Verse 12

And they must stand as your towns of refuge from the avenger in order that the killer may not die until he has stood trial before the community.

Referenced Verses

• Deut 19:6 : 6 Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, and kill him, though this is not a capital case since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.
• Josh 20:3-6 : 3 Anyone who accidentally kills someone can escape there; these cities will be a place of asylum from the avenger of blood. 4 The one who committed manslaughter should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there. 5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation. 6 He must remain in that city until his case is decided by the assembly and the high priest dies. Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to the city from which he escaped.”
• Josh 20:9 : 9 These were the cities of refuge appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly.
• 2 Sam 14:7 : 7 Now the entire family has risen up against your servant, saying,‘Turn over the one who struck down his brother, so that we can execute him and avenge the death of his brother whom he killed. In so doing we will also destroy the heir.’ They want to extinguish my remaining coal, leaving no one on the face of the earth to carry on the name of my husband.”
• Deut 19:11-12 : 11 However, suppose a person hates someone else and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, and then flees to one of these cities. 12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger to die.
• Num 35:19 : 19 The avenger of blood himself must kill the murderer; when he meets him, he must kill him.
• Num 35:24-27 : 24 then the community must judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these decisions. 25 The community must deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must restore him to the town of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the consecrated oil. 26 But if the slayer at any time goes outside the boundary of the town to which he had fled, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the town of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the slayer, he will not be guilty of blood,