“The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.
Parallel Translations
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“The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.
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And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
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And the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee thither; and beside them ye shall give forty and two cities.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Numbers 35:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Joshua 21:3 The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Yahweh, these cities with their pasture lands.
- Joshua 21:13 To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Libnah with its pasture lands,
- Joshua 21:21 They gave them Shechem with its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Gezer with its pasture lands,
- Joshua 21:27 They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Be Eshterah with its pasture lands: two cities.
- Joshua 21:32 Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, Hammothdor with its pasture lands, and Kartan with its pasture lands: three cities.
- Joshua 21:36 Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands,
- Joshua 21:38 Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pasture lands, the city of refuge for the man slayer, and Mahanaim with its pasture lands,
- Psalms 9:9 Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble.
- Numbers 35:13-14 The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge. You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge.
- Deuteronomy 4:41-43 Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, that the man slayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally and didn’t hate him in time past, and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live: Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.
- Joshua 20:2-9 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses, that the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood. He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and didn’t hate him before. He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the man slayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.’ ” They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh. These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands trial before the congregation.
- Psalms 62:7-8 My salvation and my honor is with God. The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us.
- Psalms 142:4-5 Look on my right, and see; for there is no one who is concerned for me. Refuge has fled from me. No one cares for my soul. I cried to you, Yahweh. I said, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Isaiah 4:6 There will be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a shelter from storm and from rain.
- Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Hebrews 6:18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 35:6 And among the cities which ye shall…
Num 35:6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites [there shall be] six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
Ver. 6. That he may flee thither.] All sins then are not equal, as the Stoics held; neither are all to be alike punished, as by Draco’s laws they were, in a manner. Those laws were said to be written, not with black, but with blood, because they punished every peccadillo almost with death, as idleness, stealing of pot herbs, &c. Aristotle gives them this small commendation, that they are not worth remembrance, but only for their great severity.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain For refuge, or, of receipt, or escape, or resort,…
For refuge, or, of receipt, or escape, or resort, to wit, for man-slayers; and these cities are assigned among the
Levites, partly, because they might be presumed to be the most proper and impartial judges between man-slayers and wilful murderers; partly, because their presence, and counsel, and authority would more effectually bridle the passions of the avenger of blood who might pursue him thither; and partly, to signify that it is only in Christ (whom the Levitical priests did represent) that sinners find refuge and safety from the destroyer. The names of these cities, we have Deu 4:41,43; Jos 20:8.
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For the man-slayer, such as is here described, Num 35:11,15,22,23.
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 And among the cities which ye shall give unto…
And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites,.... The number of which is not yet expressed, but is afterwards: there shall be
six cities for refuge; a sort of asylums, of which there were many among the Heathens, perhaps in imitation of these, for persons to have recourse to for safety, when in danger of life: the Septuagint render the words, "cities of flight" (b); or to flee unto, which certainly was the use of them: to this the apostle alludes when he speaks of some that fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before them, Heb 6:18, the word (c) used for refuge signifies "gathering or receiving", for here persons in distress gathered or betook themselves; and here they were received, retained, protected, and sheltered: what and where these six cities were to be, and were, is after shown:
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which ye shall appoint for the manslayer; not for any and everyone, not for one that killed a man presumptuously and purposely, through enmity and malice, but for one that did it ignorantly, unawares, and without design:
that he may flee thither; with all haste, after the commission of the fact; and, to facilitate his flight, and that he might have no interruption in it, the sanhedrim were obliged to prepare the ways to the cities of refuge, and to make them fit and large; and they removed everything that might cause him to stumble; and they did not leave in the way neither an hillock, nor a dale, nor a river but they made a bridge over it, that nothing might retard him that fled thither, as it is said:
thou shalt prepare thee a way; Deu 19:3 and the breadth of the way to the cities of refuge was not less than thirty two cubits; and at the parting of ways (on posts erected) were written, "refuge, refuge", so that the slayer might know (the way) and turn there (as this directed him): and on the fifteenth of Adar or February, they met every year, to take care of this business (d); and they also appointed two disciples of the wise men, or two studious and understanding persons, to accompany him, not so much for the direction of the way, as lest the avenger of blood should meet with him, and slay him in the way; and who were to talk to him, and persuade him not to do it, suggesting to him that it was not done designedly, but unawares, and that it would be a bad thing to kill a man for what he did not intend to do, and which was done without any malice or enmity to the person killed, and with such like words to cool and appease the avenger (e):
and to them ye shall add forty two cities; according to the Jewish writers these also were cities of refuge; for so they say (f),"all the cities of the Levites receive or are refuges, every one of them is a city of refuge, as it is said, "and to them ye shall add", &c. the Scripture makes them all alike for refuge: what difference is there between cities of refuge, which are separated for refuge, and the rest of the cities of the Levites? the gates of the cities of refuge receive, whether according to knowledge or not, (which Mr. Selden (g) interprets, whether the inhabitants will or not; but the sense of Maimonides elsewhere (h), and of other writers, is plainly this, whether according to the knowledge and intention of the manslayer or not, whether he knows it to be a city of refuge or :not, and whether he purposely came thither for safety or not,) and he that enters into them is safe; but the rest of the cities of the Levites do not receive, but according to knowledge (when the manslayer knowingly and designedly came thither for shelter); and a manslayer that dwells in a city of refuge gives no more for his house, but he that dwells in the other cities of the Levites gives more (or pays for it) to the owner of the house;''but though this is their unanimous opinion, it rather seems, according to the letter of the Scripture, that only six were cities of refuge, and the rest were for the Levites to dwell in by themselves.
