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[First posted October 23, 2013.
A God Who dwells among His people, Who travels with them, fights with them in their battles, performs miracles, instructs, reminds and warns . . . and forgives when true repentance is evidenced . . . .how blessed indeed is Israel compared to any other nation? But with chosen-ness is great and grave responsibility, as Israel learns the hard way over and over again, from the time of their birth as a nation and throughout their history of 6 millennia.
An invisible God Who does dwell ‘in the midst of the sons of Yisra’el’ has to manifest His Presence in some visible way and so one tribe is set apart to serve Him and His symbolic dwelling — the Tabernacle. The Levites/”Leuiyiy” are treated just as differently in terms of land inheritance; that is, they do not inherit territories like the other tribes do, but instead they are given “cities to dwell in; and surrounding regions for the cities all around them”.
The purpose of this strange legacy to a ‘holy’ tribe of the ‘holy’ nation?? Among others, what stands out is— that any “murderer that kills any nephesh inadvertently may flee there.”
What??!!
The reason for reading the Hebrew Scriptures is to learn not so much about how Israel and the nations are to relate to the God of ALL peoples, but more so to learn about that One True God. The best source — aside from His visible Creation — is the record of His acts in history, specifically the history of His chosen nation. As we continue reading through these seemingly ‘strange’ instructions, teachings, and commandments, we are exposed to and hopefully, begin to understand Divine Wisdom. The wisest of Torah-ignorant minds which have conceived man-made laws have not come close to any concept of a ‘city of refuge’, not in those days of antiquity although today, surely from exposure to the “Old Testament” of the Christian Bible, there are laws in civil society that make a distinction between premeditated murder/homicide, and accidental taking of life/involuntary manslaughter. The God of Israel has made it known to all of mankind that provision has been made for sins committed out of ignorance or unintentional sin . . . symbolized by the ‘city of refuge’ as well as the sin offerings; however, for intentional sin, there is only true repentance, a 180-degree turn-around.
The taking of a life involves not only the cutting off of one man’s life. The case of Abel, slain by his older brother Cain, is a sad reminder that not only Abel life was snuffed, but his progeny—2nd generation, 3rd generation and ALL future generations that could have been offsprings descended from him. He had no line to be traced to; and that is the sad truth about life-taking for which only the Giver of Life has the prerogative to give and to take away.
The rabbis have much to contribute to the understanding of this chapter, so provided as usual is the commentary from Pentateuch and Haftorahs, ed. Dr. J.H. Hertz; translation is EF/Everett Fox The Five Books of Moses..—Admin1.]
LEVITICAL CITIES AND CITIES OF REFUGE.
1-8. LEVITICAL CITIES
Forty-eight cities, with a portion of land attached to each, are to be set aside for the support of the Levites. The carrying into effect of this law is given in Josh. XXI. ‘The purpose of this institution seems to be the following. The tribe consecrated to God’s service shall, through its equal distribution among the other tribes, be enabled to labour among them for the cause of God; guide those that seek instruction in His Law: and at the same time be saved from utter dispersion by living together in family groups in the Levitical cities. Such distribution among the other tribes was further rendered necessary by the fact that the maintenance of the Levites depended on the tithes, given by the people’ (Dillmann). According to Rabbinic tradition, the institution of Levitical cities ceased with the destruction of the first Temple.
Numbers/Bamidbar 35
1 YHVH spoke to Moshe, in the Plains of Moav, by Jordan-jericho, saying:2 Command the Children of Israel, that they may give over to the Levites, from their inherited holdings, towns to settle in, and pasture-land for the towns around them, give to the Levites.
