Numbers 35:1-15 - Cities for Levites and Cities of Refuge

35:1-5

The Levites did not have a direct inheritance in the land, but each of the tribes was to allocate them towns to live in and pasture land so they could husband their animals. Details on the size of the towns and the pasture land to be given to Levites is given.

35:6-15

We now get details of the cities of refuge. Six of the Levite towns were to be designated as such. These were places to which someone who accidentally killed someone could flee. When such an event happened the families of the victim would naturally feel very much aggrieved and would be out for revenge. They would not be thinking clearly. Today there is often talk of victims having input to criminal proceedings, in terms of setting the sentences. This is a deeply mistaken approach. The problem is that the criminal justice system is often not assigning the correct or severe enough sentences, the solution lies with the criminal justice system itself not properly recognising the seriousness of various crimes.