Numbers 35:13

13 And the cities which you give shall be your six cities of refuge.

Numbers 35:13 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 35:13

And of these cities which ye shall give
Of the forty eight cities they were to give to the Levites, ( Numbers 35:7 ) ,

six cities shall ye have for refuge;
which, I think, makes it clear, that not all the forty eight cities were for refuge, only six of them.

Numbers 35:13 In-Context

11 then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.
12 The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
13 And the cities which you give shall be your six cities of refuge.
14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.
15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that any one who kills any person without intent may flee there.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.