Miss Patty was a good woman, bless her heart. She kept her flannel board organized, she brought lemon bars to every potluck, and she could recite the books of the Bible faster than you could say “Leviticus.” But when it came to the cities of refuge? Miss Patty was silent.
The cities of refuge are one of those Old Testament institutions that most of us learned absolutely nothing about growing up. They don’t show up in VeggieTales. There’s no Precious Moments figurine of a man sprinting toward Hebron. They’re nestled in Numbers and Joshua, and unless someone took the time to show you why they matter, you probably breezed right past them on your way to the Psalms.
So let me be the person who takes the time. Because what God set up in those six cities is one of the most breathtaking pictures of salvation in all of Scripture, and the author of Hebrews likely had this imagery in mind when he used language about fleeing for refuge to describe what it means to run to Yeshua.
Buckle up friends! We’re heading to ancient Israel and then straight to the cross.
What Even Were These Cities?
In Numbers 35, God gave Israel very specific instructions for when they entered the land of Canaan. Six cities were to be designated across the territory, three on each side of the Jordan River. They were part of the forty-eight Levitical cities, meaning they were cities of the priests. And they had one very particular purpose: to provide protection for someone who had accidentally killed another person.
“So the manslayer who kills any person by mistake and without premeditation may flee there. They will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.” — Joshua 20:3, TLV
Let’s paint a picture of what this means. A man is chopping wood. The ax head flies off the handle, strikes another worker, and the man dies. That’s not murder. It’s a terrible, awful accident. But in the ancient Near East, the dead man’s family had a designated member called the go’el hadam, the blood avenger, whose job was to pursue the person responsible and execute justice.
Before any formal judgment could take place, there was pursuit.
And so God, in His extraordinary mercy, established a provision. Six cities, strategically placed so that no one in Israel was ever too far away. The roads to them were well-maintained. There were signs posted. And if you made it inside those gates? You were safe. The blood avenger could not touch you.
The Details That Change Everything
Here’s where it gets theologically rich, and where Miss Patty definitely checked out and went for a mimosa at brunch.
First, these cities were for anyone, not just Israelites. Numbers 35:15 is clear that the protection extended to the outsider and the visitor in the land. God’s mercy was never a members-only club, not in the Torah and not in Yeshua.
Second, once the person reached the city and told their story to the elders at the gate, they were taken in and given a place to live among the community. They weren’t locked in a prison cell. They were given a home. They became part of the fabric of that Levitical city. They lived among the priests.
“When one flees to one of those cities, he must stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city. Then they are to take him into their city and give him a place to live among them.” — Joshua 20:4, TLV
Third, and this is the detail that the author of Hebrews could not stop thinking about: the person in the city of refuge was free to leave permanently only after the death of the kohen gadol, the high priest. When the high priest died, the manslayer was released. He could go home. The blood avenger had no more legal claim on him. The death of the high priest was the mechanism of liberation.
You’re going to want to have a think on that one.
The Author of Hebrews Was Paying Attention
Whoever wrote Hebrews was steeped in the Torah. They understood that these six cities were never just a legal arrangement. They were a type. A shadow. A picture pointing forward.
“So by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.” —
Hebrews 6:18, TLV
“We who have fled for refuge.” That’s not just some incidental language. The author is likely echoing the language and imagery of refuge found in the Torah. The imagery invites us to see ourselves as the ones running for safety.
But here’s the typology that is almost too good to be an accident (and you know your girl loves some typology): in the cities of refuge, liberation came through the death of the high priest. In Yeshua, liberation comes through the death of our High Priest. He functions as both the refuge and the high priest whose death sets us free. Both in the same person. Both in one act. Wow!
Yeshua isn’t just LIKE the city of refuge. He IS the fulfillment of everything those six cities were pointing toward, stretched across the landscape of Israel like a preview of coming grace.
What the City Offered That the Road Couldn’t
There’s something important about the structure of this law that we tend to skip over. Safety was not guaranteed on the road. A person who was fleeing could be caught by the blood avenger before they reached the gate, and there would be no protection yet.
Numbers 35 is unambiguous about this. If the manslayer left the city limits, even after being cleared of murder, the blood avenger was legally permitted to kill them outside those walls. The city itself was the refuge. Not the category of accidental killer. Not the good intentions. The city.
And this is where the typology presses in on us. Paul tells us in Colossians 3 that our life is hidden with Messiah in God. Not adjacent to Him. Not in the general vicinity of His mercy. Hidden in Him. In the city. Surrounded by the walls.
The moment you are in Yeshua, the Avenger has no rightful claim on you. Not because of your performance inside those walls, not because you stayed busy enough or good enough or religious enough. But because the High Priest has died, and His death has released you entirely.
Bible Study Questions
Read Numbers 35:9-15 and Joshua 20:1-6. What were the specific qualifications for someone to receive protection in a city of refuge? What was excluded from this protection?
Why do you think God placed the cities of refuge within Levitical cities, the cities of the priests? What does that placement communicate theologically?
Numbers 35:15 specifies that the protection extended to the outsider and the visitor, not only to Israelites. How does this detail shape your understanding of who God’s mercy is for?
Look at Numbers 35:25-28. What was the condition for the manslayer’s permanent release? How does the author of Hebrews use this detail in Hebrews 6:18-20?
In what ways is Yeshua both the city of refuge and the high priest whose death brings liberation? How does holding both together change how you understand the atonement?
Reflection Questions
Have you ever thought of your relationship with Yeshua in terms of running to a place of safety? What does the imagery of actively fleeing to refuge do to how you experience grace?
The manslayer wasn’t given a certificate of innocence. They were given protection inside the city. How does that distinction speak to you about how grace works in your own life?
The cities of refuge were strategically placed so no one was too far away. Where do you find yourself when you feel far from the mercy of God? What does this passage say to that distance?
The manslayer had to actually run. They had to get up and go. Is there anywhere in your life where you know you need to run toward God but you’re still standing in the field?
Action Challenges
Read through all of Numbers 35 and Joshua 20 this week as a complete narrative. Ask God to show you something about His character in the specifics of the legal system He designed.
Write out Hebrews 6:18-19 and sit with the phrase “we who have fled for refuge.” What would it mean to live today as someone who has already made it inside the walls?
Is there someone in your life who is running, someone whose life feels like the space between the field and the gate, full of fear and accusation? Pray for them this week with the specific image of the city of refuge in mind.
If this study stirred something in you, share it with a friend who has been walking through a season where shame or guilt has made God feel far away.
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About the Author
Diane Ferreira is a Jewish believer in Yeshua, a published author, speaker, seminary student, wife, and proud mom. She is the founder of She’s So Scripture and She Opens Her Bible. She is the author of several books, including The Proverbs 31-ish Woman, which debuted as Amazon’s #1 New Release in Religious Humor, as well as Holy, Hormonal and Holding On.
She is currently pursuing her graduate degree in Jewish Studies in seminary, with her favorite topics being the early church and Biblical Hebrew. Diane writes and teaches from a unique perspective, bridging her Jewish heritage with vibrant faith in the Messiah to bring clarity, depth, and devotion to everyday believers.
When she’s not writing, studying, or teaching, you’ll find her curled up with a good book, crocheting something cozy, traveling, or playing her favorite video games.
Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society. Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.
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Thank you, Jesus!
I love the depth of your studies. This one about Cities of Refuge was particularly inspiring to me. Thank you