Bezer was a
Levitical city
In the Hebrew Bible, the Levitical cities were 48 cities in ancient Israel set aside for the tribe of Levi, who were not allocated their own territorial land when the Israelites entered the Promised Land.
Numbers 35:1-8 relates God's command ...
in the desert plateau east of
the Jordan, and of
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies Above mean sea level, above sea level. The second-lar ...
, originally a resting place for travelers. It was designated by
Moses as a '
city of refuge', a “safe-haven” for
Reubenites
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Unlike the majority of the tribes, the land of Reuben, along with that of Gad and half of Manasseh, was on the eastern side of the Jordan and shared a ...
and others, to which any person guilty of
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ...
could flee to avoid being killed in vengeance.
The site of Bezer "cannot be located with certainty," although several sites have been proposed.
The Bible seldom mentions Bezer, but it explains the town's purpose as a refuge in , , (The usual, dutiful repetition - “to be a city of refuge for the slayer” - that follows the names of the other five cities of refuge, is actually omitted for Bezer in this verse in some translations.), and .
Cities of refuge were necessary because the
next of kin
A person's next of kin (NOK) are that person's closest living blood relatives. Some countries, such as the United States, have a legal definition of "next of kin". In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, "next of kin" may have no legal d ...
of a manslaughter victim had a right under the
Law of Moses
The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God.
Terminology
The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...
to seek compensation - in kind - for blood shed by the perpetrator.
The law of Moses provided that anyone accused of homicide could flee to a city of refuge, to be protected from the victim's family. Once he was there, a manslaughterer was prohibited from leaving until the
high priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...
had died or until his own death, even if the victim's family had forgiven them.
References
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Levitical cities