Бамидбар 35:6 Комментарий: Kli Yakar, Or HaChaim, Rabbeinu Bahya & Rav Hirsch

Forty-two cities. Corresponding to the 42 encampments where Israel camped and were like strangers in all of them. Similarly, they gave to the Levites, who had no portion in the land, 42 cities. And the cities of refuge shall be from among the cities of the Levites because one who flees to his city of refuge is a stranger there. There is concern that the inhabitants of the land might say to him, “You are a stranger in the land.” Therefore, God commanded that the cities of refuge should be from the cities of the Levites, because the Levites are also like strangers and [the newcomers] could say to him [in effect], “Do not point out a blemish in your fellow if you have the same blemish.” This follows the principle stated You know the soul of the stranger, for you were strangers (Exodus 23:9), and as it is said Your offspring shall be strangers in a land not their own (Genesis 15:13) — meaning in a land that does not belong to the inhabitants, for Joseph relocated them to cities where they would be like strangers, so that they would not be able to say to Israel, “You are strangers.”

ואת הערים…את שש ערי המקלט, "and the cities…the six cities of refuge, etc." From this verse we learn that these six cities were to serve primarily the involuntary murderers who had to be exiled there and not the Levites. Seeing that in verse 7 the Torah mentions that the grand total of the number of cities allocated to the Levites is 48, it is clear that the Levites were also entitled to live in the six cities of refuge. Apparently, the Torah wrote matters in such a way that we understand that the Levites and the inadvertent murderers (Israelites) had equal rights in the six cities of refuge. This is why the Torah stressed the rights of the inadvertent murderers in the first verse whereas in the second verse it appears to stress the rights of the Levites. From all this it is clear that the exiles do not have the right to charge rent to the Levites. All the opinions discussing this subject in Makkot 13 are agreed on this point. I may add that it is my view that in the event that there is a surfeit of exiles in any of the six cities of refuge, a Levite may be forced to leave in order to make room for an inadvertent murderer.

ועליהם תתנו ארבעים ושתים עיר, “In addition to them (the 6 cities designated for involuntary manslaughterers to take refuge) you will add another 42 cities for the Levites.” This would make a total of 48 cities in which the Levites would dwell. Three of the cities of refuge were to be situated in the territories of the two and a half tribes on the east bank of the Jordan, the remaining three in Eretz Yisrael proper.