Bezer

Bezer (meaning: ore of gold or silver or stronghold) was a city in the wilderness on the eastern plateau of Reuben, designated as one of the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River. Moses set aside Bezer along with Ramoth in Gilead and Golan in Bashan as Transjordanian cities to which a person who had killed someone unintentionally could flee and find protection from the avenger of blood until a trial could determine the nature of the killing.

Bezer was also a Levitical city assigned from the tribe of Reuben to the Merarite family of Levites. The site is not certainly identified, though some scholars propose Umm el-'Amad north of Medeba as the location. A second person named Bezer appears in the genealogy of the tribe of Asher in 1 Chronicles 7:37, as the son of Zophah—a minor figure known only from the genealogical record. The city of refuge bears the greater significance, representing the Mosaic legal provision for manslaughter that balanced justice with mercy in the Israelite legal system.