Numbers 35:12
in Numbers 35You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the cities shall be unto you for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation for judgment.
KJV
And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
5 notes on this verseUntil he stand before the congregation in judgment - So one of these cities was not a perpetual asylum; It was only a pro tempore refuge, till the case could be fairly examined by the magistrates in the presence of the people, or the elders their representatives; and this was done in the city or place where he had done the murder, Jos 20:4, Jos 20:
This site's exposition
cities for refuge from the avenger
on Numbers 35:12-13
The avenger is the goel, the same word and the same office as the kinsman who buys back a poor brother's field at Leviticus 25:25 and the near kinsman of Ruth 3:12. The man whose duty is to redeem a family's land is the man whose duty is to answer for its blood. Verse 12 also states what the city is for, that the manslayer die not until he stand before the congregation in judgment, so the gate buys him a hearing and no more than that.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
From the avenger - Hebrew. from the redeemer, or, from the next kinsman, to whom by the law belonged the right of redemption of the lands of; and vindication of the injury done to, the person deceased.
And they shall be unto you cities of refuge from the avenger,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The avenger - Hebrew גאל gā'al, a term of which the original import is uncertain. The very obscurity of its etymology testifies to the antiquity of the office which it denotes. That office rested on the principle of Gen 9:6, “whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” The unwritten code of the East conceded to the nearest kinsman of a murdered man the right of avenging the blood that had been shed. Such rude justice necessarily involved grave evils. It gave no opportunity to the person charged with crime of establishing is innocence; it recognized no distinction between murder, manslaughter, and accidental homicide; it perpetuated family blood-feuds, the avenger of blood being liable to be treated in his turn as a murderer by the kinsman of the man whom he had slain. These grievances could not be removed as long as there was no central government, but they might be mitigated; and to do this was the object of the institution in the text (compare Exo 21:13). Among the Arab tribes, who are under the control of no central authority, the practice of blood-revenge subsists in full force to the present day. The congregation - i. e. local court, consisting of the elders of the city Jos 20:4.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
מגאל — [AND THE CITIES SHALL BE UNTO YOU AS A REFUGE] מגאל — i.e. as a refuge on account of the avenger of blood, — he who is the near relative of the murdered man.
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. 5 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָי֨וּ | vehayu | and they will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֧ם | lakhem | for <the> you | ||
| הֶעָרִ֛ים | hearim | the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לְמִקְלָ֖ט | lemiklat | <into> a refuge | H4733 → | 20 times |
| מִגֹּאֵ֑ל | migoel | from an avenger | H1350 → | 104 times |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָמוּת֙ | yamut | he will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| הָרֹצֵ֔חַ | harotzeach | the killer | H7523 → | 47 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עָמְד֛וֹ | amedo | stands he | H5975 → | 521 times |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָעֵדָ֖ה | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
| לַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃ | lamishpat | for <the> judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
וְהָי֨וּand they will become
vehayuH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֧םfor <the> you
lakhem
הֶעָרִ֛יםthe cities
hearimH5892 →1090 times
לְמִקְלָ֖ט<into> a refuge
lemiklatH4733 →20 times
מִגֹּאֵ֑לfrom an avenger
migoelH1350 →104 times
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יָמוּת֙he will die
yamutH4191 →839 times
הָרֹצֵ֔חַthe killer
harotzeachH7523 →47 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עָמְד֛וֹstands he
amedoH5975 →521 times
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
הָעֵדָ֖הthe congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
לַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃for <the> judgment
lamishpatH4941 →422 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
Joshua 20:9These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of…
it leads to
- Numbers 35:15
These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or stranger among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.
- Numbers 35:15
Through
Numbers 35:19The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.
it leads to
- Joshua 20:5
Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 19:12
the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.
- Numbers 35:21
or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must surely be put to death; he is a murderer. When the avenger of blood finds…
- Deuteronomy 19:6
Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not…
- Joshua 20:3
so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
- Joshua 20:5
Through
2 Samuel 14:7Now the whole clan has risen up against your maidservant and said, ‘Hand over the one who struck down his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of the brother…
it leads to
- Numbers 35:19
The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.
- Matthew 21:38
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’
- Numbers 35:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.