“As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:”
But if the distance is too great and the avenger of blood in hot pursuit might catch up with the killer and put him to death, although a death sentence was not deserved, since they had not been at enmity before — this clause acknowledges the reality of the go'el haddam (blood avenger) system; without cities of refuge, tribal vengeance might execute innocent persons.
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