Joshua 20:1-9
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 appointeda Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, 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.
Having come into possession of the land, the cities of refuge were provided according to arrangements already made. Three were fixed on the west of the Jordan and three on the east. They wire so placed as to cover the whole area. Moreover, they were Levitical cities.
Maclear says, "Jewish interpreters tell us how in later times, the roads leading to the cities of refuge were always kept in thorough repair-all obstructions were removed that might stay the flyer's feet or hinder his speed. No hillock was left, no river was allowed over which there was no bridge, and at every turning there were posts erected bearing the word 'Refuge.' "
In this method of dealing with the most heinous of all sins as between man and man, certain interesting principles are manifest. First, God does make a distinction in degrees of guilt. Premeditated murder was to find no sanctuary even in the city of refuge. Second, man must not punish man save after the fullest inquiry. Third, all deliverance was closely connected with the priesthood, which forever stands for sacrificial mediation.