Numbers 35

The tribe of Levi did not receive its own land. So chapter 35 explains how they received 48 towns spread out among the lands of the other tribes (see Joshua 21; see also Leviticus 25:32–34; 1 Chronicles 13:2; 2 Chronicles 11:14).

During the wilderness journey, the Levites lived in the center of the Israelite camp (compare Numbers 2:17). In the promised land, they were to live among the other tribes. Their presence was meant to influence the people for good (see Deuteronomy 33:9–10; 2 Chronicles 17:7–9; 19:8–11; 35:3).

These towns and their pasturelands were not a separate homeland (compare Numbers 18:23; 26:62). They were only a small portion of the land of Canaan, divided among the other tribes.

Some have tried to explain the supposed contradiction between the 1,000 cubits (457 meters or 1,500 feet) and the 2,000 cubits (914 meters or 3,000 feet). One explanation is that the Hebrews thought of a town as a fixed center point. If so, the land around each town would form a square that measured 914 meters (3,000 feet) on each side.

Another explanation is that there is a difference between the smaller pastureland mentioned in Numbers 35:4 and the larger pastureland mentioned in 35:5.

Based on this text, some Jewish teachers later limited how far a person could walk on the Sabbath. They said a person could walk no more than 2,000 cubits (914 meters or 3,000 feet) from home.

Six of the Levites’ towns had a special purpose. They served as cities of refuge. A city of refuge was a place where a person could run for safety after accidentally killing someone.

These cities show the humanitarian (care for human life) side of Hebrew law (see also Deuteronomy 4:41–43; 19:1–13; Joshua 20).

These six towns offered protection when someone killed accidentally or unintentionally (compare Exodus 21:12–14).

The 48 towns given to the Levites were spread throughout Israel. In the same way, the six cities of refuge were placed in different parts of the land. This made them easy to reach for anyone who needed safety (see Joshua 20:7–8).

Before these cities were established, a person could sometimes seek safety by holding on to the altar. The altar was a place connected with worship (for example, 1 Kings 1:50–53; 2:28–34; compare Exodus 21:14).

Other ancient peoples also had places of refuge. Often these places were connected to an altar (see Exodus 21:12–14; 1 Kings 2:28–34). However, only ancient Israel created entire towns as places of safety. This practice shows Israel’s special concern for justice and the protection of human life.

a refuge from the avenger: Justice was carried out through vengeance. A designated avenger, usually a close relative of the person who died, took this role.

the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them … anyone: The same law applied equally to everyone. Israel had one standard of justice for everyone. This was unlike many societies that had different laws for citizens and noncitizens (see also Leviticus 19:15; Deuteronomy 1:16–17; 1 Timothy 5:21; James 2:2–4).

• The Old Testament clearly distinguishes between intentional murder and accidental killing (35:11, 22–23; Exodus 21:12–14; compare Numbers 15:22–31). Murder required a penalty of execution, but an accidental death did not. Murder required a penalty of execution, but an accidental death did not.

• If a person used a weapon, this showed malicious intent (a plan to harm someone).

The avenger was the victim’s closest relative. He was responsible for putting the murderer to death, carrying out the vengeance that justice required (Genesis 9:6).

Sometimes a person died, but the death was not caused by an intentional act of violence. In these cases, the person who caused the death did not plan or mean to kill anyone.

The cities of refuge were created as places of safety for people who were responsible for these accidental deaths. These cities protected them until the community could examine the case and decide what was just.

• If the person who caused the death was found not guilty of murder at a public trial before the community (compare Deuteronomy 19:11–12), that person had to remain in the city of refuge.

  The avenger was not allowed to take revenge. The community had decided that the person was not guilty of murder.

• until the death of the high priest: The death of the high priest likely served as a kind of expiation (a way of removing guilt or cleansing from sin) for the blood that had been shed. Even if the person did not commit murder, the spilling of human blood was believed to pollute the land (see Numbers 35:33; compare Genesis 4:10–11).

The killer (manslayer) had to stay in a special city (called a "city of refuge") as a consequence for the death he had caused. He had to stay in a city of refuge until he or the high priest died. After the high priest's death, the manslayer could return home, and the avenger of blood could not take revenge.

All murderers were condemned to death, but their conviction required a high standard of evidence. This included testimony from two or more witnesses (compare Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15).

The law did not allow the payment of a ransom (money paid as compensation) to free a convicted murderer from execution. The death penalty was required for murder (compare 2 Samuel 21:2–9). Similarly, a person who caused an accidental death could not pay money to avoid staying in a city of refuge. That person had to remain there until the proper time.

for bloodshed pollutes the land: If the person who caused a death, whether murder or accidental killing, was not treated as the law commanded, God viewed the land as polluted.

Human bloodshed required death as a response (Genesis 4:10–11; 9:6). This rule is different from cases such as Exodus 21:29–30 (see also Leviticus 18:28; Ezekiel 36:17–18; Hosea 4:2–3).

This strong warning about murder shows the great value of human life (Exodus 20:13).

The Lord lived among the people of Israel while the Tent of Meeting (the tabernacle) was in the center of the Hebrew camp (see chapters 1–4). This meant that they must not defile their land. They could not ignore God’s commands. They also could not fail to carry out justice as the law required (compare 5:1–4).