Joshua 20:9

These were the cities appointed "Civitates constitutæ," Vulgate. "The citees ordeyned," Wyclif.

for the stranger that sojourneth "And to comlyngis that dwellen among hem;" Wyclif. Observe that the Mosaic Law applied its merciful provisions not only to the members of the Elect Nation, as though they were a sacred "caste," but to the "stranger" also that sojourned among them. The existence of such a class of "naturalized foreigners" in Israel is easily accounted for:

(a) The" mixed multitude" that came out of Egypt (Exodus 12:38) formed one element;

(b) The remains of the Canaanitesnever wholly extirpated formed a second;

(c) Captives taken in warformed a third;

(d) Fugitives, hired servants, merchantsformed a fourth. The census of these in Solomon's time gave a return of 153,600 males (2 Chronicles 2:17), which was nearly equal to about a tenth of the whole population.

that whosoever killeth any person Jewish commentators tell us how in later times, in order that the asylum offered to the involuntary homicide might be more secure, (a) the roads leading to the Cities of Refuge were always kept in thorough repair, and required to be at least 32 cubits broad; (b) all obstructions were removed that might stay the flier's foot or hinder his speed; (c) no hillock was left, no river was allowed over which there was not a bridge; (d) at every turning there were posts erected bearing the words "Refuge," "Refuge," to guide the unhappy man in his flight; (e) when once settled in such a city the manslayer had a convenient habitation assigned to him, and the citizens were to teach him some trade in order that he might support himself. See Kitto's Biblical Cyclopædia, i. p. 527.