Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Numbers 35:1-34
11. The Cities of Refuge CHAPTER 35 1. The provision of the Levites: Forty-eight cities (Numbers 35:1-8 ) 2. The cities of refuge (Numbers 35:9-34 ) The cities of the Levites were scattered through the land. Genesis 49:7 is therefore fulfilled. The provision of cities for refuge is full of interest. The careful study of the purpose of these cities is recommended. Note especially that they were provided to give shelter for those who had killed a person unawares. The avenger of blood... read more
Expositor's Bible Commentary - Numbers 35:1-34
THE CITIES OF REFUGENumbers 35:1-34; Numbers 36:1-131. THE INHERITANCE OF THE LEVITESThe order relating to the Levitical cities may be said to describe an ideal settlement. We have, at all events, no evidence that the command was ever fully carried out. It was to the effect that in forty-eight cities, scattered throughout the whole of the tribes in proportion to their population, dwellings were to be allotted to the Levites, who were also to have the suburbs of those cities; that is to say, the... read more