1Then the LORD said to Joshua,
2“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,
3so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.
5Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.
6He 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 manslayer may return to his own home in the city from which he fled.”
7So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
8And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.
9These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.
Understand This
Joshua 20, explained
What Joshua 20 is saying
God commands Joshua to designate six cities of refuge—three west and three east of the Jordan—as Moses had instructed. Anyone who kills another person unintentionally may flee to these cities and receive protection from the avenger of blood until standing trial before the congregation. The accused remains until the death of the high priest, after which they may return home.
The background behind it
The cities of refuge implement legislation from Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19, addressing the ancient Near Eastern blood-feud system where a victim's nearest male relative (go'el haddam) was obligated to execute the killer. The institution represents a remarkable advancement in jurisprudence—distinguishing between intentional and unintentional homicide.
Themes running underneath
The cities of refuge embody the tension between justice and mercy within Israelite law. The high priest's death functioning as a release mechanism has generated significant christological interpretation—the high priest's death atones for the manslayer's debt. Geographically, the six cities are evenly distributed to ensure accessibility from anywhere in the land.
Why it still matters
God's legal system built in protection for the vulnerable and distinguished between malice and accident. These cities challenge simplistic approaches to justice that ignore motive and circumstance.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible — used by permission, Bible Hub.