Deuteronomy 21:1
in Deuteronomy 21If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him;
KJV
If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
According to Jewish writers, the Sanhedrin, taking charge of such a case, sent a deputation to examine the neighborhood. They reported to the nearest town to the spot where the body was found. An order was then issued by their supreme authority to the elders or magistrates of that town, to provide the heifer at the civic expense and go through the appointed ceremonial.
This site's exposition
If one be found slain
on Deuteronomy 21:1-5
An unsolved killing leaves guilt on the land itself, and the town measured nearest to the body is the town that answers for it. The heifer is one that has never been worked and never drawn in a yoke, and its neck is struck off in a valley that has never been ploughed or sown, so nothing in the rite has been put to human use before. Albert Barnes notes that the heifer is not called a sin offering and that its blood is never brought to an altar, which makes the transaction figurative rather than sacrificial. Standing behind it is Genesis 9:5, where God requires the blood of a man at the hand of every man, so a death that no court can trace still has to be answered by somebody.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
21 ), upon the inquisition which justice makes for it; and there is an eternity coming when those that escaped punishment from men will lie under the righteous judgment of God. And the impunity with which so many murders and other wickednesses are committed in this world makes it necessary that there should be a day of judgment, to require that which is past, Eccl. iii.
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If one be found slain,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
As Scripture mentions the war against enemies, 1 In the previous chapter.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִמָּצֵ֣א | yimatze' | it will be found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חָלָ֗ל | chalal | [one] slain | H2491 → | 94 times |
| בָּאֲדָמָה֙ | baadamah | in the land | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֩ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְהוָ֨ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נֹתֵ֤ן | noten | [is] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ | lerishtah | to take possession of it | H3423 → | 231 times |
| נֹפֵ֖ל | nofel | lying | H5307 → | 435 times |
| בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה | basadeh | in the open country | H7704 → | 334 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נוֹדַ֖ע | noda' | it is known | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מִ֥י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| הִכָּֽהוּ׃ | hikahu | did he strike him | H5221 → | 499 times |
כִּי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִמָּצֵ֣אit will be found
yimatze'H4672 →455 times
חָלָ֗ל[one] slain
chalalH2491 →94 times
בָּאֲדָמָה֙in the land
baadamahH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁר֩which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְהוָ֨הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
נֹתֵ֤ן[is] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֙to <the> you
lekha
לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּto take possession of it
lerishtahH3423 →231 times
נֹפֵ֖לlying
nofelH5307 →435 times
בַּשָּׂדֶ֑הin the open country
basadehH7704 →334 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נוֹדַ֖עit is known
noda'H3045 →945 times
מִ֥יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
הִכָּֽהוּ׃did he strike him
hikahuH5221 →499 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 9:12For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
it leads to
- Psalms 34:6
This poor man called out, and the LORD heard him; He saved him from all his troubles.
- Exodus 3:7
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Revelation 16:6
For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Psalms 34:6
Through
Psalms 5:6You destroy those who tell lies; the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
it leads to
- Psalms 55:23
But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- Psalms 55:23
Through
Proverbs 28:17A man burdened by bloodguilt will flee into the Pit; let no one support him.
it leads to
- Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
- Genesis 9:6
Through
Acts 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to…
it leads to
- Luke 13:2
To this He replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this fate?
- Luke 13:2
Through
Isaiah 26:21For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:11
I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
- Isaiah 13:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.