Numbers 35:12

Numbers 35:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that anyone accused of murder may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.
• New King James Version (NKJV)They shall be cities of refuge for you from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment.
• New Living Translation (NLT)These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community.

Context of Numbers 35:12

10"Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13And the cities that you give shall be your six cities of refuge. 14You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.

Numbers 35:12 word by word

וְהָי֨וּ לָכֶ֧ם הֶעָרִ֛ים לְמִקְלָ֖ט מִגֹּאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א יָמוּת֙ הָרֹצֵ֔חַ עַד־עָמְד֛וֹ לִפְנֵ֥י הָעֵדָ֖ה לַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they shall be unto you citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• for refugeמִקְלָטmiqlâţ · refugeH4733
• from the avengerגָּאַלgâ'al · to redeem: avengeH1350
• that the manslayerרָצַחrâtsach · to murderH7523
• dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• not, until he standעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the congregationעֵדָה‛êdâh · congregationH5712
• in judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941

Cross-references for Numbers 35:12

• Numbers 35:19The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
• Deuteronomy 19:6lest 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.
• Joshua 20:3that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there. They shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood.
• 2 Samuel 14:7And now the whole clan has risen against your servant, and they say, 'Give up the man who struck his brother, that we may put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.' And so they would destroy the heir also. Thus they would quench my coal that is left and leave to my husband neither name nor remnant on the face of the earth."
• Numbers 35:24then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.
• Deuteronomy 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,
• Joshua 20:4He shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and explain his case to the elders of that city. Then they shall take him into the city and give him a place, and he shall remain with them.

Commentaries on Numbers 35:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Until he stand before the congregation in judgment - So one of these cities was not a perpetual asylum; It was only a pro tempore refuge, till the case could be fairly examined by the magistrates in the presence of the people, or the elders their representatives; and this was done in the city or place where he had done the murder, Joshua 20:4, Joshua 20:6. If he was found worthy of death, they delivered him to the avenger that he might be slain…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12The avenger - Hebrew גאל gā'al a term of which the original import is uncertain. The very obscurity of its etymology testifies to the antiquity of the office which it denotes. That office rested on the principle of Genesis 9:6, “whoso sheddeth man‘s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” The unwritten code of the East conceded to the nearest kinsman of a murdered man the right of avenging the blood that had been shed. Such rude justice necessarily…Read the comment
• 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. 12a refuge from the avenger: Justice was carried out through vengeance. A designated avenger, usually a close relative of the person who died, took this role.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 35:12

• Government
• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• City
• Congregation
• Goel
• Manslayer
• Refuge, Cities of
• Testify
• Amorites
• Avenge; Avenger
• Courts, Judicial
• Crime; Crimes

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