Numbers 35:9-34

Numbers 35:9-34

[9] 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  of refuge  for you; that the slayer  may flee  thither, which killeth  any person  at unawares.  [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  [16] And if he smite  him with an instrument  of iron,  so that he die,  he is a murderer:  shall surely  [17] And if he smite  him with throwing  a stone,  wherewith he may die,  he is a murderer:  shall surely  [18] Or if he smite  him with an hand  weapon  of wood,  wherewith he may die,  he is a murderer:  shall surely  [19] The revenger  of blood  himself shall slay  the murderer:  when he meeteth  him, he  shall slay  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  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  without the border  of the city  of his refuge,  whither he was fled;  [27] And the revenger  of blood  find  him without  the borders  of the city  of his refuge,  and the revenger  of blood  kill  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  by the mouth  of witnesses:  but one  witness  shall not testify  against any person  to cause him to die.  [31] Moreover ye shall take  no satisfaction  for the life  of a murderer,  which is guilty  of 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:  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. 

What does Numbers 35:9-34 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Six of these Levitical towns were also cities of refuge.
The appointment of cities of refuge was a divine provision for the safety of a killer who was not guilty of premeditated murder (cf. Deuteronomy 19:1-13; Joshua 20). God had told the Israelites not to murder ( Exodus 20:13). The right and duty of man to execute murderers was ancient ( Genesis 4:15; Genesis 9:5-6). Ancient Near Easterners practiced capital punishment widely as part of the law of retaliation. The Mosaic Law regarding the cities of refuge regulated this practice of retaliating in harmony with God"s will.
Three of the cities stood west of the Jordan (Hebron, Shechem, and Kedesh), and three on the east side (Bezer, Ramoth-gilead, and Golan; Deuteronomy 4:43; Joshua 20:7-8; Joshua 21:13; Joshua 21:21; Joshua 21:27; Joshua 21:32; Joshua 21:36; Joshua 21:38).
A manslayer (i.e, an unintentional killer) could find refuge in one of these cities, but a murderer (one who premeditated his act) could not. The next of kin to the victim (the blood avenger, Numbers 35:19) was not just free to kill the murderer, but he had an obligation to do so ( Numbers 35:19; Numbers 35:21). This was the duty of the next of kin. Moses called him the "avenger of blood." There was no police force as such in Israel.
When a manslayer fled to a city of refuge, the residents of that city would determine if the guilty person was a murderer or a manslayer. The residents would have been mainly Levites since the cities of refuge were Levitical cities. If they judged him to be a murderer, the residents would turn him over to the avenger of blood who would kill him. If he was a manslayer, he would have to live in the city of refuge until the high priest died. He could not leave the city; it became his prison. If he left the city, he would be sinning against God. In this case the avenger of blood could hunt him down and kill him for his double offense of manslaughter and leaving his city of refuge.
"The sanctity of human life is clear both from the fact of capital punishment as the only suitable punishment for murder ( Genesis 9:5-9) and, on the other hand, from the prohibition against enacting the death penalty in cases where premeditation cannot be proved. To execute the innocent is as evil in God"s sight as to exonerate the guilty." [1]
The death of the high priest atoned for the sins of manslayers. The death of the high priest had atoning value. Consequently after the high priest died, the manslayer was free to go home. However, until the high priest died, his act of killing another human being, even though it was unintentional, rendered him guilty before God (of manslaughter; i.e, shedding blood, but not of murder, since it was unintentional).
"His death may have been understood as fulfilling the principle that shed human blood can only be expiated by shed human blood ( Genesis 9:6). In this case, the high priest"s death was on behalf of the killer, much as the priest offers sacrifices on behalf of the people elsewhere." [2]
God required at least two witnesses to give testimony before anyone in Israel suffered execution as a murderer. This was a requirement in the ancient Near East generally. [3]
In some cases of law-breaking the guilty party could pay for his redemption. He could substitute a payment of money that the priest took as a covering for his sin. However, God did not permit this in the case of murderers or manslayers. The reason for this was that "blood pollutes the land" ( Numbers 35:33). That Isaiah , these crimes brought uncleanness on the land because they involved killing people without divine authorization. The land was to be clean in this sense because the Lord dwelt in it among His people ( Numbers 35:34). Canaan was not just the Promised Land, but it was to be the Holy Land as well.
These regulations underscore again the uniqueness and value of human life. We see this both in the consequences for killing another person and in the safeguards granted the killer. The basic human rights of people are extremely important to God. The cities of refuge are also illustrative of Christ who provides shelter for the sinner from judgment (cf. Romans 8:1; Romans 8:33-34; Hebrews 6:17-20).