10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
11 then ye shall appoint for yourselves cities: cities of refuge shall they be for you; that a manslayer may flee thither, who without intent smiteth a person mortally.
12 And ye shall have these cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he have stood before the assembly in judgment.
13 And the cities that ye shall give shall be six cities of refuge for you.
14 Three cities shall ye give on this side of the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge.
15 For the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them shall these six cities be a refuge, that one who smiteth a person mortally without intent may flee thither.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 35
Commentary on Numbers 35 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 35
Orders having been given before for the dividing of the land of Canaan among the lay-tribes (as I may call them), care is here taken for a competent provision for the clergy, the tribe of Levi, which ministered in holy things.
Num 35:1-8
The laws about the tithes and offerings had provided very plentifully for the maintenance of the Levites, but it was not to be thought, nor indeed was it for the public good, that when they came to Canaan they should all live about the tabernacle, as they had done in the wilderness, and therefore care must be taken to provide habitations for them, in which they might live comfortably and usefully. It is this which is here taken care of.
Num 35:9-34
We have here the orders given concerning the cities of refuge, fitly annexed to what goes before, because they were all Levites' cities. In this part of the constitution there is a great deal both of good law and pure gospel.