Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Joshua designates six cities of refuge, three on this side, and three beyond the Jordan.
Vulgate Text: Joshua 20:1-9
1. And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 2. Separate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses; 3. that whoever strikes a person unknowingly may flee to them, and may escape the wrath of the next of kin, who is the avenger of blood: 4. when he has fled to one of these cities, he shall stand before the gate of the city and shall speak to the elders of that city those things that prove him innocent; and so they shall receive him and give him a place to dwell. 5. And when the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver him into his hands: because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and is not proven to have been his enemy for two or three days before; 6. and he shall dwell in that city until he stands before the judgment to give an account of his deed, and until the high priest who was at that time dies; then the homicide shall return and enter his city and his house from which he had fled. 7. And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee of Mount Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba, which is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah. 8. And beyond the Jordan, opposite Jericho to the east, they established Bezer, which is situated in the wilderness of the plain, of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh. 9. These cities were established for all the children of Israel and for the strangers who dwelt among them; that whoever unwittingly struck a person might flee to them and not die at the hand of the next of kin who desired to avenge the shed blood, until he should stand before the people to set forth his case.
Verse 2: The Cities of Refuge
2. SEPARATE THE CITIES OF REFUGE, — Hebrew: cities of refuge, to which one who has killed someone involuntarily and by chance may flee, as the Lord commanded, Numbers 35 and following, where I explained these things at length.
Verse 6: Until the High Priest Dies
6. UNTIL HE STANDS BEFORE THE JUDGMENT, GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS DEED. — So that if he proves his innocence, namely that he killed by accident and unknowingly, he may be brought back to the city of refuge and remain there until the High Priest dies; but if it is clear that he killed voluntarily and deliberately, let him also be put to death.