Numbers 35:4
in Numbers 35The pasturelands around the cities you are to give the Levites will extend a thousand cubits from the wall on every side.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
KJV
And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
There is an apparent discrepancy between Nu 35:4 and Nu 35:5, with regard to the extent of these suburbs; but the statements in the two verses refer to totally different things--the one to the extent of the suburbs from the walls of the city, the other to the space of two thousand cubits from their extremity.
This site's exposition
the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle
on Numbers 35:3-5
The suburbs are pasture ground, the Hebrew migrash, given for cattle and goods, so the Levites hold grazing without holding a territory. Verse 4 measures a thousand cubits out from the wall and verse 5 measures two thousand on each of the four sides, and readers have taken the difference in two ways. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the first as the depth of the suburb from the wall and the second as a line drawn from its outer edge, while John Gill reports the Jewish writers giving the first thousand to cattle and goods and the further two thousand to gardens, fields and vineyards.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
A thousand cubits - In the next verse it is two thousand. But this verse and the next do not speak to the same thing; this speaks of the space from whence the suburbs shall be measured, the next speaks of the space unto which that measure shall be extended; and the words may very well be read thus.
And the suburbs of the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites,....
Thus was care taken that they should not only live, but live plentifully, and have all desirable conveniences about them, that they might not be looked upon with contempt by their neighbours.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And the suburbs of the cities - shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִגְרְשֵׁי֙ | umigreshei | and [the] pasture lands of | H4054 → | 119 times |
| הֶֽעָרִ֔ים | hearim | the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּתְּנ֖וּ | titenu | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לַלְוִיִּ֑ם | lalviyim | to the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| מִקִּ֤יר | mikir | [will be] from [the] wall of | H7023 → | 75 times |
| הָעִיר֙ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וָח֔וּצָה | vachutzah | and [the] outside towards | H2351 → | 164 times |
| אֶ֥לֶף | ʾelef | one thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| אַמָּ֖ה | ʾamah | cubit[s] | H520 → | 247 times |
| סָבִֽיב׃ | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
וּמִגְרְשֵׁי֙and [the] pasture lands of
umigresheiH4054 →119 times
הֶֽעָרִ֔יםthe cities
hearimH5892 →1090 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּתְּנ֖וּyou will give
titenuH5414 →2011 times
לַלְוִיִּ֑םto the Levites
lalviyimH3881 →291 times
מִקִּ֤יר[will be] from [the] wall of
mikirH7023 →75 times
הָעִיר֙the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וָח֔וּצָהand [the] outside towards
vachutzahH2351 →164 times
אֶ֥לֶףone thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
אַמָּ֖הcubit[s]
ʾamahH520 →247 times
סָבִֽיב׃all around
savivH5439 →336 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.