They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their pasture lands shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.
“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. You 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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v5 So that in all were three thousand, and in…
So that in all were three thousand, and in the compass of these two thousand, they might plant and sow.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv3–4 For their cattle; for pasturage for their cattle; where…
For their cattle; for pasturage for their cattle; where they might not build houses, nor plant gardens, orchards, or vineyards, no, nor sow corn, for which they were abundantly provided out of the first-fruits and tithes. And these suburbs did not belong to the Levites in common, but were distributed to them in convenient proportions, as may appear from Jos 21:18; 1Ch 6:60.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv3–5 And cities shall they have to dwell in,.... For…
And cities shall they have to dwell in,.... For them and their families, and indeed for nothing else, they having no trades nor worldly business to carry on in them:
and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle; for stables and stalls to put them up in, and for barns and storehouses to lay in provender for them:
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and for their goods; where to bestow them, as the increase of their fields, oliveyards, and vineyards, see Luk 12:18.
and for all their beasts; or living creatures; or "for their whole life" (z); or livelihood, whatsoever was for the support of it; the Targum of Jonathan adds, by way of explanation, for all their necessities; and so Jarchi.
(z) "ad vitam ipsorum". Vid. Drusium.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3–4 For the cattle - For pasturage for their cattle:…
For the cattle - For pasturage for their cattle: where they might not build houses, nor plant gardens, orchards or vineyards, no nor sow corn, for which they were abundantly provided out of the first-fruits. And these suburbs did not belong to the Levites in common, but were distributed to them in convenient proportions.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv4–5 Verse 4. And the suburbs of the cities -…
Verse 4. And the suburbs of the cities - shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Num 35:3. The cities shall they have to dwell…
Num 35:3. The cities shall they have to dwell in — Notwithstanding this provision, it was lawful for them to hire or purchase houses in any other city, particularly at Jerusalem; for we find in Scripture many proofs of their dwelling in other cities besides those which are here assigned them; and, in like manner, other people, with their permission, might dwell with them in their cities. The suburbs for their cattle and for their goods — For stables and pasturage for their cattle, and stowages for their household stuff of all kinds. But they might not build houses, nor plant gardens, orchards, or vineyards; no, nor sow corn in these suburbs, for which things they were abundantly supplied from the first-fruits. And these suburbs did not belong to the Levites in common, but were distributed to them in convenient proportions. They were thus provided for, that they might the more closely attend to the study of the law, and might have more leisure for teaching the people. And living thus near together, they could easily converse one with another about divine things, to their mutual edification; in doubtful cases could consult each other; and in all cases strengthen one another’s hands.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v5 From without the city - Omit “from.” The demarcation…
From without the city - Omit “from.” The demarcation here intended would run parallel to the wall of the city, outside which it was made. To guard against any restrictions of area, due to such causes as the irregular forms of the cities or the physical obstacles of the ground, it was ordained that the suburb should, alike on north, south, east, and west, present, at a distance of one thousand cubits (or, nearly one-third of a mile) from the wall, a front not less than two thousand cubits in length; and, by joining the extremities of these measured fronts according to the nature of the ground, a sufficient space for the Levites would be secured.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv3–5 Cities, in all forty-eight, with a thousand paces round…
Cities, in all forty-eight, with a thousand paces round them. This land belonged to the community: but some built upon it, Josue xxi. 18., and 1 Paralipomenon vi. 60. The burial place for the Levites lay behind it. (Drusius) --- In these cities alone, the Levites had houses and gardens of their own; other might live with them, and indeed the cities acknowledged other lords, as Hebron belonged to Caleb, Josue xiv. 14. The Levites were dispersed throughout the land, that they might instruct the people both by word and by example, Deuteronomy xxxiii. 10. They had a clear revenue without labour of husbandry, equivalent to any two of the other tribes. (Abulensis.) --- Six of their cities were assigned for places of refuge, as they were the proper judges of the cases, in which murder may be excused, and to remind them that hey ought to be very merciful. Hence arose the privileges, granted to some churches, of protecting those who fled to them for an asylum. That none might be hindered from enjoying this benefit, three of these cities were situated on each side of the Jordan, and at equal distances. (Salien)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v4 4, 5. Suburbs… a thousand cubits — There would…
4, 5. Suburbs… a thousand cubits — There would be no perplexity in making a diagram fulfilling this requirement if it were not added that a distance of two thousand cubits must be measured from without the city on each of the four sides. Eight different kinds of diagrams have been devised to meet the requirements of the text, one of which will be found in Jos_21:2, note. The Seventy, Josephus, and Philo cut this knot by reading two thousand in both verses. In the summer of 1878 two stones bearing the inscription in old Hebrew and Greek characters, “The limit or boundary of Geser,” were found near Abou-Shushek, the ancient Levitical city of Gezer, (Jos_21:21,) taken from the Philistines by the king of Egypt, and given by Pharaoh to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 1Ki_9:16. This discovery will go far toward fixing the standard of the Jewish cubit, and in determining the shape and extent of the suburbs of these cities. The limit of the inner suburb was one thousand cubits from the wall round about the city, which was probably circular. The outer precincts were two thousand cubits beyond the inner, according to the Hebrew text, to the east, west, north, and south corners; so the boundary of the outlying fields could not have been circular, but diagonal. The suburbs did not measure three thousand cubits in all directions, only the angles at the four cardinal points. The first thousand cubits were to be measured “from the wall of the city,” not from the center of it, the city being “in the midst.” This discovery corrects the diagram of Keil. See Jos_21:2, note.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv3, 5 (3) For their cattle . . . —The word…
(3) For their cattle . . . —The word which is rendered “cattle” generally denotes oxen and beasts of burden. The word which is rendered “goods” probably refers here to the sheep and goats. (Cf. 2Ch_21:14; 2Ch_35:7.) The passage may be rendered, for their cattle and for their substance, even for all their beasts.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3, 5 For their cattle. "for their great cattle," i.e., oxen,…
For their cattle. "for their great cattle," i.e., oxen, camels, and any other beasts of draught or burden. For their goods. "For their possessions," which in this connection would mean their ordinary "live stock," chiefly sheep and goats; the word itself ( is indeterminate. For all their beasts. an expression which apparently only sums up what has previously been mentioned.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5 one thousand cubits
one thousand cubits
"1,000 cubits." If it is necessary to use modern distance units, here is a way of doing it. AT: "457 meters" (See: Numbers and Biblical Distance)
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translationWords
cow
flocks
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v4 35:4-5 Readers have long attempted to explain the alleged…
35:4-5 Readers have long attempted to explain the alleged contradiction between the 1,500 feet and the 3,000 feet. If the Hebrews conceived of a town as a fixed point, then the square of territory around each town would measure 3,000 feet on each side. Another solution is to see a distinction between pastureland (35:4) and larger pastureland (35:5) around the town. On the basis of this text, some Jewish interpreters restricted the distance that one could walk on the Sabbath to 3,000 feet (2,000 cubits) from home.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.