The Torah promises that God will provide "a place where he shall flee" for a person who kills accidentally (Exodus 21:13). This is the institution of the city of refuge, where an unintentional killer can find sanctuary from the blood avenger. But the Mekhilta raises a practical question. This promise was made in the wilderness, before the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, before any cities of refuge were established. Where, in the desert, was the accidental killer supposed to flee?
The Torah says "I shall make for you a place even now," meaning the institution of refuge applied immediately, not just after the conquest of the land. But the text does not specify the location. "We did not hear where that place is," the Mekhilta admits. The verse promises refuge without naming it.
The Sages resolve this through a method called gezerah shavah, an interpretive technique that links two passages containing the same key word. A temporary "refuge" is mentioned here in the wilderness context, and a permanent "refuge" is mentioned later in connection with the cities of the Levites. The same word appears in both contexts.
Since the permanent cities of refuge were located in Levitical territory, the temporary refuge in the wilderness must also have been in Levitical territory. In the desert, the Levites occupied a specific camp around the Tabernacle. That camp, the camp of the Levites, served as the wilderness equivalent of the later cities of refuge.
An accidental killer in the desert would flee to the Levitical camp and remain there under its protection. The principle of sanctuary existed from the moment the Torah was given, even before the infrastructure of cities and borders was established. God did not wait for the Promised Land to provide justice.