Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 35:6-8

"And the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which ye shall give for the manslayer to flee unto: and besides them ye shall give forty and two cities. All the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities; them [shall ye give] with their suburbs. 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." — Numbers 35:6-8 (ASV)

(6, 7, 8) And among the cities which you shall give ... — The construction of this verse is involved; or, rather, there is a suspension of the subject in Numbers 35:6, and a resumption of it in Numbers 35:7-8.

The verses may be rendered as follows: And as to the cities which you shall give to the Levites, namely, the six cities of refuge which you shall give that the manslayer may flee there (and in addition to these you shall give forty-two cities) ; as to all the cities which you shall give to the Levites, namely, forty-eight cities, them and their suburbs; now as to the cities which you shall give from the possession of the children of Israel; from the many you shall take many, and from the few you shall take few ...

It had already been announced in general terms that a place should be appointed where anyone who had unintentionally smitten a man so that he died, and had not lain in wait with a view to commit murder, should flee (Exodus 21:12–13).

In the verses which follow, the law is delivered at length, and is repeated and further expanded in Deuteronomy 19:1-13. There were many reasons why all the cities of refuge were Levitical cities. Of these reasons the chief probably were:

1. that these cities were specially consecrated to the Lord (see Joshua 20:7, And they appointed, etc.—Hebrew, consecrated);
2. and that it was to the priests and Levites that the people looked as administrators of justice.