According to the Rabbins, in order to give the ftigi- tive all possible advantage in his flight, it was the business of the Sanhedrim to make the roads that led to the cities of refuge convenient by enlarging them, and removing every obstruction that might hurt his foot or hinder his speed. No hillock was left, no river was allowed over which there was not a bridge, and the road was at least two-and-thirty cubits broad. At every turning there were posts erected bearing the words Refuge, Refuge, to guide the unhappy man in his flight ; and two students in the law were appoint- ed to accompany him, that, if the avenger should over- take him before he reached the city, they might at- tempt to pacify him till the legal investigation could take place. When once settled in the city of refuge, the manslayer had a convenient habitation assigned him gratuitously, and the citizens were to teach him some trade whereby he might support himself. To render his confinement more easy, Uie mothers of the high-priests used to feed and clothe these unfortunate fugitives, that they might not be impatient and pray for the death of their sons, on whose decease they were restored to their liberty and their property. If the slayer died in the city of refuge before he was released, his bones were delivered to his relations, after the death of the high-priest, to be buried in the sepulchre of his Others (Lewis, Origine* Hthraicas). If the hom- icide committed a fr^sh act of manslaughter, he was to flee to another city ; but if he were a Levite, to wander from city to city. An idea prevaUed that when the Messiah came three more cities would be added — a misinterpretation, as it seems, of Deut. xix, 8, 9 (Lightfoot, Cent. Chor, clii, 208). Jerusalem, to some extent, possessed the privilege of asylum under similar restrictions — a privilege accorded to Shimei, but forfeited by him (1 Kings ii, 86, 46). .
That the right of asylum among the Jews was In later periods of their history so extended as to open the door to great abuses may be inferred from 1 Mace. X, 48, where unqualified impunity and exemption fW>m both liabilities and penalties are promised, under the influence, not of the Mosaic law, but of heathen morals
CIVIL ADMINISTRATION 862
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and ambition, to ** whosoever they be that flee unto the Temple at Jerusalem, or be within the liberties thereof." In the words now cited, reference appears to be made to a custom which prevailed from very early times, both among the chosen people and the n^ tions of the world, of fleeing, in case of personal dan- ger, to the altar. With the Jews, it was costomaiy for the fngitire to lay hold of the horns of the altar, whether in the tabernacle or Temple ; by which, how- ever, shelter and secnrity were obtained only for those who had committed sins of ignorance or inadvertence (Exod. xxi, 14 ; 1 Kings i, 50 ; ii, 28). From the last two passages, it seems that state criminals also sought the protection of the altar, probably more fh>m the force of custom than any express law. Their safety, however, depended on the will of the king; for hi the passages referred to it appears that in one case (that of Adon^ah) life was spared, but in the other (that of Joab) it was taken away even '^by the altar." Com- pare Matt, xxtii, 85.— Kitto, s. v. A similar instanoe is found in Grecian history, in the case of Pausanias, who fled from the populace, incensed on account of his public treachery, to the temple of Minerva, where he was starved to death by order of the Ephori, by block- ing up the entrance and taking off the roof (compare Smith's Diet. ofCkui, Antiq. 8. v. Asylum). See Ajbt-
LUlf.
CiTT OF David, a section in the southern part of Jerusalem, embracing Mount Zton, where a fortress of the Jebusites stood. See Jebus. David reduced the fortress, and built a new palace and city, to which he gave his own name (1 Chron. xi, 5). Bethlehem, the native town of David, is also called, from that cir- eomstance, the city of David (Luke ii, 11).
City of God, one of the names of ancient Jerusa- lem (Psa. xlvi, 4), and its appropriateness is evident from Deut xii, 5.
Holt CiTr. The sacredness of the Temple ex- tended itself in some measure over the city, and hence Jerusalem itself was called the Holy City^ and is so distinguished in the East at the present day (Neh. xi, 1 ; Dan. ix, 24). See Jerusalem.
Levitical City. See Levitb.
CiTT OF Palm-trees. See Ir-Hattemabim.
Sacerdotal Citt. See Priest.
Cut OF Salt. See Ir-Hammelah.
Treasure-citt Qn the plur. ini3SDQ *^*2^t diiet ofpnmtiont^ '* store-cities,*' 1 Kings ix, 19). Pithom and Raamses (q. v.) are mentioned in Exod. i, 11, as treasure-cities built by Pharaoh by the unpaid labor of the Hebrews ; they were probably magazines or d^ p6ts for the royal revenue (which was doubtless paid in kind), such as are intimated in Gen. xli, 48 ; see xlviii, 26. The Jewish kings had similar places of public deposit (2 Chron. viii, 4, ft; xvi, 4; xvii, 2). See Treasure.
Civil AdmlnlBtratioii of the Hebrews. See