Catholic Commentary on Joshua 20

"These were the appointed cities to which anyone who had killed a person could flee, and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly." (Joshua 20:9)

Cities of Refuge Established

God commands Joshua to designate the cities of refuge that Moses had instructed: Kedesh in Galilee, Shechem in Ephraim, Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in Judah west of the Jordan; Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan east of the Jordan. These were the appointed cities to which anyone who had killed a person could flee, and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly. The six cities are spread through the land so that no part of the country is more than a day's journey from refuge. The architecture of mercy is built into the geography of the inheritance: before any house is built or any field planted, the places of protection are established.

The Catechism continues its identification of the cities of refuge as types of Christ: the protection they offer to the accidental killer, the requirement of a trial before judgment, the release that comes with the death of the high priest, all point to the mercy of God that precedes judgment (CCC 1179). The Church is the city of refuge for every person fleeing the consequences of their acts, the place of asylum where the proper trial of the sacrament of penance is held.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the cities of refuge were built before the farms. Mercy was established in the geography before productivity was established in the economy. Every human community needs its cities of refuge: the places where those fleeing consequences can find protection, a fair hearing, and ultimately release. Is your community a city of refuge?

Prayer

Lord God, you built cities of refuge into the geography of the promised land before anything else. Make your Church the city of refuge for every person who flees to it. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

20
Six Cities of Refuge
(Numbers 35:9-34; Deuteronomy 4:41-43; Deuteronomy 19:1-14)
1 Then the LORD said to Joshua, 2 “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.
 
5 Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice. 6 He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the manslayer may return to his own home in the city from which he fled.”
 
7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
 
8 And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.
 
9 These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

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