Parallel Verses English Standard Version You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge. King James Bible Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. American Standard Version Ye shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. Douay-Rheims Bible Three shall be beyond the Jordan, and three in the land of Chanaan, English Revised Version Ye shall give three cities beyond Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. Webster's Bible Translation Ye shall give three cities on this side of Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. Numbers 35:14 Parallel Commentary Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old TestamentOf these cities which were given up to the Levites, six were to serve as cities of refuge (see at Numbers 35:12) for manslayers, and in addition to these (עליהם, over upon them) the Israelites were to give of their possessions forty-two others, that is to say, forty-eight in all; and they were to do this, giving much from every tribe that had much, and little from the one which had little (Numbers 26:54). With the accusatives הערים את and ערי שׁשׁ עת (Numbers 35:6), the writer has already in his mind the verbs תּרבּוּ and תּמעיטוּ of Numbers 35:8, where he takes up the object again in the word והערים. According to Joshua 21, the Levites received nine cities in the territory of Judah and Simeon, four in the territory of each of the other tribes, with the exception of Naphtali, in which there were only three, that is to say, ten in the land to the east of the Jordan, and thirty-eight in Canaan proper, of which the thirteen given up by Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin were assigned to the families of the priests, and the other thirty-five to the three Levitical families. This distribution of the Levites among all the tribes - by which the curse of division and dispersion in Israel, which had been pronounced upon Levi in Jacob's blessing (Genesis 49:7), was changed into a blessing both for the Levites themselves and also for all Israel - was in perfect accordance with the election and destination of this tribe. Called out of the whole nation to be the peculiar possession of Jehovah, to watch over His covenant, and teach Israel His rights and His law (Deuteronomy 33:9-10; Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 31:9-13), the Levites were to form and set forth among all the tribes the ἐκλογή of the nation of Jehovah's possession, and by their walk as well as by their calling to remind the Israelites continually of their own divine calling; to foster and preserve the law and testimony of the Lord in Israel, and to awaken and spread the fear of God and piety among all the tribes. Whilst their distribution among all the tribes corresponded to this appointment, the fact that they were not scattered in all the towns and villages of the other tribes, but were congregated together in separate towns among the different tribes, preserved them from the disadvantages of standing alone, and defended them from the danger of moral and spiritual declension. Lastly, in the number forty-eight, the quadrupling of the number of the tribes (twelve) is unmistakeable. Now, as the number four is the seal of the kingdom of God in the world, the idea of the kingdom of God is also represented in the four times twelve towns (cf. Bhr, Symbolik, ii. pp. 50, 51). Treasury of Scripture Knowledge three cities Deuteronomy 4:41-43 Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sun rise... Deuteronomy 19:8-10 And if the LORD your God enlarge your coast, as he has sworn to your fathers... Cross References Numbers 35:13 And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge. Deuteronomy 4:41 Then Moses set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, Jump to Previous Canaan Cities Jordan Places Refuge Safe Side ThreeJump to Next Canaan Cities Jordan Places Refuge Safe Side ThreeLinks Numbers 35:14 NIVNumbers 35:14 NLT Numbers 35:14 ESV Numbers 35:14 NASB Numbers 35:14 KJV Numbers 35:14 Bible Apps Numbers 35:14 Biblia Paralela Numbers 35:14 Chinese Bible Numbers 35:14 French Bible Numbers 35:14 German Bible Bible Hub ESV Text Edition: 2016. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. |