Yehoshua 20:3

3 That the slayer that killeth any nefesh unawares and unwittingly may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the Go’el HaDahm.

Yehoshua 20:3 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 20:3

That the slayer that killeth [any] person unawares, [and]
unwittingly, may flee thither
Who through mere accident, and without design, killed a person, friend or foe, one of his own kindred, or a stranger, without any malice against him, or intention to take away his life:

and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood;
from any of the relations of the deceased, who might be stirred up to avenge the blood of his kinsman on the slayer; see ( Numbers 35:12 ) .

Yehoshua 20:3 In-Context

1 0 Hashem also spoke unto Yehoshua, saying,

2 Speak to the Bnei Yisroel, saying, Designate for you cities of refuge, whereof I spoke unto you by the yad Moshe:

3 That the slayer that killeth any nefesh unawares and unwittingly may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the Go’el HaDahm.

4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the petach (entrance) of the sha’ar ha’ir, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the zekenim of that city, they shall admit him into the Ir unto them, and give him a makom, that he may dwell among them.

5 And if the Go’el HaDahm pursue after him, then they shall not surrender the slayer up into his yad; because he struck his neighbor unwittingly, and not with malice against him beforetime.