Numbers 35 explains how Israel was to set aside cities for the Levites and six cities of refuge where someone who killed another person accidentally could flee for safety. This page gives you questions for observation, interpretation and application, with a leader’s note under each one. It works for a small group, a Sunday class, or a quiet personal study.
Numbers 35 at a Glance
The chapter opens with God instructing Moses to give the Levites towns to live in, with pasture land around them for their livestock. Forty-eight cities in all are named for the Levites, six of them designated as cities of refuge. The rest of the chapter explains how those cities function, distinguishing deliberate murder from accidental killing and describing how a case is to be judged.
The closing section addresses the seriousness of bloodshed. Israel is told not to accept ransom for a murderer, and the chapter ends with a warning that blood pollutes the land and a reminder that God dwells among his people. Use this flow to keep your discussion moving from the practical details toward the theology underneath them.
Observation Questions
Use these questions at the start of the session to make sure everyone is looking at the same text before anyone offers an opinion. Keep the answers grounded in what the chapter actually says, and resist the urge to bring in outside material yet.
Numbers 35:11-12
11 Then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there. 12 The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
(WEB)
Read these verses to introduce the purpose of the cities of refuge. They explain who may flee there and why the protection matters, which gives the group a clear starting point for the rest of the study.
Numbers 35:15
For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
(WEB)
This verse makes clear that the refuge was open to the stranger and the foreigner as well as to the Israelite. Reading it aloud helps the group see that God’s justice was meant to reach beyond insiders.
Numbers 35:22-24
22 “‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait, 23 or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm; 24 then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.
(WEB)
These verses distinguish accidental killing from murder by describing the absence of hostility and intent. Hearing the distinction read carefully helps the group understand why the community’s judgment was so important.
Numbers 35:30
“‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.
(WEB)
This verse requires more than one witness before a death sentence can be carried out. Reading it aloud reminds the group that the law protected the accused and guarded against a rush to judgment.
Numbers 35:33-34
33 “‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it. 34 You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the middle of which I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell in the middle of the children of Israel.’”
(WEB)
These closing verses name the seriousness of bloodshed and the presence of God among his people. Ending the reading here gives the group a strong theological anchor before the closing prayer.
Memory Verse for Numbers 35
Numbers 35:34
You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the middle of which I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell in the middle of the children of Israel.’”
(WEB)
This verse ties the whole chapter together by reminding us that God dwells among his people and cares how they treat the land and one another. Memorizing it helps you recall that justice and holiness belong to the presence of God in daily life.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you for the care you showed Israel in providing safe cities, fair judgment and a community that protected the vulnerable. Teach us to value every human life as you do, and to speak and act with justice in our homes, our churches and our neighborhoods. Where we have been careless with words or quick to anger, forgive us and make us more faithful. Remind us that you dwell among your people, and help us to live as those who honor your presence in all we do. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
