English: At first both the unintentional and the intentional [killer] flee to the cities of refuge, and the court sends and brings him from there: one who is liable to death they execute, one not liable they release; as it says “the congregation shall rescue the murderer from the hand of the blood-avenger.” One liable to exile they return to his place, as it says “the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge.”
Type of Learning
Procedural sequence: provisional flight, then court determination, then exile or execution.
What Is Learned
Cities of refuge serve as temporary asylum for all killers until the court sorts intentional from unintentional and either executes, frees, or permanently exiles.