Deuteronomy 19:2

2 then you are to set apart for yourselves three cities within the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

Deuteronomy 19:2 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 19:2

Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy
land
From the cities they took possession of and dwelt in; and indeed from the cities of the Levites, which were given to them to inhabit; three were before ordered to be separated from those inhabited by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, ( Deuteronomy 4:41-43 ) but these were to be in the midst of the land of Canaan; see ( Joshua 20:7 Joshua 20:8 ) ,

which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it:
which as it is often mentioned when this land is spoken of, so it carries in it a reason here why this order of the Lord's should be readily complied with, the whole land and all the cities of it being the gift of his to them.

Deuteronomy 19:2 In-Context

1 When the LORD your God has cut off the nations whose land He is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their cities and houses,

2 then you are to set apart for yourselves three cities within the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

3 You are to build roads for yourselves and divide into three regions the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that any manslayer can flee to these cities.

4 Now this is the situation regarding the manslayer who flees to one of these cities to save his life, having killed his neighbor accidentally, without intending to harm him:

5 If he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber and swings his axe to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes and kills his neighbor, he may flee to one of these cities to save his life.