“Property Lines”

Saturday, February 01, 2014

I am not sure I have a full understanding of chapter 35 and 36 of Numbers: explain both those chapters to me.  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Outnumbered

Dear Outnumbered,

Numbers 35 deals with the distribution of land to the Levites.  When Israel conquered the land of Canaan, the tribe of Levi (also known as the Levites) was not given large chunks of land like the other tribes.  Instead, they were given cities scattered throughout the other tribes.  Numbers 35 outlines exactly where those cities would be and how the land surrounding those cities was to be surveyed.  Numbers 35 also deals with the cities of refuge (Num 35:10-11).  Cities of refuge were places where someone could flee to for safety if they had accidently killed someone.

Numbers 36 addresses a separate issue concerning distribution of land – inheritance.  Typically, land was passed down through a family from father to son, but in some instances, if a man had only daughters, special exceptions needed to be made, so the land could remain in the family.  Numbers 36 outlines specifically how inheritances should be dealt with in such cases.

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