The Sea of Galilee

The Cities of Refuge

The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 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.

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. 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. And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

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. 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 20:1-9 kjv)

The Book of JOSHUA This book describes the conquest of the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, the successor of Moses. His name means, "Jehovah saves" or "Jehovah is salvation." The Greek transliteration of his name is "Jesus" (see Heb. 4:8). Joshua had worked with Moses since the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. He continued to serve with Moses throughout the wilderness wanderings (Ex. 24:13), and became a strong leader who was full of faith and courage. Joshua and Caleb were in favor of conquering the land of Canaan in spite of the height and aggressive nature of the people there.   Consequently, they were the only two of their generation that God permitted to cross the Jordan River (Num. 14:29, 30, 38; Deut. 1:35, 36). The theme of the Book of Joshua is "victory through faith" (see Josh. 1:6 -9). The land that God promised to Abraham (Gen. 15:18) was now being conquered. Joshua began by attacking a few key cities (e.g., Jericho and Ai) and breaking up dangerous coalitions among the Canaanites (Josh. 10:2 -5).   The conquest of the Promised Land under Joshua, however, was not complete. The Israelites continued to encounter resistance after they had settled in the land. In accordance with God's plan, it was left up to the individual tribes to slowly displace the remaining strongholds (Ex. 23:27 -31; Josh. 13:1 -6; Judg. 3:1, 2). [Source for Introduction of chapter: Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible KJV edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422]