Joshua 20:9
in Joshua 20These 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person unwittingly might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
KJV
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.
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This verse in Joshua 20
Commentary
7 notes on this verseFor all the children of Israel, and for the stranger - As these typified the great provision which God was making for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles, hence the stranger as well as the Israelite had the same right to the benefits of these cities of refuge. Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?
This site's exposition
they set apart Kedesh in Galilee
on Joshua 20:7-9
Three cities stand west of the Jordan and three east, spaced north, middle and south, as Deuteronomy 19:3 asked. Moses had already set apart the eastern three, Bezer, Ramoth and Golan, at Deuteronomy 4:41-43. Verse 9 opens all six to foreigners on the Israelite's terms, as Numbers 35:15 had said.
This site's exposition
all the Israelites and foreigners among them
Wesley extends the word foreigners beyond converts to any outsider, because the right concerned the plain difference between chance killing and murder. Clarke reads the open door as a figure of God's provision for Jew and Gentile alike and cites Romans 3:29. Protection lasts until the trial before the assembly.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The stranger - Not only proselytes, but others also; because this was a matter of common right, that a distinction might be made between casual man-slayers, and wilful murderers.
And this remedial law was a figure of good things to come. 1 The L ORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, 2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: 3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:53w-of-68
These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they appointed . . . cities--There were six; three on the west, and three on the east, of Jordan. In the first instance, they were a provision of the criminal law of the Hebrews, necessary in the circumstances of that people (see on Nu 35:11; At the same time they were designed also typically to point out the sinner's way to Christ (Heb 6:18).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
That were set aside. They were prepared and set aside for this.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And on the other side of the Jordan, from Yericho eastward. [These cities were set aside] during the days of Moshe, as it is said, “Betzer in the wilderness.” 1 Devorim:43.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
25 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵ֣לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| הָיוּ֩ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עָרֵ֨י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַמּֽוּעָדָ֜ה | hamuadah | <the> appointing | H4152 → | |
| לְכֹ֣ל׀ | lekhol | for all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְלַגֵּר֙ | velager | and for the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| הַגָּ֣ר | hagar | who sojourns | H1481 → | |
| בְּתוֹכָ֔ם | betokham | in midst of them | H8432 → | 418 times |
| לָנ֣וּס | lanus | to flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| שָׁ֔מָּה | shamah | there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַכֵּה־ | makeh- | [one who] strikes down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| נֶ֖פֶשׁ | nefesh | <of> a person | H5315 → | 754 times |
| בִּשְׁגָגָ֑ה | bishgagah | by inadvertence | H7684 → | |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמ֗וּת | yamut | he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בְּיַד֙ | beyad | by [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| גֹּאֵ֣ל | goel | [the] avenger of | H1350 → | 104 times |
| הַדָּ֔ם | hadam | <the> blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עָמְד֖וֹ | amedo | stands he | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעֵדָֽה׃ פ | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
אֵ֣לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
הָיוּ֩they were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
עָרֵ֨י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
הַמּֽוּעָדָ֜ה<the> appointing
hamuadahH4152 →
לְכֹ֣ל׀for all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְלַגֵּר֙and for the sojourner
velagerH1616 →92 times
הַגָּ֣רwho sojourns
hagarH1481 →
בְּתוֹכָ֔םin midst of them
betokhamH8432 →418 times
לָנ֣וּסto flee
lanusH5127 →159 times
שָׁ֔מָּהthere towards
shamahH8033 →834 times
כָּל־any
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַכֵּה־[one who] strikes down
makeh-H5221 →499 times
נֶ֖פֶשׁ<of> a person
nefeshH5315 →754 times
בִּשְׁגָגָ֑הby inadvertence
bishgagahH7684 →
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָמ֗וּתhe will die
yamutH4191 →839 times
בְּיַד֙by [the] hand of
beyadH3027 →1618 times
גֹּאֵ֣ל[the] avenger of
goelH1350 →104 times
הַדָּ֔ם<the> blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עָמְד֖וֹstands he
amedoH5975 →521 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָעֵדָֽה׃ פthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Joshua 20:6He 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…
it leads to
- Numbers 35:12
You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.
- Hebrews 9:26
Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by…
- Numbers 35:12
Through
Joshua 20:4When 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…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 38:7
Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
- Ruth 4:1–2
Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went…
- Psalms 26:9
Do not take my soul away with sinners, or my life with men of bloodshed,
- Proverbs 31:23
Her husband is known at the city gate, where he sits among the elders of the land.
- Jeremiah 38:7
Through
Numbers 35:15These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
it leads to
- Numbers 15:16
The same law and the same ordinance will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing with you.”
- Leviticus 24:22
You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native; for I am the LORD your God.’”
- Numbers 15:16
Where this verse is studied
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About Joshua
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; 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.