[P&H] Levitical Towns of Asylum (35): As a kind of appending to the previous chapter, and for a last mention of the Levites in Numbers, we are given what the Torah regards as an important innovation: the institution of the Towns of Asylum (or Refuge), whereby an accidental mans layer could avoid the expected bold vengeance of the dead person’s family. Greenberg (1959) has claimed that the specified towns probably were a substitute for what in other ancient Near Eastern societies was banishment; in his view, the idea of internal banishment presented here affirms the high and nonnegotiable value put on human life in the bible-even when it is ended by accident. Be that as it may, the law in this chapter puts a brake on a reality of ancient life.
it is likely that the towns in question were previously sacred Canaanite towns, and Frick has raises the interesting possibility that from that special character or status may have evolved the concept of citywide asylum (and not just at the alter a, temporary measure).
[EF] pasture-land: Land for “driving” (Heb. g-r-sh) animals to graze in.
[EF] cities to dwell in. The Levites were to have the right to dwell in those cities, but the possession of these cities was vested in the tribe in whose territory the particular city was situated.
open land. Or, ‘suburbs’. An area consisting of an open space round about the city, serving to beautify it. It was not permitted to build houses there, nor to plant vineyards or to sow a plantation’ (Rashi).
3 The towns shall be for them to settle in, and their pasture-lands shall be for their cattle, their property and for all their animals.4 And the pasture-lands of the towns that you give to the Levites (shall be) from the wall of the town and outward, a thousand cubits all around;
[EF] the wall: That is, its outer surface (Milgrom).
[EF] A thousand cubits: About 1500 yards, or somewhat less than a mile.
5 you are to measure outside the city, the eastern limit: two thousand by the cubit, and the Negev limit, two thousand by the cubit, and the seaward limit, two thousand by the cubit, and the northern limit, two thousand by the cubit, with the town in the middle. This shall be for them the pasture-lands of the towns.two thousand cubits. From the house of the city (‘the city being in the midst’). The first thousand cubits for ‘open land’; and the other, for fields and vineyards (Rashi): or, the whole 2,000 cubits for a ‘common’ (Luzzatto).
[EF] two thousand by the cubit: This became the basis in later Jewish law for the maximum distance one could travel on the Sabbath (cf. Plaut for discussion).
6 And with the towns that you give to the Levites, with the six towns of asylum that you give for fleeing-to for the accidental-murderer- along with them you are to give forty-two towns.
cities of refuge. Places of asylum to shelter the involuntary homicide, see v.9-15. Levitical cities were selected for this purpose; both because they were regarded as having a sacred character, and because they were inhabited by men who could decide in doubtful cases between wilful murder and accidental homicide.
7 All the towns that you are to give the Levites: forty-eight towns, them and their pasture-lands.8 And the towns that you give (them) from the holdings of the Children of Israel- from those that have-many you are to take-many, from those that have-few you are to take-few, each-one according to his inheritance that they receive-as-inheritance is to give of its towns for the Levites.
from the many. The more populous the tribe, the more cities they were to provide for the Levites. East of the Jordan, the Levites had ten such cities, and in Canaan proper 38. The principle of proportionate giving was not literally carried out; the criterion was not the number of the cities given but rather their importance (Nachmanides).
9-15. CITIES OF REFUGE
Six cities of refuge, three on either side of the Jordan, are to be set aside as places of asylum for accidental homicides. These six cities did not need always to remain the same. Others might be substituted, provided their situation conformed to the Biblical law with regard to distances and geographical position.
9 YHVH spoke to Moshe, saying:10 Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When you cross over the Jordan, into the land of Canaan:
11 You are to select for yourselves (certain) towns, towns of asylum shall they be for you, for fleeing-to for the accidental-murderer, one who strikes down a life in error.
shall appoint you. lit. ’cause to happen’; i.e. make ready, prepare.
may flee thither. Any one guilty of unpremeditated taking of human life could escape to one of these cities and find shelter and protection.
