History · Chapter 20 of 24
Joshua 20
The Lord commands Joshua to appoint cities of refuge, as He had instructed through Moses. These cities offer protection to anyone who kills another person accidentally, sheltering them from the avenger of blood until they can stand trial before the assembly. The slayer remains in the city until the death of the high priest, after which he may return home freely. Six cities are named on both sides of the Jordan.
What happens in Joshua 20
God speaks to Joshua, directing Israel to set apart cities of refuge that Moses had earlier ordained. Their purpose is to protect a person who has killed another unintentionally and without hatred, giving the accused a place to flee from the avenger of blood, the relative who would otherwise seek retribution. When such a person reaches the city gate and states his case to the elders, they take him in and give him a place among them.
He is not surrendered to the avenger. He remains under the city's protection until he stands before the congregation for judgment and until the death of the serving high priest. Only then may he return to his own home. Six cities are designated, three west of the Jordan and three to the east, accessible to Israelites and resident foreigners alike.
Joshua 20 in context
Cities of refuge were first commanded in Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 19, and here Joshua puts the command into effect. In a culture where blood vengeance was a family duty, these cities provided a merciful legal safeguard, distinguishing accidental killing from murder.
They embodied both justice and mercy, restraining vengeance while still requiring the slayer to remain under a form of exile until an appointed release.
Main themes of Joshua 20
Joshua 20 (KJV)
1The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, 2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: 3That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4And 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. 5And 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. 6And 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. 7And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah. 8And 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. 9These 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.
Verses to carry from Joshua 20
“That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.”Joshua 20:3
“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.”Joshua 20:6
“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.”Joshua 20:9
Christian typology
How Joshua 20 points to Jesus
The cities of refuge stand among the clearest pictures of Christ in the historical books. As the fleeing person ran to the city to escape the avenger of blood, so sinners flee to Christ for refuge from judgment. The letter to the Hebrews speaks of those who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them, language drawn from this very institution. Even more striking is the release.
The manslayer could go home only at the death of the high priest. In Christ, our great High Priest, His death is precisely what sets the guilty free, ending our exile and opening the way home. What the cities pictured in shadow, Jesus fulfills in substance: a refuge always reachable, and a liberating death that welcomes us back.
Questions about Joshua 20
Why was the slayer freed at the death of the high priest?
The high priest's death marked the appointed moment of release, as if his passing covered the manslayer's guilt and ended the period of exile. This detail points beyond itself. In Christ, the true High Priest, His death is what liberates the guilty. The pattern set here finds its meaning fulfilled in the cross, where a death secures the sinner's return home.
How did the cities of refuge balance justice and mercy?
They did not excuse killing, but distinguished the accidental from the deliberate. The slayer still faced trial and a form of exile, honoring the gravity of a lost life. Yet he was shielded from unchecked vengeance and given a place of safety. Together these show a God who upholds justice while making genuine mercy available to those who flee to Him.
Reflection
I too need a refuge from judgment I cannot outrun. The cities of refuge remind me that God provides the very shelter His justice would seem to close. Christ is my city, always reachable, and His death is my release. When guilt pursues me, I do not bargain or hide. I run to Him.
A prayer from Joshua 20
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