Numbers 35:13

Numbers 35:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.
• New International Version (NIV)These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And of the cities which you give, you shall have six cities of refuge.

Context of Numbers 35:13

11They must choose some towns to be safe places. If anyone kills another person but he did not mean to, he can run there to be safe. 12Those towns will be places where the killer can be safe from the dead person's relative. The killer will not die before the people in the town have judged him. You must choose six towns to be safe places. 14Three towns must be in Canaan and three towns must be on the other side of the Jordan River. 15Those six towns will be safe places for Israelites and for foreign people who live among them. Anyone who has killed another person may run to one of these towns and be safe there. But they will only be safe if they did not mean to kill the other person.

Numbers 35:13 word by word

וְהֶעָרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּתֵּ֑נוּ שֵׁשׁ־עָרֵ֥י מִקְלָ֖ט תִּהְיֶ֥ינָה לָכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And of these citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• which ye shall giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• sixשֵׁשׁshêsh shishshâh · sixH8337
• shall ye have for refugeמִקְלָטmiqlâţ · refugeH4733

Cross-references for Numbers 35:13

• Numbers 35:6Six of the Levites' towns must be safe places. If anyone kills another person, he can run there to be safe. The Levites must also have another 42 towns.

Commentaries on Numbers 35:13

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-34Verses 9-34 To show plainly the abhorrence of murder, and to provide the more effectually for the punishment of the murderer, the nearest relation of the deceased, under the title of avenger of blood, (or the redeemer of blood,) in notorious cases, might pursue, and execute vengeance. A distinction is made, not between sudden anger and malice aforethought, both which are the crime of murder; but between intentionally striking a man with any weapon likely…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-34Six of the Levites’ towns had a special purpose. They served as cities of refuge. A city of refuge was a place where a person could run for safety after accidentally killing someone. These cities show the humanitarian (care for human life) side of Hebrew law (see also Deuteronomy 4:41–43; 19:1–13; Joshua 20). These six towns offered protection when someone killed accidentally or unintentionally (compare Exodus 21:12–14). The 48 towns given to the Levites…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-3411. that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares--The practice of Goelism, that is, of the nearest relation of an individual who was killed being bound to demand satisfaction from the author of his death, existed from a very remote antiquity (Ge 4:14; 27:45). It seems to have been an established usage in the age of Moses; and although in a rude and imperfect state of society, it is a natural and intelligible principle of criminal…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 35:13

• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• Avenger of blood
• City
• Congregation
• Refuge, Cities of
• Testify
• Amorites
• Courts, Judicial
• Ezekiel
• Hittites
• Homicide

Commentaries on Numbers 35

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings