(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 4:41–49, “Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising; That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live: Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites. And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel: These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt, On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt: And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising; From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon, And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.”
Even though the soldiers belonging to the two and a half tribes were marching with the rest of Israel to war. They built places to keep their stock and the rest of their families stayed to live in the land they had claimed. There were some people who were not allowed to go to war as well (see Deuteronomy 20:7, “And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.”). With all these people staying on the eastern side of the river they was a good chance of accidents occurring. The Lord had already established the system of cities of refuge to save someone from vengeance if they accidentally killed another person. In order to make sure that everything was properly established the Lord told Moses to make sure that there were cities of refuge on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Moses also defined the boundaries of the territory they were to take. The Lord was generous but some territory had been allocated to other nations and it was not proper for Israel to take territory that belonged to other sons of Abraham or even people from Haran, the place where Abraham’s relatives lived.
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