Numbers 35:8
in Numbers 35The cities that you apportion from the territory of the Israelites should be given to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And concerning the cities which ye shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many ye shall take many; and from the few ye shall take few: every one according to his inheritance which he inheriteth shall give of his cities unto the Levites.
KJV
And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Nine cities were eventually given to the Levites from the large joint inheritance of Judah and Simeon; three were taken from the territory of Naphtali, and the other tribes gave each four apiece.
This site's exposition
there shall be six cities for refuge
on Numbers 35:6-8
Six of the forty-eight are cities of refuge and forty-two are not, and verse 8 sets the quota by size, from them that have many ye shall give many. Joshua 21 records the count being made good tribe by tribe, and Albert Barnes notes that Judah and Simeon together gave nine, Naphtali gave three, and the rest gave four apiece. The man who has taken a life is sheltered in a town belonging to the one tribe that owns no country of its own.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel--The burden of furnishing those places for the residence and support of the Levitical order was to fall in equitable proportions upon the different tribes (see Nu 33:54;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהֶֽעָרִ֗ים | vehearim | and the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּתְּנוּ֙ | titenu | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מֵאֲחֻזַּ֣ת | meachuzat | from [the] possession of | H272 → | 66 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מֵאֵ֤ת | meet | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הָרַב֙ | harav | the many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| תַּרְבּ֔וּ | tarbu | you will increase | H7235 → | 227 times |
| וּמֵאֵ֥ת | umeet | and from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הַמְעַ֖ט | hamat | the few | H4592 → | 101 times |
| תַּמְעִ֑יטוּ | tamitu | you will decrease | H4591 → | 22 times |
| אִ֗ישׁ | ʾish | each one | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כְּפִ֤י | kefi | according to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| נַחֲלָתוֹ֙ | nachalato | inheritance its | H5159 → | 222 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִנְחָ֔לוּ | yinchalu | they will inherit | H5157 → | 59 times |
| יִתֵּ֥ן | yiten | it will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מֵעָרָ֖יו | mearav | some of cities its | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לַלְוִיִּֽם׃ פ | lalviyim | to the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
וְהֶֽעָרִ֗יםand the cities
vehearimH5892 →1090 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּתְּנוּ֙you will give
titenuH5414 →2011 times
מֵאֲחֻזַּ֣תfrom [the] possession of
meachuzatH272 →66 times
בְּנֵי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מֵאֵ֤תfrom with
meetH854 →929 times
הָרַב֙the many
haravH7227 →454 times
תַּרְבּ֔וּyou will increase
tarbuH7235 →227 times
וּמֵאֵ֥תand from with
umeetH854 →929 times
הַמְעַ֖טthe few
hamatH4592 →101 times
תַּמְעִ֑יטוּyou will decrease
tamituH4591 →22 times
אִ֗ישׁeach one
ʾishH376 →1663 times
כְּפִ֤יaccording to [the] mouth of
kefiH6310 →498 times
נַחֲלָתוֹ֙inheritance its
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִנְחָ֔לוּthey will inherit
yinchaluH5157 →59 times
יִתֵּ֥ןit will give
yitenH5414 →2011 times
מֵעָרָ֖יוsome of cities its
mearavH5892 →1090 times
לַלְוִיִּֽם׃ פto the Levites
lalviyimH3881 →291 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 16:18When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 8:14–15
At the present time, your surplus will meet their need, so that in turn their surplus will meet your need. Then there will be equality.
- 2 Corinthians 8:14–15
Through
Numbers 26:54Increase the inheritance for a large tribe and decrease it for a small one; each tribe is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those registered.
it leads to
- Numbers 33:54
And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one…
- Joshua 17:14
Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has blessed us abundantly.”
- Numbers 32:3
“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
- Numbers 32:5
“If we have found favor in your sight,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.”
- Numbers 33:54
Through
Numbers 33:54And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one…
it leads to
- Numbers 26:53–56
“The land is to be divided among the tribes as an inheritance, according to the number of names.
- Joshua 18:11
The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
- Joshua 17:1–13
Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir…
- Numbers 26:53–56
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
