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Numbers 35:8

in Numbers 35

The 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.

This verse in Numbers 35

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
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

to be appointed as cities of refuge

on Numbers 35:6-8

Six of the forty-eight are cities of refuge. Verse 8 sets the quota by size, "more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one". Albert Barnes notes from Joshua 21 that Judah and Simeon together gave nine, Naphtali three, and the rest four apiece.

This site's exposition

more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one

The same scale governs the division of the land at Numbers 26:54 and 33:54, more for the larger and less for the smaller. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it as an equitable share of the burden of supporting the Levites. A tribe gave towns as it received land.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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 & Brown

1802–1910

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 words

Every 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.

  • 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 stops

Each 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 16:18

    When 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.

  • Through

    Numbers 26:54

    Increase 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.”

  • Through

    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…

    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…

Where this verse is studied

About Numbers

The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.
The Brazen Serpent, Anthony van Dyck, 1618 to 1620. Public domain.

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); MannaFest exposition, Berean Standard Bible, Numbers 35 read with Numbers 26 and 33 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.