Numbers 35:2
in Numbers 35“Command the Israelites to give, from the inheritance they will possess, cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and suburbs for the cities round about them shall ye give unto the Levites.
KJV
Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Suburbs - Rather, “pasture-grounds,” required for their large cattle, for their sheep and goats, and for all their beasts whatever they might be Num 35:3.
This site's exposition
on the plains of Moab by the Jordan
on Numbers 35:1-2
Levi, given no land at 18:20, now receives forty-eight towns set inside the other tribes' portions. Genesis 49:7 had said "I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel". Matthew Henry reads the scattering here as a posting through the whole country.
This site's exposition
cities for the Levites to live in and pasturelands around the cities
Albert Barnes renders the older word suburbs as pasture-grounds, land for the Levites' cattle, sheep and goats. Leviticus 25:34 had already made that ground their permanent possession, which may never be sold. The towns come out of the other tribes' inheritance.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Command the children of Israel,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Adonoy spoke to Moshe in the plains of Moav by the Yardein near Yereicho, saying:
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צַו֮ | tzav | command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְנָתְנ֣וּ | venatenu | and they will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לַלְוִיִּ֗ם | lalviyim | to the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| מִֽנַּחֲלַ֛ת | minachalat | some of [the] inheritance of | H5159 → | 222 times |
| אֲחֻזָּתָ֖ם | ʾachuzatam | possession their | H272 → | 66 times |
| עָרִ֣ים | ʾarim | cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לָשָׁ֑בֶת | lashavet | to dwell in | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| וּמִגְרָ֗שׁ | umigrash | and pasture land | H4054 → | 119 times |
| לֶֽעָרִים֙ | learim | for the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| סְבִיבֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם | sevivoteihem | around them | H5439 → | 336 times |
| תִּתְּנ֖וּ | titenu | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לַלְוִיִּֽם׃ | lalviyim | to the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
צַו֮command
tzavH6680 →494 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֒Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְנָתְנ֣וּand they will give
venatenuH5414 →2011 times
לַלְוִיִּ֗םto the Levites
lalviyimH3881 →291 times
מִֽנַּחֲלַ֛תsome of [the] inheritance of
minachalatH5159 →222 times
אֲחֻזָּתָ֖םpossession their
ʾachuzatamH272 →66 times
עָרִ֣יםcities
ʾarimH5892 →1090 times
לָשָׁ֑בֶתto dwell in
lashavetH3427 →1079 times
וּמִגְרָ֗שׁand pasture land
umigrashH4054 →119 times
לֶֽעָרִים֙for the cities
learimH5892 →1090 times
סְבִיבֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔םaround them
sevivoteihemH5439 →336 times
תִּתְּנ֖וּyou will give
titenuH5414 →2011 times
לַלְוִיִּֽם׃to the Levites
lalviyimH3881 →291 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Ezekiel 48:8Bordering the territory of Judah, from east to west, will be the portion you are to set apart. It will be 25,000 cubits wide, and the length of a tribal portion from east to…
it leads to
- Isaiah 33:20–22
Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any…
- Ezekiel 45:1–6
“When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you are to set aside a portion for the LORD, a holy portion of the land 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. This…
- Isaiah 12:6
Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
- Ezekiel 48:21
The remaining area on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, extending eastward…
- Colossians 2:9
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
- Isaiah 33:20–22
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; MannaFest exposition, Berean Standard Bible, Numbers 35 read with Leviticus 25 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.