The elders represented the citizens at large, the judges the magistracy: priests Deuteronomy 21:5 from the nearest priestly town, were likewise to be at hand. Thus, all classes would be represented at the purging away of that blood-guiltiness which until removed attached to the whole community.
Related Commentaries of Deuteronomy 21:2
Deuteronomy 21:2
2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: