And they gave unto them, of the cities of refuge, Shechem in mount Ephraim with her suburbs; they gave also Gezer with her suburbs,
They gave unto them, of the cities of refuge. The names of the cities given here are considerably different from those applied to them, Joshua 21:14. In the lapse of centuries, and from the revolutions of society, changes might have been expected to take place in the form or dialectic pronunciation of the names of those cities, and this will sufficiently account for the variations that are found in the lists as enumerated here and in an earlier book. As to these cities themselves, that were assigned to the Levites, they were widely remote and separated, partly in fulfillment of Jacob's prophecy (Genesis 49:7), and partly that the various districts of the country might obtain a competent supply of teachers, who might instruct the people in the knowledge, and animate them to the observance, of a law which had so important a bearing on the promotion both of their private happiness and their national prosperity.