Numbers 35 Study Notes

35:1 The statement of the geographical setting (in the plains of Moab) alerts the reader to the land theme of chaps. 26-36.

35:2-5 This special allocation provided lands among the twelve Israelite tribes for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities for their flocks and herds acquired through the collection of tithes and offerings from the Israelites (18:21-32). From these settlements they and the priests could teach the people the laws of God, a vital concern if the nation was to learn the statutes and precepts of God’s law.

35:6-8 Parallel to the encampment of the priests and Levites around the tabernacle during the wilderness journey (chap. 2), the theocratic state organization was such that the Levites provided a visible presence among the twelve tribes to remind them of the need for holiness and righteousness as the people of God.

35:9-15 The six cities of refuge were needed in order to maintain purity and order in the community. The three cities on the eastern side of the Jordan, as well as the three cites later designated on the western side of the Jordan are delineated in Jos 20:7-9: Bezer in the Reubenite territory of southern Transjordan, Ramoth in Gilead in the Gadite highlands, and Golan in the Bashan region. The three cites of refuge on the western side of the Jordan were Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron.

35:16-21 Those deaths involving deliberate use of lethal weapons or deliberate personal assaults were considered murder and therefore were not covered under the guidelines of the cities of refuge. Murderers were to be executed by the avenger of blood, a designated kinsman to the deceased. The Hebrew word go’el here is the same term used of the family redeemer in Ru 2:20; 4:4,6. He was one who redeemed property or persons from another. The avenger of blood was a kinsman who redeemed the life of an individual by taking the life of the murderer.

35:22-29 The promised land was to be a holy land, free from the impurity of shed blood. The six cities of refuge provided a sanctuary to protect the lives of those convicted of manslaughter. It also served as the place of banishment for offenders. If a person was placed under the protection of a city of refuge but then decided to leave the city, he could be subject to execution by the blood avenger. City elders were responsible for assessing each case to determine the nature and cause of a person’s death. Atonement was offered to the person who had committed manslaughter only through the time of the high priest’s death. Thus that person was required to remain inside the city until that time. Murderers who sought refuge in these cities were not protected under the law. Capital punishment for willful death cases was to be carried out by the city after the elders had determined that the death penalty was justified.

35:30-34 The final section addresses the issues of the number of witnesses necessary to bring a murder conviction, the prohibition of monetary compensation in lieu of paying the proper penalty for the crime, and the theological basis for maintaining justice in the land in capital cases.