12 The towns shall be for you for asylum from the (blood) redeemer, that the murderer not die until he can come before the community for judgment.from the avenger. Heb. goel, more usually, goel haddam, lit. ‘the avenger of blood’l ‘redeemer.’ It refers to the nearest representative of the family of the slain man, whose duty it was to ‘vindicate’ the death of the victim. In primitive society, if one member of a family was murdered, an intolerable shame rested upon the family until ‘satisfaction’ had been inflicted on the manslayer at the hands of the ‘redeemer’ or avenger of the family honour. It was the sacred aim of the Mosaic legislation to take the decision of the guilt or innocence of the manslayer out of the hands of the ‘avenger’, and assign it to an impartial tribunal.
before the congregation. The tribunal of elders and judges appointed by the community to which the homicide belongs. In later times, it was understood
13 And the towns that you provide- six towns of asylum shall there be for you.14 Three of the towns you are to provide across the Jordan, and three of the towns you are to provide in the land of Canaan, towns of asylum they are to be,
15 for the Children of Israel, for the sojourner and for the temporary-settler among them, these six towns are to be for asylum, for fleeing-to for anyone who strikes down a person in error.
16 But if with an iron instrument he struck him down, so that he died, he is a murderer: put-to-death, put-to-death must the murderer be!
[EF] iron: No one could be oblivious to what would likely result from hitting someone with such an instrument.
17 And if with a stone in hand through which one can die he struck him down, so that he died, he is a murderer: put-to-death, put-to-death must the murderer be![EF] in hand: That is, large enough to fit in the hand.
18 Or with a wooden instrument in hand through which one can die he struck him down, so that he died, he is a murderer: put-to-death, put-to-death must the murderer be!19 As for the blood redeemer- he may put-to-death the murderer, upon meeting him, he may put-him-to-death.
[EF] meeting: Or, “coming across,” “encountering.”
20 Now if in hatred he pushed him, or threw (something) at him lying-in-wait, so that he died,21 or in enmity struck him with his hand, so that he died, put-to-death, put-to-death must be he who has struck, he is a murderer: the blood redeemer may put the murderer to death, upon meeting him.
22 But if with suddenness, with no (previous) enmity, he pushed him, or threw at him any instrument, without lying-in-wait,
23 or with any stone instrument through which one can die, without seeing (him), he dropped it on him, so that he died -now he was not his enemy, not one seeking his ill-
24 the community is to judge between the striker and the blood redeemer, according to these regulations;
25 the community is to rescue the murderer from the hand of the blood redeemer, and the community is to return him to his town of asylum, to which he fled; he is to stay in it until the death of the Great Priest who was anointed with the oil of holiness.
[EF] Great Priest: High Priest.
26 But if the murderer goes out, yes, goes out from the border of his town of asylum, whence he fled,27 and the blood redeemer finds him, outside the border of his town of asylum, the blood redeemer may murder the murderer, he has no bloodguilt.
[EF] finds: Or, “catches” (Fishbane 1988).
{EF[He has no bloodguilt: And hence cannot himself be executed for killing the murderer.
28 Indeed, in his town of asylum he must stay, until the death of the Great Priest; after the death of the Great Priest the murderer may return to the land of his holding.29 These shall be for you as a law of procedure into your generations, throughout all your settlements:
30 whoever strikes down a person, at the mouth of witnesses (only) may a murderer be murdered; one witness (alone) may not testify against the person, to have-him-put-to-death.
[EF] one witness (alone): This became a central principle in later Jewish law (cf. also Deut. 19:15, where the minimum number of witnesses is stipulated at two).
31 You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, since he is culpable, (deserving) the death-penalty, indeed, he is to be put-to-death, put-to-death!32 And you are not to accept a ransom for (him to) flee to his town of asylum, for (him to) return to settle in the land, until the death of the Great Priest.
33 You are not to corrupt the land that you are in, for the blood-it will corrupt the land, and the land will not be purged of the blood that has been shed upon it except through the blood of him who shed it.
[EF] corrupt: Murder is one of the major causes of such biblical pollution (adultery is another).
34 You are not to make-tamei the land in which you are settling, in whose midst I dwell, for I am YHVH, Dweller in the midst of Israel!