Joshua 20:1 ¶ The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: 3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. 5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime. 6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.
Cities of refuge were detailed in the books of Moses.
Exodus 21:13
And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I
will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
“Numbers 35:1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains
of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, that they
give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell
in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round
about them. 3 And the cities shall they
have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for
their goods, and for all their beasts. 4
And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall
reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
5 And ye shall measure from without the
city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand
cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two
thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to
them the suburbs of the cities. 6 And
among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six
cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee
thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities. 7 So all the cities which ye shall give
to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give
with their suburbs. 8 And the cities
which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of
Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them
that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto
the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.
The Levites
receive cities, towns we would say, and had no provision for tillage or
farming, as Matthew Henry noted, because they were supported by the tithe and
increase of others. However, there was room for their animals to dwell in.
Cities of refuge are mentioned here and explained in the next passage.
Exodus 21:13 And if a man
lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a
place whither he shall flee.
Numbers 35:9 ¶ And the LORD
spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto
the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the
land of Canaan; 11 Then ye shall appoint
you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither,
which killeth any person at unawares. 12
And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the
manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. 13 And of these cities which ye shall give six
cities shall ye have for refuge. 14 Ye
shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in
the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both
for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among
them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither. 16 And if he smite him with an instrument of
iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put
to death. 17 And if he smite him with
throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer:
the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18
Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may
die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to
death. 19 The revenger of blood himself
shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. 20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at
him by laying of wait, that he die; 21
Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him
shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger
of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. 22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity,
or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, 23 Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die,
seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was
not his enemy, neither sought his harm: 24
Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of
blood according to these judgments: 25
And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the
revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his
refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the
high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the slayer shall at any time come
without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; 27 And the revenger of blood find him without
the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the
slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: 28
Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the
death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer
shall return into the land of his possession. 29 So these things shall be for a statute
of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall
be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify
against any person to cause him to die. 31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for
the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely
put to death. 32 And ye shall take no
satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should
come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are:
for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood
that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall
inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
I think this
is really clear. These cities where a person guilty of manslaughter or
accidental killing could flee would not provide protection for an intentional
murderer. It appears that this is a remedy to keep blood feuds from developing
because of unintentional killings. A kinsman who wants revenge will not be
permitted to take the life of someone who is judged to have committed the
offense unintentionally.
We can
picture in our minds how the cities of refuge to which the manslayer fled
typifies Christ to whom we flee. We come to Christ and are under God’s
protection. But, be careful how far you take that as types always fall apart at
some point. For instance, you can be forgiven even if you murdered someone
deliberately in your past. There is no sin that keeps you from God’s
forgiveness if you seek it with tears and repentance. Still might not keep you
from getting killed by a relative of the victim or locked up for life but we’re
talking about eternity. Nevertheless David appealed to the greatness of his own
sin and to God’s name’s sake for mercy.
Psalm 25:11 For thy name’s
sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.”
Reference to the cities of refuge is
also made in Deuteronomy, chapters 4 and 19.
Joshua 20:7 ¶ And they
appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim,
and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. 8 And on the other side Jordan by Jericho
eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe
of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan
out of the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These
were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger
that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at
unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood,
until he stood before the congregation.
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