Joshua 20
9 verses
Six cities of refuge are designated—three east of Jordan and three west—establishing a juridical structure that protects the unintentional killer (śōgēg, the one who errs) from the avenger of blood until a fair hearing before the congregation. The law of refuge exemplifies covenantal justice: the land itself becomes an instrument of mercy and order, mediating between the blood-avenger's right to justice and the slayer's protection from unjust execution. The theological principle reflects YHWH's character as just and merciful simultaneously; the cities of refuge are 'for you and for the stranger and the sojourner' (20:9), extending covenant protection beyond ethnic Israel to all within the covenantal community. The institution of refuge demonstrates that the land's purpose is not merely territorial possession but the establishment of a just community ordered by law and bounded by mercy.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
1
The Lord also spake unto Joshua, saying,
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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:
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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.
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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.
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Faith isn't the absence of doubt — it's choosing to believe despite it.. I love how this passage doesn't shy away from t...
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.
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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.
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7
And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjath–arba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.
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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.
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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.
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