CITIES OF THE PLAIN
In Israel, homicide was punishable by death. The only exemption was involuntary manslaughter. For the protection of the involuntary murderer, six cities of refuge were designated, three on each side of the Jordan, where anyone who had involuntarily killed someone should flee.
They were given to the Levites, and the elders of these cities were to determine whether the death had been caused by accident or not; If so, the avenger of blood was not authorized to kill the murderer.
However, he had to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; Only then could he return to his possessions. If he left the city before that, and the avenger of blood found him, he could kill him (Num. 35: 6-32; Josh. 20: 2-9; 21: 13-38; 1 Chron. 6 :57, 67).
The cities of refuge west of the Jordan were: Kedesh, on Mount Naphtali, in Galilee; Shechem in Mount Ephraim and Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in Mount Judah. East of the Jordan were: Bezer in the desert belonging to the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth of Gilead, of the tribe of Gad; and Golan of Bashan, of the tribe of Manasseh (Josh. 20:78).
It has been calculated that the distance between each of these cities was around 110 kilometers, so that the maximum distance from any point to one of these cities would be 55 kilometers.