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Joshua 20:2

in Joshua 20

“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Assign you the cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by Moses,

KJV

Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:

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This verse in Joshua 20

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Cities of refuge - An institution of this kind was essentially necessary wherever the patriarchal law relative to the right of redemption and the avenging of blood was in force; we have already seen that the nearest of kin to a deceased person had not only the right of redeeming an inheritance that had been forfeited or alienated, but had also authority to slay on the spot the person who had slain his relative.

This site's exposition

The Lord also spake unto

on Joshua 20:1-3

Verse 2 says outright that this carries out an older command, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses, and the law it executes is Numbers 35:9-34 with Deuteronomy 19:1-13 behind it. The order comes after the allotment of chapters 13 to 19, so the six towns exist with borders and owners before they are named as refuges. The phrase cities of refuge is first used at Numbers 35:11 and the avenger of blood at Deuteronomy 19:12, which places this chapter at the end of a chain rather than the head of one. The avenger is the goel, the same kinsman word that redeems land at Leviticus 25:25 and a man at Leviticus 25:48, turned here toward blood.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Appoint - The possessions being now divided among you, reserve some of them for the use which I have commanded. Cities of refuge - Designed to typify the relief which the gospel provides for poor, penitent sinners, and their protection from the curse of the law and the wrath of God, in our Lord Jesus, to whom believers fly for refuge.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

18 ), and in whom they are found ( Phil. iii. 9 ) as in a sanctuary, where they are privileged from arrests, and there is now no condemnation to them, Rom. viii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens

Speak to the children of Israel, saying,.... Whom the affair concerned the Lord spake to Joshua about, they having now the whole land divided among them: appoint out for you cities of refuge; of the name, nature, use, and number of these cities; see Gill on Num 35:6, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: Num 35:1.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

The institution of the cities of refuge, together with the rules prescribed for the guidance of those who sought an asylum within their walls, was an important provision, tending to secure the ends of justice as well as of mercy.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • דַּבֵּ֛רspeak

    daberH1696 →1141 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • תְּנ֤וּassign

    tenuH5414 →2011 times

  • לָכֶם֙for <the> yourselves

    lakhem

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • עָרֵ֣י[the] cities of

    ʾareiH5892 →1090 times

  • הַמִּקְלָ֔ט<the> refuge

    hamiklatH4733 →20 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • דִּבַּ֥רְתִּיI spoke

    dibartiH1696 →1141 times

  • אֲלֵיכֶ֖םto you

    ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 times

  • בְּיַד־by [the] hand of

    beyad-H3027 →1618 times

  • מֹשֶֽׁה׃Moses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Deuteronomy 19:2–13then you are to set apart for yourselves three cities within the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.6 worksNumbers 35:11–24designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.5 worksNumbers 35:6Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.5 worksDeuteronomy 4:41–43Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east5 worksRomans 8:1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.3 worksRomans 8:33–34Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Exodus 21:13–14If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.2 worksHebrews 6:18–19Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Romans 8:1

    Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

    it leads to

    • John 3:18–19

      Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

    • 2 Corinthians 5:17

      Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

    • Galatians 3:13

      Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

    • Romans 5:1

      Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

    • 1 Corinthians 1:30

      It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

  • Through

    Numbers 35:6

    Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 21:3

      So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

    • Joshua 21:13

      So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,

    • Joshua 21:21

      From the tribe of Ephraim they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Joshua

The Walls of Jericho Fall Down, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Walls of Jericho Fall Down, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 20 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Joshua 20 →