Chapter Nineteen
Manslaughter and the Cities of Refuge
19:1 “When the LORD your God cuts off the nations whose land the LORD your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, 2 you shall set apart three cities for yourselves in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess. 3 You shall measure the distances and divide into three parts the area of the land that the LORD your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them.
Earlier Moses identified the three cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan River (see Deuteronomy 4:41-43). Here he gives them instructions that after they have settled in the land and the current inhabitants are gone, they are to establish three additional cities of refuge. Efforts are to be made to make sure they are equidistance from each other and centrally located to make them easy for anyone guilty of manslaughter to flee to quickly.[1] The locations are later identified in Joshua 20:7, “So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.”
19:4 “This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having hated him in the past— 5 as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live, 6 lest the avenger of blood in hot anger pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him fatally, though the man did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past. 7 Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities. 8 And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that he promised to give to your fathers— 9 provided you are careful to keep all this commandment, which I command you today, by loving the LORD your God and by walking ever in his ways—then you shall add three other cities to these three, 10 lest innocent blood be shed in your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
Moses did not review the role or use of refuge cities in chapter four when he revealed the east of Jordan cities. Here he gives a brief breakdown of who can use these cities. Anyone who unintentionally killed someone without previously hating or having any hostility against them in the past, they were to immediately flee to a city of refuge to prevent being killed by an avenger of blood. Moses gives an example of someone going into a forest with a neighbor to cut wood, and when he is swinging his axe the axe head slips off the handle and strikes the neighbor and the neighbor dies as the result of the impact, that person could run to the nearest city of refuge to be safe from retribution. Moses points out that if the distance to the nearest city was too far, the avenger of blood could catch up with him and kill him regardless of guilt, requiring the cities to be strategically placed. It further notes that if YHWH expands their territory, they are to add three more cities to prevent the unnecessary shedding of innocent blood.
19:11 “But if anyone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and attacks him and strikes him fatally so that he dies, and he flees into one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you.
Moses immediately presents the opposite scenario, the intentional homicide. If someone hated their neighbor, planned to murder them, and proceeds to kill them and then runs to a city of refuge, the elders of this city are to remove him from the protection of that refuge and hand him over to the avenger of blood to be executed. They are to understand that the murderer is not to be pitied, as they must purge the guilt from killing someone innocent from Israel, a requirement for them to live in the Promised Land (see Numbers 35:33, see also Deuteronomy 21:9).
Respect All Property Boundaries
19:14 “You shall not move your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
Moses next addresses a form of stealing, by secretly changing the boundaries of property, presumably illegally enlarging one’s own property. These property landmarks were established by “men of old” (Hebrew ‘ri(’)·šō·nîm’,[2] referring to those who were first) and that the borders represent the land that they and their neighbors have inherited. This action is a serious offense as the person is to be cursed (see Deuteronomy 27:17).
There are a few theories as to why Moses addresses this issue here, however, most will admit it remains a mystery. Some believe that since Moses was previously addressing the need for cities of refuge for all the tribes, that he may still be addressing the leaders of these tribes and warning them not to adjust their borders.[3]
Two or More Witnesses and No False Testimony Allowed
19:15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
The next subject Moses addresses is the need to have two or more witnesses for any legal matter, not just for capital offenses (see Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6). To suppress any false testimony, Moses tells them that if a person accuses another of some crime, then both parties are to appear before YHWH, the priests and judges. The judges are to investigate and if the witness accusing a fellow Israelite is lying, they are to do to them the same they would have done to the other person if they were found guilty. In doing so they are purging any evil from Israel’s midst. This practice was to set an example to others that might consider making false accusations. Those that are punished in this way were not to be pitied, for example if someone was falsely accused of murder, then the accuser is to be put to death, etc.
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[1] See commentary under Exodus 21:12-13; Numbers 35:6-8, 9-15, 16-21, 22-29, 31-34; and Considerations under Numbers 35:31-35.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 7223.
[3] See Considerations under Numbers 34:13-15.