Cities of Refuge

Knowing His people’s sinful hearts, God here instructs Joshua to call the Israelites to fulfill a crucial command in the Mosaic law—the designating of cities of refuge.

As the tribes begin to settle in the land, conflicts are bound to arise, some leading to violence and death. In cases of murder, the law of God is clear—“‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death’ ” (Lev. 24:17). Such retribution typically is left to the “avenger of blood,” a close relative of the slain person. But God’s law also recognizes that there will be instances of unintentional killing as people live and work together (Deut. 19:4–6), and the facts in such cases might not be clear immediately. Thus, in the heat of the moment, the avenger might shed innocent blood, which God clearly detests (Ex. 23:7; Deut. 19:10). To prevent such from happening and bringing guilt on the nation, God had told the Israelites to establish places of asylum, evenly distributed throughout the tribes, to which a manslayer might flee for safety until his case could be judged (Num. 35:9–15). “It was for the interest of the land that the blood of an innocent person, whose hand only was guilty but not his heart, should not be shed, no, not by the avenger of blood,” Matthew Henry writes.

This system of justice, detailed here for the first time, is thorough and fair. If someone kills another accidentally, he is to flee to one of the cities of refuge and come before the elders at the city gate. They will make a preliminary judgment in the case; if they find evidence of innocence, the killer is to receive refuge, but if they find guilt, they are to turn him over to the avenger (Deut. 19:12). If he is received, he then will face trial before “the congregation,” which may refer to jurors from the city of refuge or from the killer’s home city. Even if he is found innocent, he must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the nation’s high priest, whereupon he may return home. These protections are extended to Israelites and foreigners alike.

Heeding the command of God, the Israelites set aside six cities: On the west side of the Jordan, they designate Kadesh, Shechem, and Hebron, while on the east side they designate Golan, Ramoth Gilead, and Bezer (although the latter three had been determined by Moses when he divided the land east of the Jordan, Deut. 4:41–43).