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Numbers 35: Cities of Refuge

God provides Levitical cities and six cities of refuge, where one who kills unintentionally may flee from the avenger of blood.

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Numbers 35 (WEB)

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

2 “Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in. You shall give suburbs for the cities around them to the Levites.

3 The cities shall they have to dwell in. Their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their substance, and for all their animals.

4 “The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits around it.

5 You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall be the suburbs of their cities.

6 “The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.

7 All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their suburbs.

8 Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many; and from the few you shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give some of his cities to the Levites.”

9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

11 then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

12 The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

13 The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge.

15 For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

16 “‘But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

17 If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

18 Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death.

20 If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died,

21 or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him.

22 “‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait,

23 or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm;

24 then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.

25 The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

26 “‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, where he flees,

27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood,

28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

29 “‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

30 “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.

31 “‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.

32 “‘You shall take no ransom for him who is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.

33 “‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.

34 You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I, Yahweh, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.’”

Summary

Since the Levites receive no tribal territory, God commands that the other tribes give them forty-eight cities with surrounding pasturelands, so they may dwell scattered among the people they serve. Six of these are set apart as cities of refuge, three east of the Jordan and three in Canaan, for both Israelites and foreigners. To these cities a person who kills another unintentionally may flee, so that the avenger of blood does not take their life before they stand trial before the congregation. The law carefully distinguishes the murderer from the manslayer: one who strikes with a deadly weapon, in hatred or ambush, is a murderer to be put to death on the testimony of witnesses, but one who kills accidentally, without enmity, is to be protected. The congregation judges between them, and if the death was unintentional, the manslayer is restored to the city of refuge, where he must remain until the death of the high priest. Only then may he return home; if he leaves before then, the avenger may kill him without guilt. No ransom may be taken to free a murderer or to release the manslayer early, for bloodshed pollutes the land where the Lord himself dwells. The chapter upholds the value of human life, the demand for justice, and remarkably foreshadows Christ, in whose death the one who flees to him finds lasting refuge.

Key Figures

  • The Levites — The priestly tribe given forty-eight cities scattered among Israel, including the six cities of refuge, since they have no territory of their own.
  • The manslayer — The one who kills another unintentionally and may flee to a city of refuge for protection until standing trial.
  • The avenger of blood — The kinsman responsible for justice on behalf of the slain, from whom the city of refuge offers shelter to the innocent.
  • The high priest — The anointed priest whose death releases the manslayer to return home, a striking foreshadowing of Christ.

Key Verse

Numbers 35:34 (WEB)

You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I, Yahweh, dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.’”

Lessons Learned

  • Human life is precious to God, made in his image and not to be taken lightly.
  • God's justice carefully distinguishes between intentional murder and accidental death.
  • God provides refuge and protection for the innocent who flee to it.
  • Unaddressed bloodshed pollutes the land where a holy God dwells.
  • The city of refuge and the death of the high priest point to Christ, our refuge and the one whose death sets us free.
  • Life bears God's value. Bloodshed “pollutes the land” and no atonement can be made for it except justly (Numbers 35:33, WEB). Human life, made in God's image, is sacred to him.
  • Justice weighs intention. The law distinguishes the murderer who strikes “in hostility” from one who acts “without hostility” (Numbers 35:20-22, WEB). God's justice is careful and exact, not blind.
  • God provides refuge. The cities are appointed “that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there” (Numbers 35:11, WEB). God shelters the innocent who run to the place he provides.
  • A priest's death brings freedom. The manslayer remains “until the death of the high priest” (Numbers 35:25, WEB), then goes free—foreshadowing Christ, by whose death those who flee to him are released.
  1. Why does God provide cities scattered throughout Israel for the Levites?
  2. How does the law distinguish between a murderer and one who kills unintentionally?
  3. What is the role of the city of refuge, and why must the manslayer remain there until the high priest dies?
  4. What does it mean that bloodshed “pollutes the land” where God dwells?
  5. How do the cities of refuge and the death of the high priest point us to Christ as our refuge?
  1. Because the Levites have no tribal inheritance, they are given cities throughout Israel so they can live among and serve all the people (35:1-8). Their scattered presence kept the worship and instruction of God woven into the life of every tribe rather than confined to one place.
  2. The law carefully separates deliberate killing—striking with a weapon, in hatred or ambush—from accidental death without enmity (35:16-23). Murderers face death after due testimony, while the innocent are protected. God's justice weighs the heart and circumstances, not merely the outcome.
  3. The city of refuge shelters the manslayer from the avenger until a fair trial and, if innocent, throughout his stay there until the high priest dies (35:11-12, 25). His release at the priest's death ties his freedom to that office—a detail that points beyond itself to a greater Priest.
  4. Shed blood defiles the land because the Lord himself dwells in its midst (35:33-34). Sin against human life is not merely a social wrong but an offense in God's holy presence. Help the group sense how seriously God regards both justice and the sanctity of life.
  5. The manslayer found safety only inside the city, and freedom came through the high priest's death (35:25). So we find refuge only in Christ, and through the death of our great High Priest we are set free. Encourage the group to flee to Christ, the lasting refuge, and rest in his finished work.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.