The Book of Joshua
Joshua 20
Chapter XX · Vol. I, pp. 570–571
1 God commandeth, 7 and the children of Israel appoint the six cities of refuge.
2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, bAppoint 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,1 may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
1 These words are not synonymous, but convey two very distinct meanings, appropriate to the occasion. 'Unawares' signifies unexpectedly, without previous plan to kill, while yet the act may be intentional—as if one in the dark, intending to give a salutary medicine, give instead a deleterious drug. 'Unwittingly' signifies that the action is done without consciousness that the injured person was in the way—as if one in the dark, necessitated to run speedily, believing his way clear, should inflict a deadly injury upon a child, of whose presence he was perfectly unconscious. The meanings, however, though distinct, may both meet in the same disaster, as in case of an injury inflicted by a person in the delirium of fever.—C.
4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand cat the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall dtake 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 before-time.
6 And he shall dwell in that city, euntil 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 2appointed fKedesh 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, gthey 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.
g De.4.43. 1 Ch.6.78,80. ch.21.27,36,38. Their names signify, Kedesh, holiness; Shechem, shoulder; Hebron, fellowship; Bezer, fortress; Ramoth, elevation; Golan, manifestation or joy.
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,3 and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.4
3 For the uses of these cities in criminal law, together with their typical character, see note on Nu. 35. 6. It is useless to describe their positions, as they cannot be comprehended without a map, and those who are furnished with that important companion to the study of the Bible do not need descriptions. It is, however, important to observe, that they were so dispersed throughout the land, that the manslayer in any part of the land might reach one of them in twelve hours or less.—C.
4 And was condemned as a murderer.
Notes
Reflections.—In these cities let me behold Jesus, God's holy One, made of God unto us sanctification; Jesus, on whose shoulder the government is laid, and who bears and carries his people on his everlasting arms; Jesus, through whom we have access to and fellowship with God, even the Father; Jesus, our stronghold, to such as trust in him; Jesus, our elevated Propitiation and exalted Prince and Saviour; Jesus, who was made manifest in the flesh, that he might be our joy and consolation. Let me behold him as a divinely appointed, a near, an accessible, ever-open, large, well furnished, and eternally safe refuge from the power and deep guilt of sin, the destructive and awful remorse of sin, the fury of a raging devil, and the ruinous challenges of a guilty conscience—a refuge to sinners of mankind, who have ignorantly, and in unbelief, spiritually murdered themselves, their neighbours, and even the great God their Saviour! And, oh, what profitable instruction and complete peace we have in him! Haste then, my soul; escape to him for thy life; tarry not in all the plain, lest the avenger of blood overtake thee. And never, never, while Jesus our great High-priest lives, dare to be found without.