Deuteronomy 18:6

"And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel where he sojourneth, and come with all the desire of his soul unto the place which Jehovah shall choose; then he shall minister in the name of Jehovah his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before Jehovah. They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony."

"These verses guaranteed the rights of all Levites against any restrictive tendencies of vested priestly interests at the central sanctuary."[7] In Leviticus 25:33,34, the law required that sufficient pasture lands be allotted to the Levites in the vicinity of the Levitical cities; and in this passage we catch a glimpse (but only a glimpse) of how the law worked out. It is anticipated here that the Levites would erect houses, or residences of some kind, in these areas and use the pasture lands for animal husbandry, and perhaps other forms of agriculture. Thus, although the Levites would have no landed inheritance in Canaan, as did the other tribes, there is no indication that they would live perpetually in poverty. These verses deal with the situation in which a Levite living at some considerable distance from the central sanctuary would desire to dispose of his patrimony, which he had acquired either by inheritance, or by his personal endeavor, in order to move to the place where the central sanctuary would be set up. As Keil noted:

"Such a Levite might either rent out his property in the Levitical town and use the annual rent as his income, or sell his house there to someone else ... These words are convincing proof that the allegation that the Levites were absolutely without possessions is not supported in any manner by the Book of Deuteronomy."[8]