Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Joshua 20:2 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 2. 2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Joshua 20:2 contributes this concrete line to the movement: “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto…”.
Read It With
- Joshua 20:1–6
Read Joshua 20:2 with 20:1–6. Joshua 20:2 advances “Cities of Refuge Protect the Unintentional Killer” with the textual step “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: The LORD commands refuge cities where a person who kills unintentionally may state the case to elders, receive shelter from the blood avenger, face communal judgment, and later return after the high priest's death.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Joshua 19:49-51 ends with this movement: Priest, leader, heads, Shiloh, and the tent close the distribution. Joshua 20:1-6 begins with this next step: Moses' prior command is activated in the land. It reaches this outcome: Elders, asylum, trial, and a temporal limit restrain private vengeance. This movement materially develops the book's concern with unintentional killing, blood revenge, asylum, elders, trial, high priest, and safeguarding systems. At Joshua 20:2, this verse contributes the following distinct step: Joshua 20:2 advances “Cities of Refuge Protect the Unintentional Killer” with the textual step “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto…”.
What Remains True
Joshua 20:2 contributes this bounded enduring truth: Justice must distinguish intent, restrain private vengeance, protect access to a fair hearing, and remember the life that was lost.
How It Can Shape Life
- Joshua 20:2 calls readers to this response: Build accessible due-process protections that shelter people from retaliation while preserving investigation, victim care, and accountable judgment. In Joshua 20:1-6, this response specifically addresses unintentional killing, blood revenge, asylum, elders, trial, high priest, and safeguarding systems.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Joshua 20:1-6 — Cities of Refuge Protect the Unintentional KillerSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Joshua 20:1-6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Joshua
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clauses, names, repeated roots, boundary formulas, covenant terms, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Josh.xml, 20:1–6
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Joshua with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew, textual, translation, list, number, geographical, historical, and cross-reference notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Joshua PDF, printed pp. 445, translation and translator notes on 20:1–6
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Joshua
Richard D. Nelson
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, literary boundaries, composition, history and archaeology limits, geography, theology, and material interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: Nelson, 'Joshua,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 173, discussion of 20:1–6
Open source ↗