Midrash for Numbers 35:13

(Numbers 35:11:) “You shall provide yourselves with places to serve you as cities of refuge.” And it is written (in Numbers 35:13-14), “six cities of refuge shall there be for you. The three cities.” The three in the Land of Israel were in the West; and the three that were across the Jordan in the East were in the Land of the Children of Reuben, in the Land of the Children of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, as stated (in Deut. 4:43), “Bezer, in the desert [...].” R. Johanan said, (Ibid.,) “’Bezer, in the desert [...],’ see, there were three in the East. And the three in the West were in Hevron of Judah, and Shechem of Ephraim, which is Napolin (Nablus), and Kadesh in the Galilee from the tribe of Naphtali.” Moshe only apportioned [land] for the Reubenites, the Gadites and for the half tribe of Manasseh, and he set aside three cities from them, as stated (in Deut. 4:41), “Then Moses set aside three cities.” But Joshua apportioned [land] to all of the tribes, and they took [it] according to their lots, and they gave forty-eight cities to the Levites; the priests took thirteen, and the rest went to the [other] Levites, and the three cities of refuge came into their lot. And the tribe of Levi did not take a portion in the land, as stated (Jos. 12:33), “But no [portion] was assigned by Moses to the tribe of Levi.” Why? [Because (as in Deut. 18:2),] “the Lord is his portion, as He spoke to him.” You find that Sennacherib exiled Israel in three exiles.⁴³Numb. R. 23:14; cf. Lam. R. Proem 5. First, he exiled the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Second, [came] the tribe of Zebulon and the tribe of Naphtali, as stated (in Is. 8:23), “in the former time he abased the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali.” Third, he exiled the rest of the tribes, as stated (ibid., cont.), “and later he afflicted (hikhbid).”⁴⁴Translations of this verse vary, but the translation given here fits the sense of the midrash. He swept (hikhbid) them as [with] a broom (makhbed). Nebuchadnezzar also carried out three exiles with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. In the first he exiled Jehoiakim [and] in the second, Jehoiachin. What did he do? He bound him in his carriage⁴⁵Lat.: carruca; Gk.: karrouchion. and [there] he became dear to him.⁴⁶Buber suggests a translation such as, “and it was his favorite.” Thus it is stated, “Behold, I am sending you away like a queen mother.”⁴⁷The text is not in Scripture, but cf. Jer. 29:2. Just as one honors the queen mother, so did Nebuzaradan act toward him. [Then] Nebuzaradan exiled Zedekiah, for a total of three exiles. From where do we know that Nebuchadnezzar was a world emperor? As he exiled these to here and those to there, and he exiled Israel to Babylon, and those in Babylon to the Land of Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “In this world Israel has gone into exile and spread among the gates of the world, because of iniquities, as stated (Jer. 15:7), “And I will scatter them with a winnowing fork to the gates of the world”; but in the future to come (according to Deut. 30:4), “If your banishment is to the end of the heavens, from there will the Lord your God gather you, even from there will He bring you back.” It also says (in Is. 11:12), “and he shall gather the dispersed of Judah […].” And it says (in Is. 31:11), “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing. Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, while sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” And so may it be His will. Amen and Amen!

