יהושע, פרק כ״א, פסוק ח׳

The final allocation of cities to the Levites was a practical process that carefully balanced divine instruction, logical reasoning, and a lottery system. The actual transfer of these cities from the Israelites involved handing over each location individually. To ensure fairness, this distribution was done proportionally based on the size of each tribe. Tribes with larger populations contributed a greater number of cities, or larger ones, while smaller tribes gave fewer or smaller cities accordingly [מלבי״ם].

While the number of cities given by each tribe was based on practical population sizes, the exact matching process relied on a lottery. The purpose of drawing lots was to determine which tribe would give its designated cities to which specific family group within the Levites [מצודת דוד]. Through this combined approach of proportion and lottery, the Levites successfully received their cities along with the surrounding open lands, fulfilling exactly what God had commanded [ביאור שטיינזלץ].