Synopsis of the Chapter
Thirty-eight cities in various tribes are assigned to the Levites for dwelling.
Verse 1: The Levites' Dispersion Transformed into Glory ¶
1. AND THE HEADS OF THE FAMILIES OF LEVI CAME. — Note that the patriarch Jacob on his deathbed, Genesis 49:7, imposed upon his son Levi and his descendants the Levites, as punishment for the slaughter of the Shechemites, the penalty of dispersion among their brothers: but God, who is rich in tempering vengeance and in clemency, turned this penalty on account of the merits of their descendants into praise and glory, and willed that the assemblies and colleges of Levites and priests be scattered throughout all the tribes, so that all might receive from the priesthood both the dignity and the benefit of learning sound doctrine and the divine law. For these colleges were like seminaries of religion and piety, from which neighboring cities could seek the seeds of heavenly instruction and examples of a holier life. Thus God promises at Hosea 2:23 that He will sow throughout the whole land "Jezreel," that is, "the seed of God," namely priests as Apostles and apostolic men. So St. Basil, as attested by St. Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 20, built monasteries near cities, so that the inhabitants of both might share their advantages with one another, as do land and sea, intermingled for that purpose; namely that monasteries might be sustained by cities, while cities might learn a holier life from monasteries as from gymnasiums of piety. For this reason, throughout Germany and in other places, most ancient monasteries were built near the more celebrated cities — indeed older than the cities themselves, and which gave the cities themselves their occasion and beginning, as Thomas Bozius rightly observes in his Signs of the Church.
Wherefore St. Chrysostom, Homily 59 to the People, exhorts him to visit monasteries and monks frequently. "For there, he says, everything is free from enticements and from all disturbance and unrest: moreover they are the most tranquil harbors, and those who inhabit them are like fires which, shining from a lofty place, display light from afar to those approaching, and having settled in the harbor, draw others to their tranquility; nor do they allow those who look upon them to suffer shipwreck, or to be in darkness who have turned their eyes toward them. Go therefore to such men, enjoy their companionship, approach, I say, the saints, touch their feet; for it is far more honorable to embrace their feet than the head of others. For tell me, if certain people who grasp the feet of statues, because they bear only the image of the king, will you not be saved if you hold fast to him who has Christ in himself? Holy therefore are such feet, even if they be the lowliest."
Verse 3: The Distribution of Cities to the Levites ¶
3. AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GAVE. — Note: This distribution of cities made by the twelve tribes to the Levites took place shortly after the casting of lots and the division of the land, before the individual tribes went to take possession of their allotments; and this was so that the first possessors would not be driven from their seats by the Levites. The rest I discussed at Numbers 35:1 and following.
Moreover, more cities are listed here as given to the Levites than to the other tribes, both for the honor of the priesthood, so that priests and Levites, not worried about houses, might devote themselves entirely to the worship of God, says Philo in his book On the Honor of the Priesthood; and also because the other tribes, besides cities, had many villages and hamlets; but the Levites did not, having only pasture lands extending a thousand paces. So Abulensis. Finally, for the Levites scattered throughout all Judea, the priests obtained cities near Jerusalem and the future temple, so that they might more easily visit it, as well as its citizens and leaders, and contract marriages with the tribe of Judah, because God willed that these two tribes be intermixed, "since Christ, who was to be born from the tribe of Judah, was to be not only king but also High Priest," says Theodoret.
Verse 11: Kiriath-arba of Anak ¶
11. KIRIATH-ARBA OF THE FATHER OF ANAK. — That is, the city of Arba the giant, who was the father of Anak, from whom the Anakim giants descended.
Verse 21: Shechem — City of Refuge ¶
21. CITIES OF REFUGE: SHECHEM. — The Hebrew, Chaldean, and many Latin manuscripts with Abulensis read city in the singular. For there was only one city of refuge here, namely Shechem; the others, namely Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horon, were given to the Levites only for dwelling, not for homicides to flee to. The same applies to verses 26, 31, 35, 36, for in all these verses, instead of cities of refuge, the Hebrew, Chaldean, and manuscripts with Abulensis read in the singular city of refuge, for the reason already stated. See Francis Lucas here, Annotation 36.
Verse 36: The Missing Verse in Hebrew ¶
36. FROM THE TRIBE OF REUBEN, etc. — This entire verse is now missing in the Hebrew: Our translator seems to have translated it from the Septuagint. See Francis Lucas, Annotation 37. It appears to have existed formerly in the Hebrew; for some Hebrew manuscripts have it, as well as the Chaldean, which instead of Jazer and Jethson reads Jahaz and Kedemoth. So also our translator reads at 1 Chronicles 6:78 and 79; therefore these cities seem to have had two names.
Verse 41: God Gave Israel All the Promised Land ¶
41. AND THE LORD GOD GAVE TO ISRAEL ALL THE LAND WHICH HE HAD SWORN TO GIVE TO THEIR FATHERS, AND THEY POSSESSED IT AND DWELT IN IT. — You will object: This seems to contradict what was said here at verse 4, and what will be said at Judges 1, where it is asserted that the Hebrews in many places were unable to exterminate the Jebusites and Canaanites: therefore much still remained unpossessed by the Hebrews but yet to be possessed. I answer first that God gave the Hebrews all of Canaan as to right and dominion, which they held over all of it, and for that reason He distributed it to them by lot. Again, as to possession of it, but with a limitation which He Himself expressed at Exodus 23:29, saying: "I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you; I will drive them out from before you little by little, until you increase and possess the land." For this was more convenient and beneficial for the Hebrews. God therefore gave all the promised land, not all at once and at the same time, but gradually and step by step, driving out the Canaanites from it, lest it lie uncultivated and wild beasts occupy it, until the Hebrews could inhabit and cultivate all of it. For this was the condition He had added to His promise; which condition was not burdensome but advantageous for the Hebrews. So Abulensis, Masius and others. We heard a similar phrase at chapter 11, last verse.
More subtly, St. Augustine answers, Question 21, that all the promised land was given by God to the Hebrews; because even those portions which they themselves did not possess were given to them for a certain benefit of exercise, namely so that they might learn to fight against enemies.