Cities of Refuge Appointed

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 20:1) The Lord also spoke to Joshua, saying,

In the last chapter and post, Joshua had just given out the last lot of inheritance to all the tribes.  It appears that the Lord spoke to him at that same time.

(2) "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses.'"

Now that the whole land had been divided among the tribes, the Lord told Joshua to tell the people to appoint cities of refuge within their tribes as He had commanded through Moses (Numbers 35:11).

(3) "'That the slayer who kills a person unaware, unwittingly, may flee there, and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.'"

These cities were designed to be places of safe refuge for anyone who fled there.  The law granted people the permission to avenge the blood of a loved one, so if someone accidentally killed another unintentionally and without malice, he might be protected from the avenger of blood.

(4) "'And when he who flees to 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 to them and give him a place that he may dwell among them.'"

When someone fled to a city of refuge, he was to stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and declare his cause to the elders of that city, and then the elders were to take him into their city and give him a place where he might dwell among them.

(5) "'And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unwittingly and did not hate him beforehand.'"

If the avenger of blood pursued him to the city of refuge, the elders of that city were not to deliver the slayer into his hand but were to protect him from the avenger because he had accidentally killed with no malice toward his victim.

(6) "'And he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest who shall be in those days; then the slayer shall return and come to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.'"

The slayer was allowed to dwell in that city until he stood for judgment of his actions.  If he was found guilty, having committed murder with malice, then he would be put to death.  However, if found innocent because it had been an accident, he could remain in the city, but he was confined to it until the death of the high priest at that time.  At that point, he was free to return to his own city.

(7) And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

The people appointed Kedesh in the mountains of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and Kirjath Arba, which was called Hebron, in the mountains of Judah, as cities of refuge.

(8) And on the other side of Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness on 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.

East of the Jordan River, the people assigned Bezer in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in the half tribe of Manasseh, as cities of refuge.

(9) These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwelt among them, that whoever killed a person unaware might flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stood before the congregation.

Those were the six cities of refuge appointed for all the Israelites as well as any strangers who dwelt among them.  God's mercies extend to the Jew and the Gentile.  Anyone who unknowingly or accidentally killed another person could flee there and have safe refuge from the avenger of blood until the time he stood before the congregation for judgment.