Deuteronomy 19:4
And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;
Deuteronomy 19:4 belongs to the laws Moses recalled for Israel before they crossed the Jordan, rehearsing what God had done for them and the chief laws given to them to remind them of the law's sacred importance and their need to keep it. It belongs to the Mosaic provision of cities of refuge that mitigated the deeply rooted Hebrew custom that authorized and even required the next-of-kin to avenge a murdered person by killing the murderer. The restriction of blood revenge in this chapter shows a law that existed in patriarchal times before it became part of the Mosaic code. The verse defines the protected slayer as one who kills his neighbor ignorantly or unintentionally and without prior hatred or enmity. A killing so described is judged as accidental rather than treated as murder. Such a slayer may flee to refuge to escape immediate or private vengeance and claim protection from the avenger of blood until the case receives a fair trial and is judged by the congregation.
The elders' decision admits the fugitive while a later, fuller trial is arranged. In its marginal reading, the day before yesterday is described as the third day, counting the day of reference as the first. The verse is an example of inclusive day-counting when reckoning backward, where the day being spoken of counts as the first and the day two days before it counts as the third. This inclusive reckoning supports counting the day of Christ's suffering as the first day when he foretold that he would rise the third day.
A city of refuge is a place to be secured for people who are bitterly persecuted and must leave their own countrymen in order to live. Applied to Jews who accept Christ, it means providing such a refuge in a suitable place. There they are given work and at the same time trained to be workers for others.