Moses and the Promised Land of Jordan

And the cities that you shall give: Including the first cities or excluding the first cities? It is derived from the phrase "and you shall give the cities" - which means you shall give the three cities, etc. What is the purpose of stating "and the cities, along with their pasturelands"? This teaches us where the cities of refuge are located - three on the east side of the Jordan River and three in the land of Canaan, as it is stated, "You shall give beyond the Jordan, etc." Until the three cities were chosen in the land of Canaan, the three cities on the east side of the Jordan did not accept the accidental manslayer, as it is stated, "Six cities of refuge shall you have." Only when all six cities were ready to accept, they functioned together. It is taught in a Baraita: Moses designated three cities on the east side of the Jordan River, and correspondingly, Joshua designated three cities in the land of Canaan. And they were aligned like two rows: Hebron in the territory of Judah corresponds to Bezer in the wilderness. Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim corresponds to Ramoth in Gilead. Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali corresponds to Golan in Bashan. And the three cities should be arranged in a triangle, so that there is a direct line from the south of Hebron to Hebron, from Hebron to Shechem, and from Shechem to Kedesh, and from Kedesh to the north. On the east side of the Jordan, three cities, and in the land of Israel, three cities. Abaye said: In Gilead, murderers were common, as it is written: "Gilead, a city of workers of mischief, is stained with blood" (Hosea 6:8), indicating that they used to lie in wait to kill souls. And what about this matter? And what about that matter? From this angle and from that angle? Abaye said: In Shechem as well, murderers were common, as it is stated: "The company of priests shed blood on the way to Shechem" (Hosea 6:9), indicating that they used to join together to kill souls, just as these priests would join together to distribute the terumah in the granary. And furthermore, the verse states: "And you shall give them forty-two cities" (Numbers 35:7). Abaye said: These cities accept unintentional manslayers, whether they were aware of it or not, whereas those cities only accept them if they were aware. And Hebron is indeed a city of refuge, as the verse states: "They gave to Caleb Hebron" (Joshua 14:13). Abaye said: This is a separate matter, as it is written: "They gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb" (Joshua 21:12). And Kedesh is indeed a city of refuge, as the verse states: "Rekem and Kinneret, Kedesh" (Joshua 19:37). And it was taught in a Baraita: These cities are not made like small cities or large cities, but rather as medium-sized towns. Rav Yosef said: There are two Kedesh cities. Rav Ashi said: Such as Salka and Akra, which are Kedesh cities.