These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation. For all the children of Israel, and for the stranger - As these typified the great provision which God was making for the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles, hence the stranger as well as the Israelite had the same right to the benefits of these cities of refuge. Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?
Until he stood before the congregation - The judges and elders of the people, in trying civil and criminal causes, always sat; the persons who came for judgment, or who were tried, always stood; hence the expressions so frequent in Scripture, Standing before the Lord, the judges, the elders, etc. It is worthy of remark that the cities of refuge were given to the Levites; see the following chapter, Joshua 21 (note). The sacrificial system alone afforded refuge; and while the suspected person was excluded from his family, etc., he had the advantage of being with those whose business it was to instruct the ignorant, and comfort the disconsolate. Thus he had the means constantly at hand, by a careful use of which he might grow wiser and better; secure the favor of his God, and a lot of blessedness in a better world. How wise, equal, and beneficent are all the institutions of God!
Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke [1831].