The Cities of Refuge

An Appointed Place

The earliest reference we have to the cities of refuge is in Ex.21:12-14. These verses firstly restate the sixth commandment, and then  proceed to consider the practical issue of death other than by murder. Nowadays men speak of “accidental death”  or “manslaughter”, but this earliest Bible reference does not concern the chance happenings of the children of men, but rather, incidents affecting God’s people. So the phrase is, “…God shall deliver him into his hand”; seen from the divine point of view, death of any kind was no accident; God knew the one delivered, and the one to whom he was delivered, and controlled the circumstances. When death occurred, God continued His control: “I will appoint a place”.

It might seem from the above reference that only one place would be provided to which the slayer must go. In verse 14, where the possibility of a guilty man using the divinely-ordained procedure to evade justice is considered, we read of taking him from “mine altar”, which suggests that the “place” was to be the tabernacle. 

Note the word which recurs in the passages with which we are dealing FLEE. The slayer who was not guilty of murder, nevertheless “shall” flee to the divinely appointed place, and not in his own good time, but immediately, with haste, in order to save his life. 

Six Cities 

In the next reference in Scripture, we have not one location, but six (Num.35:10-34). Of the 48 Levitical cities, 6 were to be cities of refuge; thus in the foresight of God, “a place” was in fact six cities.

Notice again the repetition of “Flee” (v.11,15,25,32), giving great emphasis on the need to go in haste. In this passage the human viewpoint is taken in the words “killeth any person at unawares (mg. by error)”; nevertheless, God was in total control.

Verse 11 also states “ye shall appoint”; but the Israelites did not do any choosing themselves. They put into action God’s choice. Verse 14 tells us how may cities there were – six – and again the number was not their choice. The word “refuge” means, according to Young, “asylum or restricted place”. Although innocent, the slayer must go to the refuge. 

The Avenger of Blood 

The avenger of verse 12 is sometimes translated “revenger”, “kinsman” or “redeemer”. The same nearest blood-relative performed the tasks of both avenger and redeemer. The word is translated “redeemer” in both Ruth and Isaiah. In Num.35:12 the LXX has “him that as kinsman represents the blood”; and another translation of the same word comes in Job 3:5: “Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it”. To stain is to avenge; the AVm has “challenge”, the RV “claim it for their own”, each translation suggesting an aspect of the near relative’s responsibility. Proverbs 23:11 is enlightening in its use of the word: “For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee”; thus the near kinsman/avenger of the fatherless and widow – who ordinarily had none – was God Himself. 

The Judgment 

Numbers 35:12 states that the man who had slain another was to stay in the city of refuge until the judgment. What would be the position of the man who was known to have hated his brother in time past, but had no witnesses to the “accident” when it occurred? The Law of Moses probed the thoughts and intents of the heart.”at unawares” must remain in the city of 

Verse 25 says that the one who killed “at unawares” must remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. This may sound arbitrary – did he happen to be a young high priest or an old one – but God delivered. Verse 32 tell us there was no way of buying oneself out of the situation. 

Fleeing 

The next reference is in Deut.4:41- 43. Again the idea of fleeing is there, and that of killing “unawares” (mg. by error). The three cities on the east which were appointed as cities of refuge are made known by name. We can go to Josh.20:7 and learn there the names of the other three, on the west of the Jordan. Jerusalem is not among them. The six are, however, evenly distributed over the land with an approximate distance of 50 miles between them. This would mean that, at worst, a distance of about 25 miles would have to be covered by a man fleeing for his life. If we think of it in our own terms, imagine fleeing for 25 miles over hilly country, and the reality of the situation may begin to take shape in our minds. 

Deuteronomy 19:l-14 is the other reference in the Law to the cities. A number of the previous points are restated – for example, the necessity of fleeing. Also, we have a specific example of how the situation could arise, given as an axe separating from its handle unexpectedly. Verses 2 and 3 give some additional information. Israel were to prepare a way and divide the coasts, “THAT every slayer may flee thither”. There appears to be an “undesigned coincidence” relating to this in Judges 21:19, where there is reference to a highway from Bethel to Shechem, a city of refuge. 

In “The Land and the Book“, Thompson tells how the Rabbis say that the pathways were cleared yearly, and signposts were set up, pointing to the cities of refuge. Imagine the dilemma of reaching a fork in the road with a broken-down signpost! It would be a matter of life and death, with no time to retrace one’s footsteps. 

Innocent Blood 

A manslayer was held to be innocent slayer,  if he had not hated the man he had killed “in time past”; he had not known that the axe was faulty (Deut.19:6). The man who had not  hated the one he had killed was given refuge “that innocent blood be not shed in thy land”. This cannot be referring to the blood of the upon thee. one who died under the loose axe, for neither the number of cities of refuge, nor the clearness of the way, could save him. It must be the blood of the one who had slain him, into whose hand he had been “delivered”. The slayer was innocent of murder, and yet, having caused death, he had to stay in the city of refuge. 

The other side of the picture is seen in Prov.28:17. The murderer flees, not to a city of refuge, but to the pit: “A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him”. 

Use of Cities 

We have looked at the references in the Law of Moses to the cities of refuge. Later references suggest that the whole system fell into disrepute. The reference from Hos.6:8 shows that Ramoth Gilead had become polluted. The RVm gives an alternative rendering for the phrase “by consent” – “towards Shechem”, another city of refuge. Gilead and Shechem were the two central cities of refuge on either side of the Jordan. So not just the extremities, but the centre itself was corrupt in those days. 

The principles on which the cities of refuge worked are seen in 1 Kings ch.2. In the wisdom of Solomon, Jerusalem became a kind of city of refuge for Shimei. His crime, and the circumstances in which he was found, did not require him to live in one of the six cities, yet the principles were applied, and justice worked out. 

In the same chapter Joab appears to think that the altar could be a kind of magical charm, clutching at it and expecting safety while he hung on. Did he have in mind Exodus 21:14, “mine altar”? But he was a murderer: “Thou shalt take him from mine altar”. Asahel had died in battle, and Joab, pretending to play the part of next of kin, killed Abner, Asahel’s slayer. Where? In the gate of Hebron, a city of refuges See 2 Sam.3:27. 

There are some other Old Testament references to “refuge” which, though not using the same original word as in “city of refuge”, yet seem to carry the same principle. An example is found in Prov.18:10, where God is said to be a refuge. Surely Israel was intended to learn that Yahweh was a refuge for all from the avenging hand of death. Psalm 48:2,3 speaks of God being known in Zion as a refuge. So, although Jerusalem was not one of the six cities, it was the place where God dwelt, who was a refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. 

Psalm 31:5 speaks of the redemption of Jesus. His God and Father saved him from death. Jesus is related to us, being not only Son of God, but also “made like unto his brethren”; and so in the familiar words of Heb.2:14, he will destroy the devil (avenge) and “deliver them” (redeem). 

New Testament Reference 

A first look at Young’s concordance would suggest that “refuge” is not a New Testament word. Yet it is there, in a composite word. The New Testament word for FLEE is compounded with prepositions which sometimes are used to denote fleeing from, and at other times fleeing to. An example is seen in Acts 14:6: “they fled unto Lystra”. 

The same word is used in Heb.6:18, where it is translated “fled for refuge”. The allusion here is surely transparent in its reference to the law of the cities of refuge. We, like the slayer, have fled not to a place, but to a person. We cannot find security in remaining, say, in the ecclesial hall; but we must live out our lives in Christ – as verse 20 shows, “Jesus, made an high priest for ever”.