מדרש אויף במדבר 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!

“You shall designate cities for you” – and it is written: “Six cities of refuge.… three cities […and three cities]” (Numbers 35:13–14) – three in the Land of Israel in the west, and three across the Jordan in the east. The children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, as it is stated: “Betzer in the wilderness, in the land of the plain, for the Reubenite; Ramot in Gilad for the Gadite; and Golan in the Bashan for the Manassite” (Deuteronomy 4:43) – these are the three in the east. And three in the west: Hebron from Judah, Shekhem in the Ephraim highlands, which is Neopolis, and Kedesh in the Galilee from the tribe of Naphtali. Moses distributed [land] for Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, and designated from them three cities, as it is stated: “Then, Moses designated three cities” (Deuteronomy 4:41). But Joshua distributed for all the tribes and gave the tribe of Levi forty-eight cities. The priests took thirteen, and the rest was for the Levites. They took three cities of refuge in their allotted portion. But the tribe of Levi did not take a portion of the land. Why? It is because “the fire offerings of the Lord and His inheritance they shall eat” (Deuteronomy 18:1).
You find that Sennacherib exiled them [in] three exiles. The first exile, he exiled the Reubenite, the Gadite, and half the tribe of Manasseh. The second, the tribe of Zebulun and the tribe of Naphtali, as it is stated: “Like the first time he was lenient with the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali” (Isaiah 8:23).²⁵This second exile was lighter, like the first exile, since only a small number of tribes were exiled (see Radak, Isaiah 8:23). The third, he exiled the rest of the tribes, as it is stated: “But with the last he was severe [hikhbid]” (Isaiah 8:23) – he swept [hikhbidan] them away as with a broom.
Nebuchadnezzar, too, exiled them in three exiles from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin. In the first, he exiled Yehoyakim, and in the second, Yehoyakhin. What did he do? He bound them in his honored royal chariot, as it is stated: “Behold, I am sending you away like the queen mother”²⁶There is no such verse. It is unclear what the intended verse is. – just as the queen mother, a person honors her, so he did to him. Nevuzaradan²⁷Nevuzaradan was a high official of Nebuchadnezzar and was in charge of the actual destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, and also the exile which followed. exiled Zedekiah. These are three exiles. From where is it derived that Sennacherib was the ruler of the world? It is because he would exile these to there and those to here, and he exiled Israel to Babylon and brought those in Babylon to here.
The Holy One blessed be He said: In this world, due to iniquities, they were exiled and scattered in the cities of the world. But in the future: “If your banished will be at the ends of the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will take you” (Deuteronomy 30:4). “He will assemble the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12). Likewise, Isaiah says: “The redeemed of the Lord will return, and they will come to Zion with song and everlasting joy on their heads; gladness and joy they will attain, and sorrow and sighing will flee” (Isaiah 35:10).

(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.