Hebrew word · H4733

מִקְלָט

miklat

refuge

A place of asylum or refuge. In the Hebrew Bible it is used only for the six designated asylum towns: Num 35 (repeatedly), Josh 20:2–3 and 21:13–38, and 1 Chr 6. Its root and origin are uncertain. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list it under a root q-l-t. That link is suggestive but not proven.

Appears 20 times in 20 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

refuge, asylum

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Joshua 21:27

Range of meaning

A place of asylum or refuge. In the Hebrew Bible it is used only for the six designated asylum towns: Num 35 (repeatedly), Josh 20:2–3 and 21:13–38, and 1 Chr 6. Its root and origin are uncertain. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list it under a root q-l-t. Later Aramaic and Mishnaic Hebrew use that root for 'take in, receive', which would give a sense like 'place of reception'. That link is suggestive but not proven.

Against the English

English 'refuge' is accurate, but readers can hear it as a vague place of comfort or safety, as when God is called a 'refuge' in the Psalms. Those Psalm verses use different Hebrew words (machseh, manos, misgav). Miqlat is narrower and legal: it is protected custody pending trial.

Used elsewhere in the period

Many peoples of the ancient Near East and the Greek world practised asylum at altars and temples. Israel itself shows altar-asylum in Exod 21:13–14 and 1 Kgs 1:50–53; 2:28–34. What is unusual in Israel's law is that asylum is attached to designated towns spread over the land, so that every region is within reach of one (Deut 19:3, 'prepare the roads'). Later rabbinic law (Mishnah Makkot 2) expanded on this: all 48 Levitical towns gave asylum, and the six named refuge cities gave it automatically.

From the study of Joshua 21:32

Range of meaning

'Refuge' or 'asylum': a place of protected reception. The root qlṭ probably carries the idea of 'taking in'. The word is used only for the six towns set apart under Numbers 35, Deuteronomy 19 and Joshua 20. In those towns a person who had killed someone was safe from the dead person's avenging kinsman until a trial was held. If the killing was judged unintentional, the killer had to stay there until the high priest died.

Against the English

'Refuge' is accurate, but in modern English it suggests any shelter or safe place. Here the word is a legal term: an assigned place of asylum under supervision, with strict conditions. Leaving the town's bounds early removed the protection (Num 35:26–28).

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 35:6, 11–15, 25–32; Josh 20:2–3; 21:13–38; 1 Chr 6:57, 67. The Septuagint translates it as phygadeutērion, 'place of refuge for fugitives'. Other ancient peoples gave asylum at shrines and altars (compare Exod 21:13–14; 1 Kgs 1:50–53; 2:28–34). Israel's law instead attached asylum to particular towns spread across the land.

From the study of Numbers 35:25

Range of meaning

Refuge or asylum. In the Hebrew Bible the word appears only in the phrase 'city of refuge' (Num 35; Josh 20–21; 1 Chr 6). The root q-l-t does not occur elsewhere in biblical Hebrew. In later rabbinic Hebrew it means 'to take in, receive, absorb', so the word probably pictures a place that takes someone in.

Against the English

'Refuge' is accurate. What English can miss is that this refuge is also a place of confinement. Rabbinic tradition calls the stay galut, 'exile'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 35:6–32; Josh 20:2–3; 21:13–38; 1 Chr 6:57, 67. The Septuagint uses phygadeutērion, 'place of refuge for fugitives'. Mishnah Makkot ch. 2 regulates life in these cities in detail.

Where it appears

Numbers · 11

  1. Numbers 35:6 הַמִּקְלָ֔ט <the> refuge

    Six of the cities you give the Levites are to be appointed as cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. In addition to these, give the Levites forty-two other cities.

  2. Numbers 35:11 מִקְלָ֖ט refuge

    designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there.

  3. Numbers 35:12 לְמִקְלָ֖ט <into> a refuge

    You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.

  4. Numbers 35:13 מִקְלָ֖ט refuge

    The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge.

  5. Numbers 35:14 מִקְלָ֖ט refuge

    Select three cities across the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan as cities of refuge.

  6. Numbers 35:15 לְמִקְלָ֑ט <into> a refuge

    These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

  7. Numbers 35:25 מִקְלָט֖וֹ refuge his

    The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

    Here: 'City of his refuge': the city becomes his own place of safety. The suffix 'his' marks it as the place that has taken him in.

  8. Numbers 35:26 מִקְלָט֔וֹ refuge his

    But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled

    Here: 'His place of asylum.' The 'his' matters: this particular town is now the one place where this person's life is legally protected.

  9. Numbers 35:27 מִקְלָט֑וֹ refuge his

    and the avenger of blood finds him outside of his city of refuge and kills him, then the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed,

    Here: 'His refuge' is personal. This is the city he fled to and must now live in. The word is found almost only in the laws about refuge cities (Num 35, Josh 20–21, 1 Chr 6).

  10. Numbers 35:28 מִקְלָטוֹ֙ refuge his

    because the manslayer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may he return to the land he owns.

  11. Numbers 35:32 מִקְלָט֑וֹ refuge his

    Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.

    Here: 'His refuge.' The suffix makes it the particular city that took him in and protects him, and also confines him.

Joshua · 7

  1. Joshua 20:2 הַמִּקְלָ֔ט <the> refuge

    “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,

    Here: 'The refuge': a place where someone is taken in and protected. 'The' points back to an institution Israel had already been told about (Num 35).

  2. Joshua 20:3 לְמִקְלָ֔ט <into> a refuge

    so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.

    Here: 'As a refuge'. This is a rare technical word, used only for these asylum cities (Num 35; Josh 20–21; 1 Chr 6). It names a place of protected custody.

  3. Joshua 21:13 מִקְלַ֣ט <the> refuge of

    So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,

    Here: A legal asylum: a place where someone who had killed a person could live, protected from the dead man's avenging relative, until his case was judged.

  4. Joshua 21:21 מִקְלַ֧ט <the> refuge of

    they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,

    Here: A legal place of asylum. 'City of refuge' is a fixed technical term from Numbers 35 and Joshua 20 for a town where someone who has killed a person can be protected from the victim's avenging kinsman.

  5. Joshua 21:27 מִקְלַ֣ט <the> refuge of

    This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands.

    Here: This is a legal term for a place of asylum where someone who has killed a person can be safe from the avenger until the case is judged. It appears almost only in the refuge-city laws and lists.

  6. Joshua 21:32 מִקְלַ֣ט <the> refuge of

    And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.

    Here: A legally protected place where a person could not be seized. This is a technical term, used only of the six asylum towns of Numbers 35, Joshua 20–21 and 1 Chronicles 6.

  7. Joshua 21:38 מִקְלַ֣ט <the> refuge of

    And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim,

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:57 הַמִּקְלָ֔ט <the> refuge

    So the descendants of Aaron were given Hebron (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa,

  2. 1 Chronicles 6:67 הַמִּקְלָ֛ט <the> refuge

    They were given Shechem (a city of refuge) with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, and Gezer,

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.