Though the tribe of Levi had no part in the division of the land, yet cities out of the several tribes are here ordered to be given them to dwell in, to the number of forty eight, Num. 35:1–8, six of which were to be cities of refuge, Num.

And the Lord spake to Moses After he had described the borders of the land, and given instructions about the division of it among the several tribes, and named the persons that should be concerned in parting and putting it into the possession of the Israelites, he makes a provision for the Levites;…

Command the children of Israel All the tribes of them; it is not a bare instruction that is given them, much less a mere request that is made to them, or something proposed, and left to their option whether they would agree to it or not; but it is strictly enjoined them by the Lord, who had given…

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…

And the suburbs of the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites The dimensions and bounds of them were not left to the Israelites, to give what ground they pleased for this purpose, but were fixed to what length they should be: these shall reach from the walls of the city, and outward, a…

And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits Before only 1000 cubits were ordered to be measured, and now 2000, even 2000 more, which were to be added to the other, and to begin where they ended.

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,…

So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty eight cities Of these forty eight cities, their names, and what tribes they were in, and which of them were particularly cities of refuge, an account is given in : them shall ye give, with their suburbs; according to the dimensions…

And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel What shall fall by lot for their inheritance, and they shall be possessed of; and though they are, shall not refuse, nor grudge to give them, according to the direction of God, whose the land is, they holding it…

And the Lord spake unto Moses At the same time, or he continued his speech unto him: saying: as follows.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them Now, directly: when ye come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; as they quickly would, being now very near it, and of which there was the utmost certainty, since the Lord had promised to bring them over that river, and put them in possession of…

Then ye shall appoint your cities to be cities of refuge for you And, according to the Jewish writers [[8]], these were neither to be made large nor little, but middling; and they appointed them where there were markets and fairs, at which goods were to be sold; and where there was plenty of water,…

And they shall be unto you cities of refuge from the avenger, &c.] Or near kinsman; for as the right of redemption of an estate that was mortgaged belonged to such an one, so of revenging the blood of any one that was killed: that the manslayer die not; by the hand of the avenger, who in the heat…

And of these cities which ye shall give Of the forty eight cities they were to give to the Levites, , six cities shall ye have for refuge; which, I think, makes it clear, that not all the forty eight cities were for refuge, only six of them.

Ye shall give three cites on this side Jordan Which were Bezer in the wilderness, out of the tribe of Reuben; and Ramoth in Gilead, out of the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, out of the tribe of Manasseh, , and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan: which were Kadesh in Galilee, in…

These six cities shall be a refuge both for the children of Israel and for the stranger For an Israelite, and a proselyte of righteousness, one that embraced the Jewish religion, and in all things conformed to it, and to whom there was but one law in things civil and religious: and for the…

And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die As with an hatchet, hammer, sword, knife, &c. he is a murderer; the instrument used by him, and with which he smote, shows that he had a bad design, and intended to kill, or he would never have smitten a man with such an instrument: the…

And if he smite him with throwing a stone “Or with a stone of the hand” [[15]], which the Jews interpret of a stone so big as to fill a man’s hand, and so wherewith he may die; at whom it is thrown; is sufficient to cause his death, if struck with it; so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it of a…

Or if he smote him with an hand weapon of wood A stick, or staff, or club: wherewith he may die, and he die; which is sufficient to kill a man, as the same Targum explains it; and a man dies with the blow that is given him by it: he is a murderer, and the murderer shall surely be put to death; no…

The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer Not only shall have power to do it, but, as it seems, should be obliged to do it; be the executioner of the murderer; but not before his case has been heard, examined, tried, and judged; wherefore the Targum of Jonathan adds, “in judgment,” that…

But if he thrust him of hatred Or, “and if” [[16]], since the Scripture is still speaking of such that shall die for murder, though in another instance, without having the privilege of a city of refuge; if he thrusts him with a sword or knife, or rather, since, if anything of that kind is included…

Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die Give him a blow with his fist, on some part of his body where life is most in danger, and which issues in death: he that smote him shall surely be put to death, for he is a murderer; and therefore, according to the original law, ought to die,…

But if he thrust him suddenly, without enmity Push him from a precipice, before he is aware, without any malicious design against his life, but merely through accident: or have cast upon him anything; from the top of a house, or from a building he is pulling down, or pushes a bowing wall upon him,…

Or with any stone wherewith a man may die Which is sufficient to kill a man, if thrown at him: seeing him not; and so without intention: the Jews [[17]] from hence gather, that a blind man is to be acquitted and dismissed, and not banished and so stands in no need of a city of refuge; though others…

Then the congregation That is, the court of judicature, assembled together to hear and try this cause: shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood; shall hear what both have to say, and pass sentence: according to these judgments; these judicial laws and rules of judgment before…

And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood Put him under the care of proper persons, to conduct him to one of the cities of refuge, or put him in the way to it; and restrain the avenger of blood from pursuing him, until such time that it may be judged he…

But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge Which seems to be the three thousand cubits assigned to every city of the Levites, and so to the cities of refuge; and which, according to the Jewish writers, were a refuge, as the city itself; and it is said…

And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge Without the suburbs, fields, and vineyards belonging to it: and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; being exasperated against him, and to avenge the blood of his relation on him: he shall not be guilty of blood; or…

Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest Nothing could give him his liberty but his death; so that though this was a merciful provision made in such cases for such persons, and was a considerable benefit and privilege, yet it carried in it some…

So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you, &c.] A judicial law, according to which they were to proceed in all the above cases: throughout your generations in all your dwellings; throughout all ages, as long as they dwelt in the land of Canaan, even unto the times of the Messiah,…

Whoso killeth any person Willingly, and through enmity and malice: the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of two witnesses; which is repeated partly to show, that this law concerning the cities of refuge was not designed to screen a murderer, who was guilty through malice prepense; and…

Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer Though he would give all his wealth and substance, all his estates and possessions, and whatever he is worth in the world; for all that a man has he will give for his life; but these are not to be taken, nor anything, and everything…

Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge Though for killing a man unawares: that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest; the high priest; such a man’s liberty was not to be purchased with money, nor even his life to be…

So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are The land of Canaan, as it had been by the old inhabitants of it, by idolatry, adultery, and murder: for blood it defileth the land: the shedding of innocent blood defiles a nation, and the inhabitants of it, brings guilt thereon, and subjects to…

Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inherit By the commission of such atrocious crimes, or suffering them to go unpunished, or by taking a compensation for the life of the guilty person: wherein I dwell; which is added to strengthen the exhortation, and as giving a reason why care should…