Numbers 35:32
in Numbers 35Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall take no ransom for him that is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
KJV
And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
4 notes on this verseUntil the death of the priest - Probably intended to typify, that no sinner can be delivered from his banishment from God, or recover his forfeited inheritance, till Jesus Christ, the great high priest, had died for his offenses, and risen again for his justification.
This site's exposition
ye shall take no satisfaction for the life
on Numbers 35:31-32
Two payments are forbidden in two verses, one for the murderer's life and one for the manslayer's exile. The word rendered satisfaction is kopher, the ransom that Exodus 21:30 does allow where an ox has gored a man, which Albert Barnes points out, so the law prices some losses and refuses to price this one. Verse 32 closes the other door, since money cannot buy the fugitive home a single day early either.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations--The law of the blood-avenger, as thus established by divine authority, was a vast improvement on the ancient practice of Goelism.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִקְח֣וּ | tikchu | you will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| כֹ֔פֶר | khofer | a ransom | H3724 → | |
| לָנ֖וּס | lanus | to flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עִ֣יר | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִקְלָט֑וֹ | miklato | refuge his | H4733 → | 20 times |
| לָשׁוּב֙ | lashuv | to return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לָשֶׁ֣בֶת | lashevet | to dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בָּאָ֔רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| מ֖וֹת | mot | [the] death of | H4194 → | 156 times |
| הַכֹּהֵֽן׃ | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִקְח֣וּyou will take
tikchuH3947 →966 times
כֹ֔פֶרa ransom
khoferH3724 →
לָנ֖וּסto flee
lanusH5127 →159 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עִ֣יר[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
מִקְלָט֑וֹrefuge his
miklatoH4733 →20 times
לָשׁוּב֙to return
lashuvH7725 →1056 times
לָשֶׁ֣בֶתto dwell
lashevetH3427 →1079 times
בָּאָ֔רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
מ֖וֹת[the] death of
motH4194 →156 times
הַכֹּהֵֽן׃the priest
hakohenH3548 →750 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
Acts 4:12Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
it leads to
- John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
- 1 Corinthians 3:11
For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
- John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- 1 Timothy 2:5–6
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
- 1 John 5:11–12
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- John 14:6
Through
Revelation 5:9And they sang a new song: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:18–19
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- 1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
- Matthew 26:28
This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
- 1 Peter 1:18–19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).