Exodus 21:13

Exodus 21:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
• New International Version (NIV)However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee.
• New King James Version (NKJV)However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.

Context of Exodus 21:13

11If he does not provide these three to her, then she is to go free without payment. 12“Whoever strikes a man so that he dies must surely be put to death. But if he did not hunt him down, yet God caused it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may run. 14If a man presumes to kill his neighbor with craftiness, you are to take him from My altar and put him to death. 15“Anyone who strikes his father or his mother must surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:13 word by word

וַאֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א צָדָ֔ה וְהָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אִנָּ֣ה לְיָד֑וֹ וְשַׂמְתִּ֤י לְךָ֙ מָק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָנ֖וּס שָֽׁמָּה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And if a man lie not in waitצָדָהtsâdâh · to ambushH6658
• but Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• deliverאָנָה'ânâh · to meetH579
• into his handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• then I will appointשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: appointH7760
• thee a placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• whither he shall fleeנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127

Cross-references for Exodus 21:13

• Numbers 35:11You are to select cities which will be cities of refuge, to which one might flee if he has killed someone by accident.
• Deuteronomy 19:4Now this is the case of the one who kills, who may flee there and live—whoever kills his neighbor unintentionally and did not hate him in the past—
• Micah 7:2The pious have perished from the land, there is none upright among mankind. All of them lie in wait for blood. A man hunts his brother with a net.
• 1 Samuel 24:4So David’s men said to him, “Look, it’s the day Adonai spoke to you about, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, so you may do to him as seems good in your eyes.’” Then David crept and cut off the corner of Saul’s robe stealthily.
• 2 Samuel 16:10But the king said, “What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, it’s because Adonai has said to him, ‘Curse David!’ So who should say, ‘Why did you do so?’”
• Isaiah 10:7Yet that is not what Assyria intends, nor is that what he is thinking about. Rather his heart is to destroy, and to cut down nations—only a few!
• Deuteronomy 4:41Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan, toward the east.
• Deuteronomy 19:1“When Adonai your God cuts off the nations whose land Adonai your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and houses,
• Joshua 20:2“Speak to Bnei-Yisrael saying, ‘Designate your cities of refuge, about which I spoke to you through Moses.

Commentaries on Exodus 21:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee - From the earliest times the nearest akin had a right to revenge the murder of his relation, and as this right was universally acknowledged, no law was ever made on the subject; but as this might be abused, and a person who had killed another accidentally, having had no previous malice against him, might be put to death by the avenger of blood, as the nearest kinsman was termed, therefore God provided the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13There was no place of safety for the guilty murderer, not even the altar of Yahweh. Thus all superstitious notions connected with the right of sanctuary were excluded. Adonijah and Joab 1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28 appear to have vainly trusted that the common feeling would protect them, if they took hold of the horns of the altar on which atonement with blood was made Leviticus 4:7. But for one who killed a man “at unawares,” that is, without intending to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-21Verses 12-21 God, who by his providence gives and maintains life, by his law protects it. A wilful murderer shall be taken even from God's altar. But God provided cities of refuge to protect those whose unhappiness it was, and not their fault, to cause the death of another; for such as by accident, when a man is doing a lawful act, without intent of hurt, happens to kill another. Let children hear the sentence of God's word upon the ungrateful and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-17The crimes of murder, kidnapping, and cursing or striking one’s parents were punished by death. A person who committed murder gave up his own right to live. Human life is very precious in God’s sight. Even when a death was accidental, it could not simply be ignored. However, the law made a difference between murder and accidental killing. God provided places of refuge (see Numbers 35:6–28). These were special towns where a person who killed someone by…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-367-11. if a man sell his daughter--Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her condition as his intended wife, or her freedom instantly granted.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 21:13

• Homicide
• Refuge

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Avenger of blood
• Book
• City
• Crucifixion
• Determine
• Gore
• Push
• Quit

Commentaries on Exodus 21

• 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