Cities of Refuge Courtesy of Agbad (Wikipedia user)
“Three Cities you shall separate for yourselves in the Midst of your land…” (Deuteronomy / Devarim 19:2)
The Jewish People were commanded to create 3 ‘Cities of Refuge’ inside their land (another 3 were outside in the territory of Reuven, Gad and half the tribe of Menassah).
Function of the Cities of Refuge
The function of the Cities was that when a person was guilty of manslaughter (accidental negligent causing of death), he would flee retribution to one of these cities. Inside these cities he would be free from any attempt to mete out a corporal punishment upon him.
Their Location
Oral Tradition has it that their location was in the Cities of Hebron, Shechem (modern day Nablus) and Kedesh (up in the North of the country in what is now known as ‘The Pan Handle’. These were 3 major cities and all excavations done there show evidence of settlment going back as far or further than 1000 BCE. All except for Kedesh are major cities to this day.
(This learning experience is dedicated to the swift recovery of Zlata Bat Sima.)