Numbers 35:5
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.
Numbers 35:5 belongs to the closing instruction for the forty-eight Levitical cities scattered among the tribes, six of which were set apart as cities of refuge for manslayers, and it fixes their surrounding open land by measure. The city was to stand in the midst, with two thousand cubits measured outward on the east and south and west and north to form its suburbs, providing homes, gardens and grazing amounting to about one thousand acres per city and spreading Levitical influence more widely among the people. That refuge sheltered the one who killed unwittingly and not the willful murderer condemned after fair trial, and the fugitive was safe while he remained inside until the death of the high priest but exposed himself to the avenger of blood if he left. The cities are a type of the refuge found in Christ Jesus, where the avenger stands for God's law demanding the sinner's life, and the sinner who flees to Christ and abides in Him is safe forever because Christ lives and intercedes continually. The two-thousand-cubit measure has been taken by some for the later Sabbath day's journey from the tabernacle to the edge of the camp, yet the verse itself appoints the surrounding districts of the Levitical cities and not a limit on travel from the camp.
Land Around the Cities
The closing chapters of Numbers give instruction for the cities assigned to the Levites and set apart as cities of refuge for manslayers, with the measured suburbs around each city specified. The directions concern both the cities of refuge and their surrounding land, giving the dimensions of the land around the cities assigned to the Levites as two thousand cubits on each side with the city in the middle. The city was to be in the midst, with two thousand cubits measured outward from without the city on the east side and on the south side and on the west side and on the north side, forming the open land or suburbs of the cities. That two-thousand-cubit area around each city was part of the provision for the cities of refuge.
The Levites' appointed inheritance was forty-eight cities scattered among the tribes of Israel rather than one continuous territory. These cities were among the forty-eight towns allotted to the Levites, and six of those Levitical towns were appointed as places of refuge. The measured suburbs formed part of the provision of homes and land for the Levites, the forty-eight Levitical cities and their surrounding areas together amounting to about one thousand acres per city. These surrounding lands provided space for the Levites' homes, gardens and vineyards, and grazing.
Spreading the Levites throughout Israel in this way extended their influence for good more widely among the people. The refuge was for one who killed accidentally, not for a willful murderer found guilty after a fair trial. The unwitting slayer could flee to a refuge city and remain there until the high priest died, while leaving the city put him at risk from the avenger of blood.
Christ and Sabbath Lessons
The cities of refuge are a type of the refuge found in Christ Jesus. In that type the avenger of blood represents God's law, which demands the sinner's life. The two-thousand-cubit area around each city belongs to the provision for those cities, within which the unwitting slayer could flee to a refuge city and remain there until the high priest died, with leaving the city putting him at risk from the avenger.
The sinner who flees to Christ and remains in him is safe. Because Christ never dies again but continually intercedes, that refuge lasts forever. The two-thousand-cubit district measured on each side with the city at its center was identified with the later rule of a Sabbath day's journey, treated as the distance from the tabernacle to the edge of Israel's camp beyond which the people were not to go out for manna. The verse itself concerns the surrounding districts of the Levitical cities, not a stated limit on travel from the camp.