on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify alone against any person so that he dies.
31“‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He shall surely be put to death.
32“‘You shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.
33“‘So you shall not pollute the land where you live; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.
34You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell among the children of Israel.’”
Numbers 35 establishes two crucial provisions for Israel's settlement in Canaan: cities for the Levites and cities of refuge. God commands that the Levites, who received no territorial inheritance, be given 48 cities with surrounding pasturelands from the other tribes' portions. Six of these cities are designated as cities of refuge where those who commit accidental manslaughter can flee for protection from blood avengers until receiving a fair trial, while intentional murderers face capital punishment.
Context
Following the inheritance distributions in chapters 32-34, this chapter addresses the special provisions needed for the Levites and establishes justice systems before Israel's entry into Canaan.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1-8Cities and Pasturelands for the LevitesGod commands Israel to provide 48 cities with measured pasturelands for the Levites from all tribal territories.
- 9-15Establishment of Cities of RefugeSix cities are designated as refuges where those guilty of accidental manslaughter can flee from blood avengers.
- 16-21Distinguishing Murder from ManslaughterThe law defines intentional murder using weapons or motivated by hatred as deserving death.
- 22-28Protection for Accidental KillersThose who kill accidentally without enmity receive sanctuary until the high priest's death releases them.
- 29-34Sanctity of Life and LandThese laws establish permanent statutes emphasizing that bloodshed defiles the land where God dwells.
Cities for the Levites
35:1–35:8God commands Moses to instruct the Israelites to give forty-eight cities with pasture lands to the Levites from their tribal inheritances. This provision ensures the Levites have places to live and graze their livestock since they receive no territorial inheritance.
person_contrast
Moses shifts from his typical role as law-giver to urban planner, meticulously detailing pasture measurements and city allocations—the only passage where he functions as both divine messenger and practical estate manager.
Cities of Refuge
35:9–35:34God establishes six cities of refuge where those who accidentally kill someone can flee for protection from blood avengers until they receive a fair trial. The law distinguishes between intentional murder and accidental killing, prescribing different consequences for each.
person_contrast
Moses receives divine instructions establishing Israel's first systematic legal framework for distinguishing accidental homicide from premeditated murder, creating sanctuary cities that balance justice with mercy.
Numbers 35:1
Numbers 33:50lexicalThe LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Numbers 22:1lexicalThe children of Israel traveled, and encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.
Numbers 26:63lexicalThese are those who were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the plains of Mo…
Joshua 13:32lexicalThese are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward.
Numbers 26:3lexicalMoses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
Numbers 35:2
2 Chronicles 11:14lexicalFor the Levites left their pasture lands and their possessions, and came to Judah and Jerusalem; for Jeroboam and his so…
Joshua 21:41lexicalAll the cities of the Levites among the possessions of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their pasture…
Joshua 21:3lexicalThe children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of the LORD, these cit…
Numbers 35:4
1 Kings 6:6lexicalThe lowest floor was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on t…
Ezekiel 41:9lexicalThe thickness of the outer wall of the side rooms was five cubits. That which was left was the place of the side rooms t…
Ezekiel 45:2lexicalOf this there shall be a five hundred by five hundred square for the holy place, and fifty cubits for its pasture lands…
Ezekiel 41:12lexicalThe building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits wide; and the wall of the…
Ezekiel 41:5lexicalThen he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the width of every side room, four cubits, all around the house…
Numbers 35:5
Ezekiel 48:16lexicalThese shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and fiv…
Ezekiel 48:10lexicalFor these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand in length, and toward…
Ezekiel 40:19lexicalThen he measured the width from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred…
Numbers 34:3lexicalthen your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be fr…
Joshua 15:5lexicalThe east border was the Salt Sea, even to the end of the Jordan. The border of the north quarter was from the bay of the…
Numbers 35:6
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Joshua 21:27lexicalThey gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan…
Numbers 35:8
Numbers 33:54lexicalYou shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger groups you shall give a larger inheritance,…
Numbers 26:54lexicalTo the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance. To everyone accor…
Ezekiel 46:18lexicalMoreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession. He shall give in…
Numbers 18:24lexicalFor the tithe of the children of Israel, which they offer as a wave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites fo…
Numbers 18:23lexicalBut the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity. It shall be a statute f…
Numbers 35:12
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Deuteronomy 19:6lexicalOtherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the man slayer while hot anger is in his heart and overtake him, because th…
Joshua 20:6lexicalHe shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest tha…
Numbers 35:14
Joshua 22:11lexicalThe children of Israel heard this, “Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasse…
Numbers 32:32lexicalWe will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with…
Deuteronomy 4:41lexicalThen Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise,
Numbers 35:15
Joshua 20:9lexicalThese were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kil…
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Numbers 15:29lexicalYou shall have one law for him who does anything unwittingly, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel, a…
Numbers 15:26lexicalAll the congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, as well as the stranger who lives as a foreigner among…
Numbers 35:19
Joshua 20:5lexicalIf the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his…
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Deuteronomy 19:6lexicalOtherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the man slayer while hot anger is in his heart and overtake him, because th…
Numbers 35:21
Joshua 20:5lexicalIf the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his…
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Deuteronomy 19:6lexicalOtherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the man slayer while hot anger is in his heart and overtake him, because th…
Numbers 35:25
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Joshua 20:6lexicalHe shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest tha…
Deuteronomy 19:6lexicalOtherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the man slayer while hot anger is in his heart and overtake him, because th…
Joshua 20:9lexicalThese were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kil…
Joshua 20:5lexicalIf the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his…
Numbers 35:26
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Deuteronomy 19:3lexicalYou shall prepare the way, and divide the borders of your land which the LORD your God causes you to inherit into three…
Numbers 35:27
Joshua 20:3lexicalthat the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refu…
Joshua 20:5lexicalIf the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his…
Deuteronomy 19:6lexicalOtherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the man slayer while hot anger is in his heart and overtake him, because th…
Numbers 35:29
Leviticus 23:31lexicalYou shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Leviticus 23:14lexicalYou must not eat bread, or roasted grain, or fresh grain, until this same day, until you have brought the offering of yo…
Leviticus 23:21lexicalYou shall make proclamation on the same day that there shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall do no regular work.…
Leviticus 3:17lexical“‘It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that you shall eat neither fat nor…
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