The previous chapter dealt with the general borders of the land and its tribal boundaries. This one gives regulations concerning special towns in the land.285
According to the plan of revelation established previously in Numbers, directions regarding the Levites follow directions regarding the other tribes (cf. 1:1-46 and 47-54; ch. 2 and 3:1-49; 26:1-56 and 57-62).
The Levites received four towns for each of the 12 tribes. However there were more Levitical towns in the larger tribes and fewer in the smaller tribes. The writer of the Book of Joshua identified these towns in Joshua 21.286Very few Israelites lived more than 10 miles from a Levitical town. God provided so that the Levites, whose responsibilities included the teaching and counseling of the other Israelites in the law, would not live far from anyone in Israel.287
The pasture lands provided the Levites with a small agricultural income, but they received most of their support from the tithes and offerings of God's people.