14 (Numb. 35:11) “You shall provide yourselves with cities”: And it is written (in Numb. 35:13-14), “six cities of refuge shall there be for you. The three cities.” The three in the Land of Israel were in the West; and the three were across the Jordan in the East [in the Land of] the Children of Reuben, of the Children of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, as stated (in Deut. 4:43), “Bezer, in the desert [...].” R. Johanan said, (ibid.,) “’Bezer, in the desert [...],’ see, there were three in the East. And the three in the West were in Hevron of Judah, and Shechem of Ephraim, which is Napolin (Nablus), and Kadesh in the Galilee from the tribe of Naphtali.” Moses apportioned [land] for the Reubenites, the Gadites and for the half tribe of Manasseh, and he set aside three cities from them, as stated (in Deut. 4:41), “Then Moses set aside three cities.” But Joshua apportioned [land] to all of the tribes, and gave forty-eight cities to the Levites; the priests took thirteen, and the rest went to the [other] Levites, and the three cities of refuge came into their lot. And the tribe of Levi did not take a portion in the land, as stated (Josh. 12:33), “But no [portion] was assigned by Moses to the tribe of Levi.” Why? [Because (as in Deut. 18:1),] “the Lord’s fire offerings and His portion shall they eat.” You find that Sennacherib exiled Israel in three exiles.³¹Cf. Lam. R. Proem 5. First, he exiled the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Second, [came] the tribe of Zebulon and the tribe of Naphtali, as stated (in Is. 8:23), “in the former time he abased the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali.” Third, he exiled the rest of the tribes, as stated (ibid., cont.), “and later he afflicted (hikhbid).”³²Translations of this verse vary, but the translation given here fits the sense of the midrash. He swept (hikhbid) them as [with] a broom (makhbed). Nebuchadnezzar also carried out three exiles with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. In the first he exiled Jehoiakim [and] in the second, Jehoiachin. What did he do? He bound him in his carriage³³Lat.: carruca; Gk.: karrouchion. and [there] he became dear to him.³⁴Buber suggests a translation such as, “and it was his favorite.” Thus it is stated, “Behold, I am sending you away like a queen mother.”³⁵The text is not in Scripture, but cf. Jer. 29:2. Just as one honors the queen mother, so did Nebuzaradan act toward him. [Then] Nebuzaradan exiled Zedekiah, for a total of three exiles. From where do we know that Nebuchadnezzar was a world emperor? As he exiled these to here and those to there, and he exiled Israel to Babylon, and those in Babylon to the Land of Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “In this world Israel has gone into exile and spread among the gates of the world, because of iniquities; but in the future to come (according to Deut. 30:4), “If your banishment is to the end of the heavens, from there will the Lord your God gather you, even from there will He bring you back.” It also says (in Is. 11:12), “and he shall gather the dispersed of Judah […].” And it says (in Is. 31:11), “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing. Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, while sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

(Bamidbar 35:13) "And the cities which you shall provide — six cities of refuge shall there be for you.": together with the first (three designated by Moses across the Jordan). You say, together with the first. But perhaps (the meaning is) exclusive of the first? (Ibid. 14) "The three cities shall you provide across the Jordan, and the three cities shall you provide in the land of Canaan" indicates "together with the first." And they are (Devarim 4:43) "Betzer in the desert in the land of the plain for (the tribes of) Reuven; Ramoth in Gilead for Gad; and Golan in Bashan for Menasheh. And, corresponding to them, three in the land of Canaan, viz. (Joshua 20:7) "And they set aside Kedesh in the Galil in the hill (country) of Naftali, and Shechem in the hill of Ephraim, and Kiryath Arba, which is Chevron, in the hill of Yehudah." We find, then, the two and a half tribes across the Jordan corresponding (in this respect) to the nine and a half tribes in the land of Canaan, most of the spillers of blood residing in Gilead. As it is written (Hoshea 6:8) "Gilead, the city of the workers of wrong, steeped in blood." (Bamidbar 35:13) "cities of refuge shall there be for you": What is the intent of this? I derive that they provide refuge only for those (who killed) in the land. Whence do I derive (the same for those) outside the land? From "shall there be for you" (— in any event). (Ibid. 15) "for the children of Israel": This tells me (that they provide refuge only) for (native) Israelites. Whence do I derive the same for proselytes and sojourners? From (Ibid.) "and for the proselyte and the sojourner in their midst." But perhaps (the meaning is that) just as a sojourning proselyte is exiled for (unwittingly killing) another, so, he is exiled for (unwittingly killing) an Israelite, and an Israelite is exiled for (unwittingly killing) him? — It is, therefore, written "for you." How so? If an Israelite killed him, he is exempt. If he killed an Israelite, he is killed. "shall these six cities be for refuge": What is the intent of this? From (14) "The three cities shall you provide across the Jordan," I might think that the first that is set aside provides refuge (immediately). It is, therefore, written "shall these six cities be for refuge," Scripture hereby apprising us that one (city) does not afford refuge until all have been set aside.