And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
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.
Leviticus 25:32,33 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the …
Joshua 14:3,4 For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe …
Joshua 21:2 And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The …
Ezekiel 45:1-8 Moreover, when you shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, …
Ezekiel 48:8,22 And by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side…
1 Corinthians 9:10-14 Or said he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, …
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.
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.
thousand cubits. The Septuagint reads two thousand cubits, as in the following verse; but this reading is not acknowledged by any other ancient version, except the Coptic, nor by any of the MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Rossi. Various modes have been proposed for reconciling the accounts in these two verses, which appear in general to require full as much explanation as the text itself. The explanation of Maimonides is the only one that is intelligible, and appears perfectly satisfactory. The suburbs, says he, of the cities are expressed in the law to be
Suburbs
City
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.
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.
six cities for refuge
Numbers 35:13,14 And of these cities which you shall give six cities shall you have for refuge…
Deuteronomy 4:41-43 Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sun rise…
Joshua 20:2-9 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities …
Joshua 21:3,13,21,27,32,36,38 And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, …
Psalm 9:9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 62:7,8 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and …
Psalm 142:4,5 I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that …
Isaiah 4:6 And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time from …
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God …
to them ye shall add. Heb. above them ye shall give.
So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs.
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.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
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.
ye shall appoint. As the goel, or kinsman, had a right to avenge the death of his relation, by slaying the murderer wherever he found him, the appointment of these cities was a humane institution for the protection of the involuntary homicide; for they were designed only for the protection of such.
Numbers 35:6 And among the cities which you shall give to the Levites there shall …
Joshua 20:2 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities …
unawares. Heb. by error
Numbers 35:22,23 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast on him …
Exodus 21:13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; …
Deuteronomy 4:42 That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbor …
Deuteronomy 19:4,5 And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that …
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.
And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;
if he thrust
Genesis 4:5,8 But to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was …
2 Samuel 3:27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the …
2 Samuel 13:22,28,29 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for …
2 Samuel 20:10 But Amasa took no heed to the sword that was in Joab's hand: so he …
1 Kings 2:5,6,31-33 Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and …
Proverbs 26:24 He that hates dissembles with his lips, and lays up deceit within him;
Proverbs 28:17 A man that does violence to the blood of any person shall flee to …
Luke 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow …
by laying
Exodus 21:14 But if a man come presumptuously on his neighbor, to slay him with …
Deuteronomy 19:11 But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise …
1 Samuel 18:10,11,25 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God …
1 Samuel 19:9-12 And the evil spirit from the LORD was on Saul, as he sat in his house …
1 Samuel 20:1 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, …
1 Samuel 23:7-9 And it was told Saul that David was come to Keilah. And Saul said, …
1 Samuel 24:11 Moreover, my father, see, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand: …
Psalm 10:7-10 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue …
Psalm 11:2 For, see, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow …
Psalm 35:7,8 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which …
Psalm 57:4-6 My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on …
Proverbs 1:18,19 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privately for their …
Mark 6:19,24-26 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed …
Acts 20:3 And there stayed three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, …
Acts 23:21 But do not you yield to them: for there lie in wait for him of them …
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.
But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,
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:
Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:
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.
abide in it
Numbers 35:28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the …
Joshua 20:6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation …
Romans 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is …
Ephesians 2:16-18 And that he might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, …
Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into …
Hebrews 7:25-28 Why he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come to God …
Hebrews 9:12-15 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he …
Hebrews 10:19-22 Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holiest by …
anointed
Exodus 29:7 Then shall you take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him.
Leviticus 4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the …
Leviticus 8:12 And he poured of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed …
Leviticus 21:10 And he that is the high priest among his brothers, on whose head …
But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;
After the manslayer had been received into the city of refuge, the avenger of blood could only act as prosecutor; and the magistrates, in the presence of the people, were appointed to decide the cause according to the rules here laid down. Probably the accused person was tried at or near the place where the deceased had been slain, and where evidence could most easily be brought; and in case he was acquitted by the decision of the judges, and with the approbation of the people, he was conveyed back to the city of refuge, where he was protected as a king of prisoner at large, till the death of the high priest; when the public loss, and the grief occasioned by it, might be supposed to swallow up all personal regrets and resentments; and then he was permitted to return to his house and estate. But if, in the mean while, he ventured to leave the city, and the avenger met him and slew him, he was supposed to merit his doom by thus neglecting the appointment of God for his preservation, and the avenger must not be punished. This shows that in other cases, if the avenger slew an innocent man on surmise, he was liable to the punishment of a murderer; but if, by the testimony of two credible witnesses, the man who had fled to the city of refuge was adjudged guilty, he must without fail be put to death.
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:
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.
he should
John 15:4-6 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, …
Acts 11:23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted …
Acts 27:31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide …
Hebrews 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of …
Hebrews 6:4-8 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have …
Hebrews 10:26-30,39 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge …
after the death
Hebrews 9:11,12,15-17 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a …
So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
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.
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.
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.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other …
Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by …
Galatians 3:10-13,22 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for …
Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, …
The region east of Jordan was nearly as long as that on the west, and therefore three cities were appointed in each division. One or other of these cities would be within half a day's journey of every part of the land; and as it would rarely happen that the avenger of blood would be on the spot, and none had a right to assault or detain the manslayer, at least if no malicious intention was manifest, the unhappy men would, therefore, get the start of their adversaries, and very few of them be overtaken before they gained the place of refuge. But then they must forsake their families, employments, most important interests, and dearest comforts; and they must neither loiter nor yield to weariness, nor regard difficulties, nor slacken their pace, till they had got safe within the walls of the city. The Jewish writers inform us, that to afford every facility to those who thus fled for their life, the road to these cities was always preserved in good repair; and way-posts, upon which was inscribed refuge, were placed wherever needful, that they might not so much as hesitate for a moment.
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.
it defileth
Leviticus 18:25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof …
Deuteronomy 21:1-8,23 If one be found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you …
2 Kings 23:26 Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great …
2 Kings 24:4 And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem …
Psalm 106:28 They joined themselves also to Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Isaiah 26:21 For, behold, the LORD comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants …
Ezekiel 22:24-27 Son of man, say to her, You are the land that is not cleansed, nor …
Hosea 4:2,3 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing …
Micah 4:11 Now also many nations are gathered against you, that say, Let her …
Matthew 23:31-35 Why you be witnesses to yourselves, that you are the children of …
Luke 11:50,51 That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation …
the land cannot be cleansed. Heb. there can be no expiation for the land
Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
defile not
Numbers 5:3 Both male and female shall you put out, without the camp shall you …
Leviticus 20:24-26 But I have said to you, You shall inherit their land, and I will …
I dwell
Psalm 135:21 Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwells at Jerusalem. Praise …
Isaiah 57:15 For thus said the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose …
Hosea 9:3 They shall not dwell in the LORD's land; but Ephraim shall return …
2 Corinthians 6:16,17 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are …
Revelation 21:3,27 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle …
dwell among
Numbers 5:3 Both male and female shall you put out, without the camp shall you …
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exodus 29:45,46 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God…
1 Kings 6:13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake …
Psalm 132:14 This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
Isaiah 8:12 Say you not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall …
