Six Levitical cities (three east of the Jordan, three west) appointed to shelter manslayers from the avenger of blood (goel ha-dam) until trial and (in the case of unintentional killing) until the death of the high priest. Numbers 35, Deuteronomy 19, and Joshua 20 establish and detail the institution. The three east-Jordan cities: Bezer in Reuben's territory, Ramoth in Gilead in Gad's territory, Golan in Manasseh's territory. The three west-Jordan cities: Kedesh in Naphtali's territory, Shechem in Ephraim's territory, Hebron in Judah's territory. The cities had to be accessible (roads kept open, signposts maintained, per rabbinic tradition) and were arranged so no point in the land was too far from one. The institution distinguishes manslaughter from murder: the unintentional killer could find lasting refuge, but the deliberate murderer would be handed over to the avenger even from the altar. Christ as the eternal refuge for the believer is the typological antitype (Heb 6:18: who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us).