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Numbers 35 – Skeptic's Annotated Bible answered
A response and reply to the notes on Numbers 35 in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB).
King James Version
SAB comment
My comment
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.
3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.
4 And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.
5 And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
7 So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs.
8 And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.
9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
11 Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.
But what about an accident? And how do we know it was an accident? Especially when relations between two persons were not so good, an accident might be interpreted as murder. And even if it was an accident, you still killed someone! So first of all, to make it clear it was an accident, one had to flee the scene towards the city of refuge, and quickly, else relatives or others might execute what they thought was the proper punishment. Secondly, emotions might cloud the judgement of the relative, it might simply be not safe and wise to stay at the scene to explain all.
Inside the city of refuge, accidental killers could not summarily be killed for what might have been thought, or appeared to be, murder. Courts were setup in these six cities and could establish the case.
And perhaps there were cases were it might not be so clear what happened. And cases were he who accidentally killed someone had to continually fear for his life without a system like this.
The year that the high priest died was like a jubilee: everyone who had fled to the city of refuge could now return, and if someone killed them in the name of revenge it would be considered murder.
I don't think this is a bad system at all. The basis of the system is that you were innocent until proven guilty. And it certainly would have made accidental murder rare as great precaution would be taken. And as Doug Goins points out:
God's intention, obviously, is for us to live in peace. The Numbers passage spoke of the land becoming poisoned or polluted when terror reigned. Anybody who took the life of another person, whether in a premeditated way, in an act of passion, or by accident, had to be dealt with in a way that was fair to that person, to the victim and the victim's family, and to society in general. The cities of refuge didn't repudiate capital punishment; rather, it was God's way of allowing both justice and mercy to prevail. Only the innocent were to be protected, not the guilty.
12 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.
13 And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.
14 Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.
15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.
16 And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
17 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.
(35:17) "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."
18 Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
(35:18) "Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death."
19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
(35:19, 21) "The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him."
The "revenger of blood" (the victim's closest relative) must murder the murderer just as soon as he sees him.
20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;
21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.
22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,
23 Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:
24 Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:
25 And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.
26 But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;
If the accidental killer leaves the city of refuge and is caught by the revenger of blood, then the revenger can legally kill the accidental killer.
27 And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:
28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
29 So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
Does God approve of capital punishment?
31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
32 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.
33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
If a person accidentally kills someone, then she should go to a city of refuge. If she can get to the city of refuge before the "revenger of blood" (the victim's closest relative) can catch her, then she is safe, at least until the high priest dies (I don't know what he has to do with it). But if she is caught outside the city of refuge, then the revenger of blood can kill her.