Deuteronomy/Davarim 19: "the (accidental) murderer who flees there, that he may stay-alive"

[What does the command to establish a ‘city of refuge’ signify about the justice of the God of Israel?  That there is provision and even mercy for unintentional sin.  In fact, all the sacrifices at the Tabernacle/Temple were all for unintentional sin since, as we are taught, there is no sacrifice for intentional sin because that requires one thing and one thing only— true repentance.  

 

To apply this now to the disobedience of the first man and woman, ponder this:  was their violation of a commandment for which they were fully informed of details with warning about disobedience, was it intentional? If it were so, was the consequence for them deserved . . . was it harsh or still full of the graciousness and mercy of the Creator?  What about Cain’s murder of Abel, could that be categorized as unintentional . . . or not? He was spoken to about not letting in ‘sin crouching at the door’.  Was the consequence for Cain somewhat like a city of refuge . . . or not? 

 

Commentary here comes from the best of Jewish minds, as collected by Dr. J.H. Hertz in his excellent resource Pentateuch and Haftorahs; this website uses EF/Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses.—Admin1.]

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(3) CRIMINAL LAW AND WARFARE

 

Deuteronomy/Davarim 19

(a) LAWS RELATING TO CRIME

1-13.  CITIES OF REFUGE

Three cities shall be set aside in the future territory to serve as ‘sanctuary’ to the manslayer; see Num. XXXV,9-34 and Deut. IV,41-3.  In this way the immemorial custom of blood-revenge that to this day rests like a curse upon many Bedouin tribes is curbed; and the heathen conception of ‘sanctuary’ for the wilful murderer is abolished.

 

1 When YHVH your God cuts off the nations
 whose land YHVH your God is giving you, 
and you dispossess them and settle in their towns and in their houses:

dost succeed.  Or, ‘shalt dispossess.’

2 three towns you are to separate for yourselves,
 in the midst of your land
 that YHVH your God is giving you to possess.
3 Measure yourself the way
 and divide-in-three the territory of your land
 that YHVH your God is causing you to inherit.
 It shall be for fleeing there, for every (accidental) murderer.

prepare thee the way. Affording every facility to the fugitive to reach the place of refuge. According to the Talmud, a signpost bearing the inscription , ‘To the City of Refuge.’ was at every crossroad, pointing out the direction in which the City of Refuge lay.

flee hither. The three Cities of Refuge should be equidistant from one another.

borders. Territory.

4 Now this is the matter of the (accidental) murderer who flees there, that he may stay-alive, 
who strikes down his neighbor with no foreknowledge,
 nor did he bear-hatred-toward him from yesterday and the day-before;
5 or who comes upon his neighbor in the forest, chopping wood, 
and his hand swings-away with an ax, to cut wood, 
and the iron-part slips off the wood-part 
and reaches his neighbor, so that he dies:
 he may flee to one of these towns, so that he may stay-alive

fetcheth a stroke. ‘As his hand lets drive with the axe’ (Moffatt), the iron slips off the handle, and, instead of hitting the tree, strikes a man.

6 -lest the blood redeemer pursue the murderer,
 since his heart is hot-blooded, 
and overtake him-since the journey is long-and strike his life, 
though his is not a judgment of death; 
since he has not borne-hatred toward him, from yesterday and the day-before.

the avenger of blood. The nearest kinsman of the dead man; num. XXXV,12.

because the way is long. To the Central Sanctuary, if these three equidistant Cities of Refuge are not provided.

7 Therefore I command you, saying: 
Three towns you are to separate for yourself.
8 Now if YHVH your God should broaden your territory 
as he swore to your fathers, 
and give you all the land 
that he promised to give your fathers:

Enlarge thy border. If Israel comes to possess all the territory that was promised to Abraham (Gen. XV,18), then three more Cities of Refuge should be added.

