Six cities, three in Canaan and three in Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan River) were designated as places of safety for persons suspected of manslaughter. The six cities were among the forty-eight assigned to the Levites (Numbers 35:6). The three Transjordanian cities were Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan (Deuteronomy 4:43 and Joshua 20:8). The three cities west of the Jordan were Kedesh, Shechem, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah (20:7). They were distributed so that east of the Jordan, Golan was located in the north, Ramoth in the center, and Bezer in the south. West of the Jordan, Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron were located north, center, and south respectively. That made it possible for an accused manslayer to reach a city of refuge quickly.
In ancient Israel the nearest relative of a murder victim was required to take the life of the murderer (Numbers 35:19-21). It was his duty to the widow, other family members, and to society. Murderers were not allowed to live, and there was no way to ransom them (35:31).
Accidental death, however, was another matter. Manslaughter without malice or premeditation had a special provision in the Law of Moses. A man who accidentally killed someone could flee to the nearest city of refuge, where the local authorities would grant him asylum (Deuteronomy 19:4-6). When the case came to court, if the man was found guilty of premeditated murder, he was handed over for execution (19:11-12). If the death was deemed accidental, the person was acquitted. Nevertheless, he had to pay a penalty. The manslayer had to stay in the city of refuge as long as the current high priest was in office (Numbers 35:22-28). That would be a considerable hardship in some cases. It meant either separation from one’s family or the expense and risk of moving from one’s ancestral land and trying to make a livelihood in a new city.