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.
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.
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.

1The Lord also spake vnto Ioshua, saying,

2Speake to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake vnto you by the hand of Moses:

3That the slayer that killeth any person vnawares and vnwittingly, may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the auenger of blood.

4And when he that doeth flee vnto one of those cities, shall stand at the entring of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the eares of the Elders of that citie; they shall take him into the citie vnto them, and giue him a place, that he may dwell among them.

5And if the auenger of blood pursue after him, then they shal not deliuer the slayer vp into his hand: because hee smote his neighbour vnwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.

6And hee shall dwell in that citie, vntill he stand before the Congregation for iudgement, and vntill the death of the high Priest that shall bee in those dayes: then shall the slayer returne, and come vnto his owne city, and vnto his owne house, vnto the citie from whence he fled.

7 And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee, in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (which is Hebron) in the mountaine of Iudah.

8And on the other side Iordan by Iericho Eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wildernesse vpon the plaine, 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.

9These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that soiourneth among them, that whosoeuer killeth any person at vnawares might flee thither, & not die by the hand of the auenger of blood, vntill he stood before the Congregation.

II == Ex 21:13 ; Num 35:6 , 11 , 14 ; Deut 19:2 , 9

 

 

 

 

IV == Rut 4:1-2

 

 

 

 

V == Num 35:12

 

 

 

VI == Num 35:12 , 25

 

 

 

 

VII == Josh 14:15 ; 21:11 , 13 , 21 , 32 ; Ist Chr 6:76 ; 2nd Chr 10:1 ; Luke 1:39

VIII == Deut 4:43 ; johs 21:27 , 36 , 38 ; 1st Kings 22:3 ; 1st Chr 6:78

 

IX == Num 35:15 ; Jpsj 20:6

 

 

1 The LORD said to Joshua:

2 "Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of which I spoke to them through Moses,

3 to which one guilty of accidental and unintended homicide may flee for asylum from the avenger of blood.

4 To one of these cities the killer shall flee, and standing at the entrance of the city gate, he shall plead his case before the elders, who must receive him and assign him a place in which to live among them.

5 Though the avenger of blood pursues him, they are not to deliver up the homicide who slew his fellow man unintentionally and not out of previous hatred.

6 Once he has stood judgment before the community, he shall live on in that city till the death of the high priest who is in office at the time. Then the killer may go back home to his own city from which he fled."

7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the mountain region of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountain region of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the mountain region of Judah.

8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho they designated Bezer on the open tableland in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh.

9 These were the designated cities to which any Israelite or stranger living among them who had killed a person accidentally might flee to escape death at the hand of the avenger of blood, until he could appear before the community.

The 6 cities of refuge are included in the 48 Levite cities in Jos. 21. They were first ordered right after the giving of the ten commandments, Ex. 21:12,13 and function in Deut. 19: 1-14. See Num. 35 for my detailed comments on the size, shape and purpose of the 48 cities. Verses 7 and 8 of this chapter: Kedesh by Galilee in Naphtali; Shechem in Ephraim; Hebron in Judah; Bezer in Reuben; Ramoth in the Gilead area of Gad; and Golan in Manasseh. At this point I will not get into the meaning of each city, but collectively they represent refuge in Christ.