In those old times, when one man killed another, the friends of the dead
man had the right to kill the murderer. But sometimes it happened that
one person killed another without meaning to do it. Of course it was not
right that he should be killed for what he could not help. God saw that
there ought to be some way of saving him. So he told Joshua to name six
cities to which such a person could flee and where no one could touch
him. These cities were called Cities of Refuge. Three of them were on the
west side of Jordan and three on the east. Some say that all the guide
posts along the way had “Refuge!” “Refuge!” written on them.
[Illustration: FLEEING TO THE CITY OF REFUGE.]