Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 35:8
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.
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Ye shall give many: compare Num 33:54; Jos 20:2.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. the cities which ye shall giveshall be of the possession of the children of IsraelThe burdenof furnishing those places for the residence and support of theLevitical order was to fall in equitable proportions upon thedifferent tribes (see Num 33:54;Jos 20:7).
Nu35:9-34. THE BLOODAVENGER.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel,…. What shall fall by lot for their inheritance, and they shall be possessed of; and though they are, shall not refuse, nor grudge to give them, according to the direction of God, whose the land is, they holding it under him:
from [them that have] many ye shall give many, but from [them that have] few ye shall give few; which rule was observed; for out of Judah, whose lot was large, and out of Simeon, whose inheritance was within that of Judah, because it was so large, nine cities were given, whereas out of the other tribes only four cities out of each were given, and out of one of them but three, see Jos 21:1,
everyone shall give of his cities unto the Levites, according to his inheritance which he inheriteth; and the Levites, being thus dispersed among the several tribes, were of great advantage to them, to instruct them in the knowledge of divine things; so that though hereby Jacob’s curse on this tribe had its fulfilment, that it should be divided in Jacob, and scattered in Israel, yet that became a blessing to the rest of the tribes; see Ge 49:7.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. Many many few few According to Joshua xxi, Judah and Simeon, whose territorial allotments seem to have been blended very early, as predicted by Jacob, (Gen 49:5; Gen 49:7,) gave to the Levites nine of their cities, the other tribes gave four each, except Naphtali, who gave only three, making thirty-eight cities west of the Jordan. The eastern tribes gave ten. The thirteen given by Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin were assigned to the priests, being near the tabernacle and temple, and thirty-five to the three Levitical families. “Called out of the whole nation to be the peculiar possession of Jehovah, to watch over his covenant, and teach Israel his rights and his law, (Deu 31:9-13; Deu 33:8-10; Lev 10:11,) the Levites were to form and set forth among all the tribes the ( election) of the nation of Jehovah’s possession, and, by their walk as well as by their calling, to remind the Israelites continually of their own divine calling, to foster and preserve the law and testimony of the Lord in Israel, and to awaken and spread the fear of God and piety among all the tribes.” Keil and Delitzsch. If the Levitical families had been completely isolated, they would have been in danger of spiritual declension. Their association was a safeguard against this evil.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 35:8 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.
Ver. 8. From them that have many ye shall give. ] By the equity of this proportion, the richer are bound to give more to the minister’s maintenance than the poorer. Let this be noted by those that refuse to give anything to their ministers, because they have not those things, the tithes whereof the law requires for this purpose. See Gal 6:6 , See Trapp on “ Gal 6:6 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
according to his inheritance. Nine from Judah and Simeon; four from Benjamin; four from Ephraim; four from Dan; two from the half of Manasseh; two from the other half; four from Issachar; four from Asher; three from Naphtali; four from Zebulon; four from Reuben; four from Gad. Compare Jos 21:9, Jos 21:16, &c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
possession: Gen 49:7, Exo 32:28, Exo 32:29, Deu 33:8-11, Jos 21:3
from them: Num 26:54, Num 33:54, Exo 16:18, 2Co 8:13, 2Co 8:14
he inheriteth: Heb. they inherit
Reciprocal: Jos 21:4 – the tribe