Numbers 35:17
in Numbers 35Or if anyone has in his hand a stone of deadly size, and he strikes and kills another, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, whereby a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
KJV
And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
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This verse in Numbers 35
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
If he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, &c.--Various cases are here enumerated in which the Goel or avenger was at liberty to take the life of the murderer; and every one of them proves a premeditated purpose.
This site's exposition
strikes a person with an iron object
on Numbers 35:16-18
Three instruments are named, iron, stone and wood, and only the iron object carries no qualifier. The stone must be "of deadly size" and the wood "a deadly object". A stone or stick may be in hand for harmless reasons, and a blade may not.
This site's exposition
a stone of deadly size
The stone is judged by whether it could kill, since any man may have a stone in his hand. A heavy stone returns at verse 23, dropped without looking on a man who was no enemy, and that death is manslaughter. Intent decides between the two cases.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And if he smite him with throwing a stone,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
באבן יד [AND IF HE SMOTE HIM] WITH A STONE IN THE HAND (more lit., with a stone of the hand) — one which has the size of a full hand (i.e., large enough to fill a hand).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִ֡ם | veim | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| בְּאֶ֣בֶן | beeven | with a stone of | H68 → | 273 times |
| יָד֩ | yad | hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָמ֨וּת | yamut | someone will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בָּ֥הּ | bah | by <the> it | ||
| הִכָּ֛הוּ | hikahu | he struck down him | H5221 → | 499 times |
| וַיָּמֹ֖ת | vaiyamot | and he died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| רֹצֵ֣חַֽ | rotzeach | [is] a killer | H7523 → | 47 times |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מ֥וֹת | mot | certainly <to die> | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יוּמַ֖ת | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃ | harotzeach | the killer | H7523 → | 47 times |
וְאִ֡םand if
veimH518 →1069 times
בְּאֶ֣בֶןwith a stone of
beevenH68 →273 times
יָד֩hand
yadH3027 →1618 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יָמ֨וּתsomeone will die
yamutH4191 →839 times
בָּ֥הּby <the> it
bah
הִכָּ֛הוּhe struck down him
hikahuH5221 →499 times
וַיָּמֹ֖תand he died
vaiyamotH4191 →839 times
רֹצֵ֣חַֽ[is] a killer
rotzeachH7523 →47 times
ה֑וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
מ֥וֹתcertainly <to die>
motH4191 →839 times
יוּמַ֖תhe will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
הָרֹצֵֽחַ׃the killer
harotzeachH7523 →47 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Exodus 21:18If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
it leads to
- Exodus 21:20
If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished.
- Deuteronomy 25:11
If two men are fighting, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his genitals,
- Exodus 21:22
If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the…
- Numbers 35:16–24
If, however, anyone strikes a person with an iron object and kills him, he is a murderer; the murderer must surely be put to death.
- Exodus 2:13
The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
- Exodus 21:20
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and MannaFest exposition, Berean Standard Bible, Numbers 35:17 read with 35:23.