Joshua 20:4
in Joshua 20When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he shall flee unto one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
KJV
And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
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This verse in Joshua 20
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
As soon as the manslayer presented himself at the city of refuge, the elders of the city were to hold an inquiry, and receive him provisionally into the city. Afterward, when the avenger of blood should have tracked his victim to the city, and appear to claim him, a more formal and thorough investigation Jos 20:6 was to be made. Consult the marginal references.
This site's exposition
stand at the entering of
on Joshua 20:4-6
The gate is where the elders sat to hear cases, so the man states his cause to a court and the protection turns on a hearing rather than on the ground he stands on. Two separate examinations are described: the elders receive him at verse 4, and verse 6 sends him to stand before the congregation for judgment, which Numbers 35:24-25 locates with the community where the death occurred. Barnes reads the first as a provisional reception and the second as the full trial. Release comes at the death of the high priest and at no other point, so the length of the exile is fixed by one man's life instead of by the offence.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The gate - Where the Judges used to sit. His cause - Shall give them a true relation of the fact, and all its circumstances. They shall take him - If they are satisfied in the relation he makes, concerning the fact, otherwise it had been a vain thing to examine.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
If found guilty, the manslayer was surrendered to the blood-avenger; if extenuating circumstances appeared, he was to remain in the city of refuge, where he would be safe from the vindictive feelings of his pursuers; but he forfeited the privilege of immunity the moment he ventured beyond the walls.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָ֞ס | venas | and he will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אַחַ֣ת׀ | ʾachat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מֵהֶעָרִ֣ים | mehearim | of the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הָאֵ֗לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וְעָמַד֙ | veamad | and he will stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| פֶּ֚תַח | petach | [the] entrance of | H6607 → | 164 times |
| שַׁ֣עַר | shaar | [the] gate of | H8179 → | 374 times |
| הָעִ֔יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְדִבֶּ֛ר | vediber | and he will speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| בְּאָזְנֵ֛י | beazenei | in [the] ears of | H241 → | |
| זִקְנֵ֥י־ | ziknei- | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| הָעִֽיר | hair- | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַהִ֖יא | hahi' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּבָרָ֑יו | devarav | words his | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| וְאָסְפ֨וּ | veasefu | and they will gather | H622 → | 200 times |
| אֹת֤וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעִ֙ירָה֙ | hairah | the city towards | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to themselves | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְנָתְנוּ־ | venatenu- | and they will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| מָק֖וֹם | makom | a place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| וְיָשַׁ֥ב | veyashav | and he will dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| עִמָּֽם׃ | ʾimam | with them | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וְנָ֞סand he will flee
venasH5127 →159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אַחַ֣ת׀one
ʾachatH259 →971 times
מֵהֶעָרִ֣יםof the cities
mehearimH5892 →1090 times
הָאֵ֗לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וְעָמַד֙and he will stand
veamadH5975 →521 times
פֶּ֚תַח[the] entrance of
petachH6607 →164 times
שַׁ֣עַר[the] gate of
shaarH8179 →374 times
הָעִ֔ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וְדִבֶּ֛רand he will speak
vediberH1696 →1141 times
בְּאָזְנֵ֛יin [the] ears of
beazeneiH241 →
זִקְנֵ֥י־[the] elders of
ziknei-H2205 →178 times
הָעִֽירthe city
hair-H5892 →1090 times
הַהִ֖יא<the> that
hahi'H1931 →1879 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דְּבָרָ֑יוwords his
devaravH1697 →1440 times
וְאָסְפ֨וּand they will gather
veasefuH622 →200 times
אֹת֤וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
הָעִ֙ירָה֙the city towards
hairahH5892 →1090 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto themselves
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
וְנָתְנוּ־and they will give
venatenu-H5414 →2011 times
ל֥וֹto <the> him
lo
מָק֖וֹםa place
makomH4725 →401 times
וְיָשַׁ֥בand he will dwell
veyashavH3427 →1079 times
עִמָּֽם׃with them
ʾimamH5973 →1050 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
Hebrews 6:18Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
it leads to
- Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- Titus 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- 2 Timothy 2:13
if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
- Romans 3:4
Certainly not! Let God be true and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that You may be proved right when You speak and victorious when You judge.”
- Numbers 23:19
Through
Jeremiah 38:7Now Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,
it leads to
- Amos 5:10
There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- Jeremiah 37:13
But when he reached the Gate of Benjamin, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, seized him and said, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!”
- Jeremiah 29:2
(This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)
- Amos 5:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Joshua

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
