Refrain

The verb 'to refrain' is now used only intransitively, to abstain from. This use is found twice in AV, Ec 3' ' A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing ' ; and Ac b^ ' Refrain from these men.' But the primitive meaning of 'refrain' is to curb or restrain (Old Fr. rcfrener, Lat. refrcnare, from re back, and frennm a bridle, a curb), and this is the usual meaning of the word in AV. So Udall, Erasmus Paraph, i. 97, ' Jesus refreyned them, saying. Why be ye grieved with this woman ? ' ; Ex 32' Tind. ' And the Lorde refrayned him selfe from that evell, which he sayde lie wolde do unto his people' ; Ja 1-' Wye. ' If ony man gessith hym silf to be relegious and refreyneth not his tunge' (AV 'bridleth not'); Elyot, Governour, ii. 215, ' Injurie apparaiint and with powar Inforced eyther may be with Ivke powar resisted, or with wisedome eschued, or with entreatie refrained.' J. Hastings. REFUGE, CITIES OF (s^p-: "iv, 'en rs, or, more fully ~)i'l^ £:';,"" Ty ; LXX (al) ttAXcis (twv) ^vya- SevTTiplav, or the cities are said to be ijivyaonrrqpin, or eis (pvyaSeirrripiov ; a fuller description (Jos 21-'' ^) is i) jrAXis ToO ipvyaoeimipLov (tj) toD ^ovevffai^os ; Vulg. civitates confugii, civitates (iirbei) ad con/iigicndum, urbcs fufjitirorum (in funitirorum anxilia OT prw- sidia, ad fugitivnrum subsidia). — Nnmcs and loca- tion.— The names and location of these cities are given with great definiteness, and their distribution was such an would best accommodate the entire country. There were three on the west of the Jordan — Hebron in the mountains of Judah, Shechem in Mount Epliraim, Kedesh in Mount Naphtali ; and three on tlie cast of the river — Bezer in the plain belonging to Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to Gad, t;olan in Baslian belonging to Manassen (Jos 20'-). See under each of these names. There is every reason to believe that the early Jewish tradition (Neubauer, Gfoq. du 7'almud, p. 55), which placed these cities in pairs nearly opjiosite each other on the east and on the west of the Jordan, is correct, so that Bezer should be found near Dhiban, Ramoth in Gilead at Gerasa, — the modern Jerash with which it has been identified (East of the Jordan, pp. 284-290),— and Golan, not yet located with certainty, about due east from Kedesh. For greater convenience there seems to have been a provision (Dt 19') that the principal roads to these cities should be kept open, and the inference is, although this is not stated, that they were likewise properly marked The distance to be travelled could hardly have exceeded 30 miles at most, and was easily passed over in a day. Origin and purpose. — In the state of society then existing, the appointment of such places of refuge was wise and wholly in the line of justice. If a man took the life of another, he himself must be slain by the nearest relative. No other law was known ; justice could be satisfied in no other way. It was seen, however, that if this law were carried out hastily in every case, men might suffer death who were really innocent. Hence a trial must be had, and meantime asylums provided where alleged criminals Avould be safe until their case could be properly adjudged. The plan did not result, as might be sujiposed, in giviii" these S laces a bad character by filling them witn mur- erors. On the contrary, these six cities were of the highest rank in every Avay : thev were all Levitical cities — Shechem and Hebron Leing royal cities, and Hebron in addition a priestly city. Each city, according to the (ideal ?) legislation of • There Is also ft doubtful example in Sir 4® ' Refr&in nol to speak, when there is occasion to do jfood ' (pr. ^l «Awr»x Xtyf, KV UefraiD not speech ') : ct. Job Ztt' ' Princes retrained talking.' 214 EEFUSE REGENERATION P, vas to have a suburb of a little; more than half a mile in extent in every direction, so that the refugees might not be absolutely coulined within the city's walls (Nu 35'). This privilege of asylum was evidently not de- signed for wilful murderers. A wilful murderer was to be put to death at once, and these cities were for those who had taken liie unintentionally ('^=3 Tin Dt 4« Jos 20»- " [D^], .i:;^ ? Nu 35"- ", Jos 20'- » [all P]). That there was to be a strict trial (Nu 35'"- '') is sufficient proof that some persons who had committed wilful murder availed them- selves of this possible chance of escaping with their lives (Nu 35'-). The trial took place where the accused had lived or was well known, and not necessarily in the place where he had sought refuge ; and this is shown by the fact that, if proved innocent of wilful murder, the authorities were to see him safely back to the city of refuge after the trial was over. The law of murder and of unintentional killing is fully stated in Nu 35"'"-^ After being taken back to the city of refuge to which he had fled at first, the offender was bound to remain there until the death of the then reign- ing ' high priest ' (an expression which is taken by many to imply that the passage in its present form reflects the usage or the theory of a late age in Israel's history), after which he was free to return to his ONvn home. During that period, however, if accidentally or otherwise he passed beyond the suburb limits of the city of refuge, the avenger of blood might slay him. No payment of money was ever allowed to interfere with the strict fulfilment of this i)enalty (Nu 35^^). Besides these regularly appointed cities of refuge, the temple at Jerusalem, or possibly the altar (see ALTAR) alone, enjoyed a similar prerogative, as is shown by the cases of Adonijah and Joab (1 K 1» ll-^; cf. Ex 2V^<'). As a ground of their action, we must presuppose a well, understood custom or sentiment, which gave to the altar the right of asylum in cases of life and death. It is a curious fact that in the later history of the Hebrews very little is said to show how gener- ally homicides availed themselves of the refuge thus afforded. It may have been such a matter of course that nothing was ever said about it. The provision so carefully made by the Hebrews to shield those who had committed no intentional wrouji had its counterpart among the Greeks and Romans, and may be looked upon as one of the most humane features of ancient ci\ilization, where, in the general administration of affairs, cruelty and injustice, as we regard them, were frequently conspicuous. See, fuither, art. GOKL. S. Merrill.