(b) , Sept. (c) "receptus", Junius & Tremellius; "collectionis", Piscator; R. Sol. Ohel Moed, fol. 82. 1. "proprie significat collectionem vel retentionem", Munster. (d) Maimon. Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 8. sect. 5. (e) Misn. Maccot, c. 2. sect. 5. & Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. (f) Maimon. ut supra, (d)) sect. 11. (g) De Jure Natarae & Gentium, l. 4. c. 2. p. 489. (h) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Maccot, l. 2. sect. 4.
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 Cities for refuge - Or, of escape for manslayers:…
Cities for refuge - Or, of escape for manslayers: And these cities are assigned among the Levites, partly because they might be presumed to be the most proper and impartial Judges between man-slayers, and wilful murderers; partly because their presence and authority would more effectually bridle the passions of the avenger of blood who might pursue him thither; and perhaps to signify, that it is only in Christ (whom the Levitical priests represented) that sinners find refuge and safety from the destroyer.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 35:6-7. Cities for refuge — Or, of escape…
Num 35:6-7. Cities for refuge — Or, of escape for manslayers. And these cities are assigned among the Levites, partly because they might be presumed to be the most proper and impartial judges between manslayers and wilful murderers; partly because their presence and authority would more effectually bridle the passions of the avenger of blood who might pursue him thither; and perhaps to signify that it is only in Christ (whom the Levitical priests represented) that sinners find refuge and safety from the destroyer. Three of these cities of refuge were in the land of Canaan, and three on the other side Jordan, (Num 35:14,) and the names of them are set down, Jos 20:7-8. Of the forty-eight cities given to the Levites, thirteen were appointed for the priests.
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 The Levitical cities were in an special manner the…
The Levitical cities were in an special manner the Lord’s; and therefore the places of refuge, where the manslayer might remain under the protection of a special institution devised by divine mercy, were appropriately selected from among them. No doubt also the Priests and Levites would be the fittest persons to administer the law in the doubtful cases which would be sure to occur: compare Num 35:24 note.
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 Cities. Maimonides pretends, that all forty-eight cities of the…
Cities. Maimonides pretends, that all forty-eight cities of the Levites were asylums; though only six were bound to receive the fugitive gratis. Moses had promised a place of refuge, which he now grants, Exodus xxi. 13. The altar and temple enjoyed the like privilege: the latter even till its destruction. (Philo) --- Josephus mentions only six cities of refuge. Those who could not be supposed to have killed a person designedly were not obliged to flee to them; as, on the other hand, the murderer was not permitted to enter, if his malice were notorious, or his negligence extreme. (Rabbins ep. Selden, Jur. iv. 2.) To be secured at the altar of holocausts, it was necessary to touch the grate. If the judges declared that the person’s case was such as the law admitted, he was conducted away, under a strong guard, to one of the cities; or, if he were deemed unworthy, he was put to death, out of the holy place. The altar was commonly the refuge only of priests. Those who were not of Hebrew extraction, could not claim the rights of an asylum, according to the Rabbins. But the contrary seems to be asserted, ver. 15. The roads to the cities of refuge were to be kept in good repair, and in case more than six should be found necessary, three others might be appointed, Deuteronomy xix. 3, 8. This privilege is founded on the law of nature, which decrees that the life of the innocent man, who has had the misfortune to kill another, should not be taken away. Other nations extended this right to almost every crime, that the weak might have an opportunity of defending themselves. The sons of Hercules erected for this purpose the altar of mercy, at Athens. Some of the pagan temples could protect even the greatest criminals, as well as the innocent, who might fear oppression. Those of Apollo, at Delphos, of Bacchus, at Ephesus, &c., were very famous. See Marsham, Chron. sæc. 13. Tiberius found it necessary to recall these privileges among the Greeks, as they were greatly abused. (Tacitus, An. iii. 6.) But his decree ws not much regarded. The Romans had their asylums also, at Naples, &c., where those who had been condemned to die, might be secure. Rome itself was an asylum for all strangers, as St. Augustine remarks, City of God i. The Christian emperors afforded the like privileges to our churches. But some who were guilty of the crimes of adultery, murder, heresy, &c., were deprived of the benefit. (Calmet) --- Those who fled to the altar among the Jews were first to be purified; (Philo) and if they had committed murder publicly, like Joab, they were dragged away, 3 Kings ii. (Tirinus)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain CITIES OF REFUGE. (Num 35:6-8)
CITIES OF REFUGE. (Num 35:6-8)
there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer--The establishment of those privileged sanctuaries among the cities of the Levites is probably traceable to the idea, that they would be the most suitable and impartial judges--that their presence and counsels might calm or restrain the stormy passions of the blood avenger--and that, from their being invested with the sacred character, they might be types of Christ, in whom sinners find a refuge from the destroyer (see Deu 4:43; Jos 20:8).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain CITIES OF REFUGE, Num_35:6-34.
