Joshua 20
Joshua 20:1 Then Yahveh spoke to Joshua,
Joshua 20:2 “Tell the Israelites: Select your cities of refuge, like I instructed you through Moses,
Joshua 20:3 so that a person who kills someone unintentionally or accidentally may escape there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
Joshua 20:4 When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before the elders of that city, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.
Joshua 20:5 And if the avenger of blood chases him, they must not hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him because he killed his neighbor accidentally and did not hate him beforehand.
Joshua 20:6 He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to his city from which he escaped.”
Joshua 20:7 So they designated Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (in other words, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
Joshua 20:8 Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer on the wilderness plateau from Reuben’s tribe, Ramoth in Gilead from Gad’s tribe, and Golan in Bashan from Manasseh’s tribe.
Joshua 20:9 These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and the foreign residents living among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may escape there and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he is tried before the assembly.
Joshua 20 quotes:
“God reminds Joshua of some unfinished business in the division of the land. God commands in Numbers that cities be set aside to protect those who face the threat of blood revenge (Num. 35:8—34), and Moses repeats that command in Deuteronomy (Deut. 19:1-13). Joshua 20 states that cities need to be set aside as places of “refuge,” “admittance,” or “inclusion” (the term does not appear in Deut. 19). The passage in Joshua lists three cities west of the Jordan from north to south (v. 7) and three cities east of the Jordan south to north (v. 8). The verses designate the cities as geographical regional centers of asylum. The lists also mention cities east of the Jordan by tribe. The cities of refuge are Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron in Canaan, and Bezer, Ramoth-Gilead, and Golan in Transjordan. These are designated as Levitical or priestly cities in Joshua 21. As religious centers they may provide asylum for those running for their lives.”
Harris J. Gordon et al. Joshua Judges Ruth. Hendrickson Publishers ; Paternoster Press 2000. p. 103.
“The need for cities of refuge arose from the fact that it was the duty of the nearest relative of a man who had been killed to search out and kill the killer. But when it was clearly not a murder (intentional killing) but manslaughter (accidental killing), then the killer could seek asylum in one of the six cities of refuge, three on the west Side and three on the east side of the Jordan River.”
Bratcher Robert G and Barclay Moon Newman. A Handbook on the Book of Joshua. United Bible Societies 1992. p. 254.
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