The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

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- Chapter 35 -

(Joshua 21:1–45; 1 Chronicles 6:54–81)

Yahweh spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho and said,

“Command the people of Israel to give some of their own shares of land to the Levites. They must give them cities to live in and pastureland surrounding those cities.

The Levites will have these cities to live in. The pastureland will be for their cattle, their flocks, and all their animals.

The pasturelands around the cities that you will give to the Levites must extend from the city walls for one thousand cubits in every direction.

You must measure two thousand cubits from outside the city on the east side, and two thousand cubits to the south side, two thousand cubits to the west side, and two thousand cubits to the north side. This will be the pasturelands for their cities. The cities will be in the center.

Six of the cities that you will give to Levites must serve as cities of refuge. You must provide these as places to which a person who has killed someone can flee. Also provide forty-two other cities.

The cities that you give to the Levites will total forty-eight. You must give their pasturelands with them.

The larger tribes of the people of Israel, the tribes that have more land, must provide more cities. The smaller tribes will provide fewer cities. Each tribe must provide for the Levites according to the share that it has received.”

Six Cities of Refuge

(Deuteronomy 4:41–43; Deuteronomy 19:1–14; Joshua 20:1–9)

Then Yahweh spoke to Moses and said,

“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ’When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

then you must choose cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, a place to which a person who has killed someone unintentionally may flee.

These cities must be your refuge from the avenger, so that the accused man will not be killed without first standing trial before the community.

You must choose six cities as cities of refuge.

You must provide three cities beyond the Jordan and three in the land of Canaan. They will be cities of refuge.

For the people of Israel, for the foreigners, for anyone living among you, these six cities will serve as a refuge to which anyone who kills someone unintentionally can flee.

But if an accused man has struck his victim with an instrument of iron, and if his victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death.

If an accused man has struck his victim with a stone in his hand that might kill the victim, and if his victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death.

If an accused man has struck his victim with a wooden weapon that might kill the victim, and if the victim dies, then the accused is indeed a murderer. He must certainly be put to death.

The avenger of blood may put the murderer to death. When he meets him, the avenger of blood must put him to death.

If he strikes another in hatred or throws something at him, while hiding to ambush him, so that the victim dies,

or if he strikes him down in hatred with his hand so that the victim dies, then the accused who struck him must surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood may put the murderer to death when he meets him.

But if an accused man suddenly hits a victim without premeditated hate or throws something that hits the victim without lying in wait,

or if he throws a stone that could kill a victim without seeing the victim, then the accused was not the victim’s enemy; he was not trying to hurt the victim. But this is what to do if the victim dies anyway.

In that case, the community must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood on the basis of these rules.

The community must rescue the accused from the power of the avenger of blood. The community must return the accused to the city of refuge to which he had originally fled. He must live there until the death of the current high priest, the one who was anointed with the holy oil.

But if the accused man at any time goes beyond the border of the city of refuge to which he fled,

and if the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and if he kills the accused man, the avenger of blood will not be guilty of murder.

This is because the accused man should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. After the death of the high priest, the accused may return to the land where he has his own property.

These laws must be statutes for you through all your people’s generations in all the places where you live.

Whoever kills any person, the murderer must be killed, as testified to by the words of witnesses. But one witness’s word alone may not cause any person to be put to death.

Also, you must not accept ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of murder. He must certainly be put to death.

You must not accept ransom for the one who has fled to a city of refuge. You must not in this way allow him to reside on his own property until the high priest dies.

Do not pollute in this way the land where you live, because blood from murder pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land when blood has been shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

So you must not defile the land in which you live because I am living in it. I, Yahweh, live among the people of Israel.’”

(Joshua 21:1–45; 1 Chronicles 6:54–81)

The LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,

“Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites cities to dwell in out of their inheritance. You shall give pasture lands for the cities around them to the Levites.

They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their pasture lands shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.

“The pasture lands of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits(a) around it.

You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall be the pasture lands of their cities.

“The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities.

All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their pasture lands.

Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many, and from the few you shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give some of his cities to the Levites.”

Six Cities of Refuge

(Deuteronomy 4:41–43; Deuteronomy 19:1–14; Joshua 20:1–9)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

The cities shall be for your refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.

The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge.

You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge.

These six cities shall be refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the foreigner living among them, that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.

“‘But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death.

The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death.

If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled something at him while lying in wait, so that he died,

or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

“‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait,

or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him so that he died, and he was not his enemy and not seeking his harm,

then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.

The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

“‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge where he flees,

and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer, he shall not be guilty of blood,

because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

“‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

“‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain based on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify alone against any person so that he dies.

“‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death. He shall surely be put to death.

“‘You shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land before the death of the priest.

“‘So you shall not pollute the land where you live; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it.

You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, where I dwell; for I, the LORD, dwell among the children of Israel.’”

Footnotes

(a)35:4 A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.