(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Numbers 35:1–8, “And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities. So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs. And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.”
The Levites were not given a portion of the Land to inherit because their primary job was to act for the Lord in Israel. They were to represent the Lord to Israel and Israel to the Lord. However, they needed to have somewhere to live and places to graze their stock. The Lord told the people from the other tribes to set apart cities with the surrounding land for the Levites so that they could concentrate on their primary task without having to worry about feeding their families. In those days, people would take revenge for a killing. If someone from a family was killed then other members of the family would kill the murderer. Sometimes a person would be killed in an accident. There was no intention to kill and that person had to have a means of escape. This was done by establishing cities of refuge. A person who killed another person, without malice, could go to a city of refuge and be save from vendetta. There had to be sufficient of these cities so that anyone, anywhere in Israel, could escape to the place of refuge quickly and easily.
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