CITIES OF REFUGE, Num_35:6-34.
The right of shelter and impunity, (jus asyli,) by fleeing to sacred places, was afforded to the guilty and the unfortunate by the ancient Greeks and Romans. When abuses arose and justice was grossly outraged, the limitation of this privilege was necessary to the preservation of society. Tacitus records the increase of criminals because of the increase of places of asylum among the Greeks and Romans. This merciful and wise provision of Mosaism, so far as the spirit of the age allowed it, prevented all family hatred and war from ever taking place, as was inevitably the case among the other nations, where any bloodshed whatever, whether wilful or accidental, laid the homicide open to the duty of revenge by the relatives of the slain person, who again in their turn were then similarly watched and hunted by the opposite party, until a family war of extermination was the sad heritage of succeeding generations.
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6. Cities for refuge… manslayer — Jos_20:1-9, notes.
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 (6, 7, 8) And among the cities which ye…
(6, 7, 8) And among the cities which ye shall give . . . —The construction of this verse is involved; or, rather, there is a suspension of the subject in Num_35:6, and a resumption of it in Num_35:7-8. The verses may be rendered thus: And as to the cities which ye shall give to the Levites, viz., the six cities of refuge which ye shall give that the manslayer may flee thither (and in addition to these ye shall give forty and two cities); as to all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites, viz., forty and eight cities, them and their suburbs; now as to the cities which ye shall give from the possession of the children of Israel; from the many ye shall take many, and from the few ye shall take few . . . It had already been announced in general terms that a place should be appointed whither any one should flee who had unintentionally smitten a man so that he died, and had not lain in wait with a view to commit murder (Exo_21:12-13). In the verses which follow, the law is delivered at length, and is repeated and further expanded in Deu_19:1-13. There were many reasons why all the cities of refuge were Levitical cities. Of these reasons the chief probably were:—(1) That these cities were specially consecrated to the Lord (see Jos_20:7, “And they appointed,” &c.—Heb., consecrated); and (2) that it was to the priests and Levites that the people looked as administrators of justice.
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 And among the cities. Rather, "and the cities." taw…
And among the cities. Rather, "and the cities." taw kai taleiv . The construction is broken, or rather is continuous throughout verses 6-8, the accusative being repeated. Six cities for refuge. See below on verse 11.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain The cities of refuge are types of Christ sheltering…
refuge
The cities of refuge are types of Christ sheltering the sinner from judgment.
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Psa 46:1; Psa 142:5; Isa 4:6; Exo 21:13; Deu 19:2-9; Rom 8:1; Rom 8:33; Rom 8:34; Php 3:9; Heb 6:18; Heb 6:19.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 a person who has killed someone
a person who has killed someone
This refers to people who have killed someone, but it had not yet been determined whether they killed the person intentionally or accidentally.
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forty-two ... forty-eight
"42 ... 48" (See: Numbers)
translationWords
refuge
accuse
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 35:6-34 Six of the Levites’ towns had a special…
35:6-34 Six of the Levites’ towns had a special purpose as cities of refuge, places where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. This unusual institution illustrates the humanitarian aspect of Hebrew law (see also Deut 4:41-43; 19:1-13; Josh 20). These six Levitical towns provided a safe haven in cases of accidental or involuntary manslaughter (cp. Exod 21:12-14). Just as the forty-eight Levite towns were widely distributed across Israel’s territories, the six cities of refuge were dispersed so they would be widely accessible (see Josh 20:7-8). These designated settlements supplemented the role of the altar as a temporary place of asylum (e.g., 1 Kgs 1:50-53; 2:28-34; cp. Exod 21:14). Other ancient peoples provided special places of asylum or refuge, often at the altar (see Exod 21:12-14; 1 Kgs 2:28-34), but only ancient Israel established whole settlements as places of sanctuary, reflecting a special interest in social justice.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.