9 indeed, you are to keep all this commandment, by observing it,
 that I command you today,
 to love YHVH your God, and to walk in his ways, all the days; 
and you are to add for yourself another three towns to these three,

10 so that the blood of the innocent not be shed amid your land
 that YHVH your God is giving you as an inheritance, 
and there be blood-guilt upon you!

blood be upon thee.  i.e. blood-guiltiness be upon thee.  If no provision of such Cities of Refuge were made, the guilt of bloodshed would rest upon the land; see on XXI,1-9.

11 But if it should be (that) a man bears-hatred toward his neighbor 
and waits-in-ambush for him 
and rises up against him and strikes his life, so that he dies, 
and he flees to one of these towns:

lie in wait for him. This and the succeeding two verses provide a safeguard against the abuse of the right of sanctuary.  A fair trial and acquittal is secured to the innocent slayer; but the wilful murderer cannot, as among Arab tribes, compound his crime by payment to the kinsmen of the victim.  He must die.

12 the elders of his town are to send and have him taken from there,
 they are to give him into the hand of the blood redeemer, so that he dies.
13 Your eye is not to take-pity on him! 
So you shall burn out the innocent blood from Israel, 
and it will be-well with you.

14.  REMOVING A LANDMARK

14 You are not to move back the border of your neighbor
that the first-ones set-as-border,
 in your inheritance that you inherit
 in the land that YHVH your God is giving you to possess.

landmark.  The line of stone defining the boundary of a man’s field. In Deut. XXVII,17 it is said, ‘Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark’ in order thereby to enlarge his own estate.  Such removal was equivalent to theft.  Before the introduction of land-measurement, removing landmarks was a crime more difficult to combat than today.

In later times, this prohibition of removing a neighbour’s landmark (hassagath gevul) received an ethical extension.  Thereby any unfair encroachment upon another man’s honour or livelihood, any ‘poaching on another man’s preserves’ or sphere of activity, is strictly prohibited.

they of old time. Those of a former age.  Moses is here addressing future generations.  Num. XXXIV gives the precise divisions of the land under the superintendence of Eleazar, Joshua and one prince out of every tribe.

15-21.  PLOTTING WITNESSES

Before guilt can be established, whether in a case of manslaughter, murder, the removal of a landmark, or any other injury to life or property, it is here enacted that the testimony must come from the mouth of at least two witnesses.

Whereas in Jewish Law, intention to commit a crime was no punishable offence, it is otherwise with plotting witnesses.  In their case, intention is of the very essence of their crime, and they are to receive the punishment they had intended for the innocent victim.  The Schools differed as to their punishment, if they had succeeded in their criminal intention.

15 One witness (alone) shall not rise up against a man
 for any (case of) iniquity, for any (case of) sin,
 in any sin that he sins;
 at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses, a legal-matter is to be established!
16 When there arises a witness of malice against a man,
 testifying against him (by) defection (from God),

unrighteous witness. lit. ‘a witness of violence’, i.e. a witness who purposes to do harm.

perverted witness. lit. ‘a turning aside’, i.e. rebellion against the Law of God.  In XIII,6 the same word is used in reference to the sin of idolatry.

17 and the two men who have the quarrel stand 
before the presence of YHVH, before the presence of the priests or the judges that are-there in those days:

both the men. Both parties must be present at the hearing of the case.

before the LORD.  i.e. before the priests and judges, who are God’s representatives in judgment.

in those days. Whoever the judge of your day may be, due regard must be paid him.  ‘Jephthah in his generation was the equal of Samuel in his’; see  XVII,9.

18 the judges are to inquire well;
and (if) here: a false witness is the witness, falsely has he testified against his brother:
19 you are to do to him 
as he schemed to do to his brother. 
So you shall burn out the evil from your midst!

as he had purposed. The false witness shall suffer the penalty he had sought to bring on another, in accordance with the lex talionis, v. 21.

20 Those who remain will hear and will be-awed,
 they will not continue to do any more according to this evil practice in your midst.

shall hear. According to the Talmud, it was customary for the court to issue the public proclamation, ‘Such and such a person has been punished for being a false witness.’

shall not pity. Willful murder must be punished by death; see on Exod. XXI,12-14.