3 so that anyone who kills a person accidentally - that is, unintentionally - may flee there as a safe place of asylum from the avenger of blood.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Joshua 20:3

Commentary on Joshua 20:1-6

(Read Joshua 20:1-6)

When the Israelites were settled in their promised inheritance, they were reminded to set apart the cities of refuge, whose use and typical meaning have been explained, Hebrews 6:18.