Numbers 35:14

Numbers 35:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You shall appoint three cities on this side of the Jordan, and three cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge.

Context of Numbers 35:14

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. 13You must choose six towns to be safe places. Three 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. 16Murderers are different. You must kill a murderer. Maybe someone hits another person with a heavy iron tool. If the person dies, the murderer must also die.

Numbers 35:14 word by word

אֵ֣ת׀ שְׁלֹ֣שׁ הֶעָרִ֗ים תִּתְּנוּ֙ מֵעֵ֣בֶר לַיַּרְדֵּ֔ן וְאֵת֙ שְׁלֹ֣שׁ הֶֽעָרִ֔ים תִּתְּנ֖וּ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן עָרֵ֥י מִקְלָ֖ט תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye shall giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• on this sideעֵ֫בֶר‛êber · side: beyondH5676
• Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Canaanכְּנַ֫עַןkena‛an · CanaanH3667
• of refugeמִקְלָטmiqlâţ · refugeH4733

Cross-references for Numbers 35:14

• Deuteronomy 4:41Then Moses chose three special cities on the east side of the Jordan River.
• Deuteronomy 19:8The Lord your God promised your ancestors to give you more land to live in. When all that land belongs to you,
• Joshua 20:7So they chose these towns: Kedesh in Galilee (in the hill country of Naphtali), Shechem (in the hill country of Ephraim), and Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah).

Commentaries on Numbers 35:14

• 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 35:14

• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• Canaan
• Jordan
• Canaan; Canaanites
• Canaan, Canaanite
• Jordan River, Jordan
• Cities of Refuge
• City
• Congregation
• Refuge, Cities of
• Testify

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