In the Old Testament, six Levitical cities were set aside to provide shelter and safety for those guilty of manslaughter, cities of refuge. In the ancient Near East if a person were killed, it was the custom that the nearest relative became the "avenger of blood". It became his duty to slay the slayer.

However, if a person killed another accidentally or unitentionally, the cities of refuge were provided as an asylum, "that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live" [Deut. 4:42]. Regulations for these cities are found in Numbers 35, Deuteronomy 19:1-3, and Joshua 20.

In the New Testament, the cities of refuge apparently became a type, or symbolic illustration, of the salvation that is found in Christ. In other words, when the sinner flees to Christ Jesus for refuge, he is safe from the divine Avenger of Blood, Satan.

"I've Found A Hiding Place...Num. 35; Heb. 6:18"