Joshua 20

In our study of Joshua chapter twenty, we look at the cities of refuge and the penalty for accidentally killing someone.

Chapter Overview

Joshua chapter 20 pauses the land distribution to establish six cities of refuge — a legal safeguard first commanded through Moses (Numbers 35, Deuteronomy 19), now formally set apart under Joshua's leadership. These cities existed for one specific purpose: protecting someone who killed another person by accident from being killed in revenge before receiving a fair hearing.

The chapter carefully distinguishes accidental manslaughter from intentional murder, requiring due process at the city gate rather than allowing private vengeance to settle the matter. The killer's protection lasted until the death of the high priest then in office — an unusual detail that carries far more theological weight than it might first appear.

Historical Background

Blood vengeance carried out by a victim's family was a widely expected practice throughout the ancient Near East, often resulting in a private vendetta rather than any formal trial. Cities of refuge represented a genuine legal innovation — guaranteeing due process and protection while a case was properly examined, rather than leaving justice entirely in the hands of a grieving family member.

The six cities were deliberately placed — three west of the Jordan, three east — so that no Israelite would ever be more than a reasonable distance from safety. Jewish tradition holds that the roads leading to these cities were kept well-maintained and clearly marked at every crossroad, precisely so someone fleeing in fear would never lose their way.

Joshua 20:1-4

ADONAI said to Y'hoshua, "Tell the people of Isra'el, 'Select the cities of refuge about which I spoke to you through Moshe; so that anyone who kills someone by mistake and unknowingly may escape there; they will serve as refuges for you from the next-of-kin avenger. He is to flee to one of those cities, stand at the entrance to the city gate and state his cause to the city leaders. Then they will bring him into the city with them and give him a place, so that he may live among them.

The Lord told Israel to choose the cities of refuge and these had been mentioned by Moshe (see Numbers 35 & Deuteronomy 19). These cities would be a place that someone who had killed another person but it was an accident and he did not intend to do so could flee to. These cities would be a place of justice where the killer would go and stand at the gate of the city (place of judgement) and tell the leaders what had happened. If the judges determined that there was, in fact, no intent to kill the other person, then, the killer would be taken into the city. These were not ordinary cities and the killer would not live an ordinary life and send for their family for a new start.

Hebraic Insight

The Hebrew word behind "avenger" here is goel — the very same word used elsewhere in Scripture for a "kinsman-redeemer," most famously describing Boaz's role toward Ruth and Naomi. The same root even describes ADONAI Himself as Israel's Redeemer throughout the Prophets (Isaiah 41:14 and elsewhere).

A goel could act in two very different directions: redeeming and restoring a family member in need, or avenging a family member who had been wrongly killed. Both roles flow from the same underlying responsibility — a kinsman acting on behalf of his family, whether that means rescue or justice.

Joshua 20:5 & 6

If the next-of-kin avenger pursues him, they are not to hand over the killer to him; because he struck his fellow community member unknowingly and had not hated him previously. So he will live in that city until he stands trial before the community, until the death of the cohen hagadol who is in office at the time. When that time comes, the killer may return to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.'"

If a family member of the victim pursued the killer to avenge the death and came to the city of refuge, the killer would not be turned over to the avenger because there had been no intent to kill the person and there was no reckless behavior on the part of the killer. The killer would stay there until the time when the current high priest died and then he would return to his original home. During the time in the city of refuge, it was like the killer was under what we would call house arrest. In these cities, there would be like a compound where the Levites lived and that would have been where the killer stayed during his time in the city.

Joshua 20:7-9

So they set apart Kedesh in the Galil, in the hills of Naftali; Sh'khem in the hills of Efrayim; and Kiryat-Arba (that is, Hevron) in the hills of Y'hudah. Beyond the Yarden east of Yericho they selected Betzer in the desert, on the plateau, out of the tribe of Re'uven; Ramot in Gil'ad out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of M'nasheh. These were the cities selected for all the people of Isra'el and for the foreigner living among them, so that anyone who kills any person by mistake could flee there and not die at the hand of the next-of-kin avenger prior to standing trial before the community.

Now, we see that there were three of these cities on the west side of the Jordan River and three on the east side for a total of six. We are reminded that the number six is associated with the insufficiency of the works of man and the need for grace. According to tradition, the three cities of refuge on the west side of the Jordan were implemented but, although the three on the east side of the Jordan were designated, they were not practically implemented. It is said that the three on the east will be implemented during the millennial reign of Yeshua Messiah.

Did You Know?

According to later Jewish tradition (recorded in the Mishnah, Makkot 2:6), the mothers of high priests would bring food and clothing to the men living in the cities of refuge, hoping to keep them content and comfortable enough that they would never secretly wish for the high priest's death in order to gain their freedom sooner. It's a small but telling detail about just how directly the high priest's life was tied to the exile's release.

🎓 Continue Your Hebraic Journey

Joshua chapter 20 is one lesson in the Walk with Yeshua Joshua course. Continue your study by watching the companion teaching that explores the Hebrew language, covenant themes, and Messianic connections found in the cities of refuge.

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Messianic Themes

• Yeshua, our city of refuge. Believers are described as those who "fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18), a direct echo of the protection offered in these six cities.
• Freedom secured by a High Priest's death. Just as the manslayer's release depended on the death of the high priest, believers' freedom is secured once for all through the death of Yeshua, our great High Priest (Hebrews 9:11-12).
• Redeemer and avenger, one word. Yeshua fulfills both meanings of goel — He is both our Redeemer, rescuing us, and the one before whom every wrong will ultimately be set right.
• Mercy without bypassing truth. The required trial at the city gate shows that grace was never meant to skip over honest examination — a picture of God being both "just and the one who justifies" (Romans 3:26).
• Refuge open to all nations. These cities were available "for the foreigner living among them" as well as native Israelites, foreshadowing the gospel's invitation extended to every nation (Romans 10:12-13).

Related Scriptures

• Numbers 35 — The original, more detailed legal instructions establishing the cities of refuge.
• Deuteronomy 19 — Moses further explains the distinction between accidental and intentional killing.
• Ruth 3-4 — Boaz acts as a goel, or kinsman-redeemer, for Ruth and Naomi.
• Hebrews 6:18 — Believers flee for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them.
• Hebrews 9:11-12 — Messiah, our great High Priest, secures eternal redemption through His own death.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between the "avenger of blood" and simple revenge?

The avenger of blood was a recognized family responsibility in ancient Israel, but the cities of refuge specifically limited this role — requiring a fair hearing before any consequence, rather than allowing an immediate, unchecked act of vengeance.

Why did release depend on the death of the high priest rather than a fixed prison sentence?

The text doesn't fully explain the reasoning, but many readers see the high priest's death functioning almost atoningly — his death, in some sense, "covering" the release of the one who had taken a life, even accidentally.

Were the cities of refuge only available to Israelites?

No — the text specifically states these cities were available "for the foreigner living among them" as well as native-born Israelites, extending this protection to anyone living within the land.

Reflection Questions

1. What does it mean for you personally to have "fled for refuge" to Yeshua?
2. How does knowing your freedom rests on a completed, once-for-all death rather than an ongoing sentence change the way you view your own standing before God?
3. Where do you see the tension between mercy and justice playing out in your own relationships?
4. How does the double meaning of goel — redeemer and avenger — deepen your understanding of who Yeshua is?
5. The cities of refuge were open to foreigners as well as Israelites. How does that shape the way you think about who the gospel is for?