Cities of Refuge

The cities of refuge were six Levitical cities designated under the Mosaic law as places of asylum for a person who had killed another unintentionally — the involuntary homicide who would otherwise be subject to vengeance by the go'el ha-dam (avenger of blood, a near kinsman) (Numbers 35:6–34; Deuteronomy 19:1–13; Joshua 20:1–9). Three were on each side of the Jordan: Kedesh in Naphtali, Shechem in Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (Hebron) in Judah west of the Jordan; and Bezer in Reuben, Ramoth-gilead in Gad, and Golan in Manasseh east of the Jordan (Joshua 20:7–8).

The legal process required the person to flee to the city, stand at the gate, and state their case. If the elders admitted them, the avenger of blood could not harm them within the city. The case was tried and if the killing was found to be accidental, the person must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest, after which they could return home safely. If they left before the high priest's death, the avenger could kill them without guilt. The cities symbolized God's provision of mercy within a justice system that took human life seriously, and the typological connection between the high priest's death and the release of the fugitive is widely noted in relation to Christ's atoning death.

The six cities

Three west of the Jordan and three to the east, set apart from the Levitical cities (Joshua 20:7–8):

Kedesh — in Galilee, in the territory of Naphtali (west of the Jordan).

Shechem — in the hill country of Ephraim (west of the Jordan).

Hebron — in the hill country of Judah (west of the Jordan).

Bezer — on the wilderness plateau, in the tribe of Reuben (east of the Jordan).

Ramoth in Gilead — in Gilead, in the tribe of Gad (east of the Jordan).

Golan — in Bashan, in the tribe of Manasseh (east of the Jordan).