Thou shalt not kill

The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying: "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: establish the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses, so that he who has killed unintentionally may find refuge there, and so escape the wrath of the next of kin, the avenger of blood. "Cf. Joshua 20:1-9 and Exodus 21:12-13. See Bible excerpts below.

It goes on to say: "And the elders of the city shall not deliver the innocent into the hands of him who seeks to kill him, but shall receive him and allow him to dwell there, and he shall remain there until the judgment and until the death of the high priest then in office; after which he may return to his city and to his house. "Cf. Joshua 20:1-9 and Num 35:25-28. See below.

In this law, merciful love for one's neighbor is observed and organized. This is the law of the cities of refuge, as well as the law of the Levitical cities.

Cities of refuge: This law, to which the preceding quotation refers (Joshua 20:1-6), concerns the cities of refuge, which served as asylums for manslaughterers. They were thus exempt from the law of vengeance (which Jude will mention in the last lines in EMV 566.8, perhaps referring to Genesis 9:6 and certain passages we recall below). These cities of refuge were six in number, including Hebron (as here) and Kedesh (as in EMV 342.1.2.7.9).

Levitical cities: These were among the 48 Levitical cities, where the Levites lived. See the biblical excerpt below, in the Book of Joshua, chapter 21.

Prescriptions relating to both can be found in Exodus 21:12-13 | Numbers 35 | Deuteronomy 4:41-43 | Deuteronomy 19:1-13 | Joshua 20-21. See Bible excerpts below.

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Book of Joshua 20, 1-9 (cities of refuge)

Joshua 20, 1-9 : Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying: "Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: 'As I commanded you through Moses, appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, where the murderer who has killed someone by mistake, without knowing it, can flee, and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. The murderer will flee to one of these cities; he will stop at the entrance of the city gate, and expose his case to the elders of that city; they will take him in with them in the city, and give him a home to live with them. If the avenger of blood pursues him, they will not deliver the murderer into his hands, for he has unknowingly killed his neighbor, whom he did not hate before. The murderer will remain in this city until he appears before the assembly to be judged, until the death of the high priest who will be in office in those days. Then the murderer will turn and return to his city and his house, to the city from which he fled."

They consecrated Cedes in Gallilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Cariath-arbe, which is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah. On the other side of Jordan, opposite Jericho to the east, they designated Bosor, in the desert, in the plain, a city of the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, of the tribe of Gad, and Gaulon in Bashan, of the tribe of Manasseh. These were the cities assigned to all the children of Israel and to the stranger who sojourned among them, so that whoever had killed anyone by mistake might take refuge there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, before appearing before the assembly.

Book of Numbers 35, 25-28

Num 35:25-28 : And the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the avenger of blood, and cause him to return to the city of refuge where he fled; and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. If the murderer leaves before that time the territory of the city of refuge where he fled, and if the avenger of blood meets him outside the territory of his city of refuge, and if the avenger of blood kills the murderer, he will not be guilty of murder; for the murderer must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest; and, after the death of the high priest, the murderer may return to the land where his possession is.

Book of Exodus 21, 12-13

Ex 21, 12-13 : Whoever strikes a man dead must be put to death. But if he has not laid a snare for him, and God has presented him to his hand, I will appoint a place for him to take refuge in.

Deuteronomy 4, 41-43

Dt 4, 41-43 : Then Moses set apart three cities on the other side of the Jordan, to the east, so that they might serve as a refuge for a murderer who had inadvertently killed his neighbor, without having previously been his enemy, and that, by taking refuge in one of these cities, he might save his life. These were: Bosor, in the desert, in the plain, for the Reubenites; Ramoth, in Gilead, for the Gadites, and Golan, in Bashan for the Manassites.

Deuteronomy 19, 1-13

Deut 19, 1-13: When Yahweh your God has cut off the nations whose land Yahweh your God is giving you, and you have driven them out and are living in their towns and houses, then you shall separate three towns in the middle of the land Yahweh your God is giving you to possess. You shall repair the roads leading to them, and divide the territory of the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance into three parts, so that every murderer may flee to these cities. This is the case in which the murderer who takes refuge there will have his life saved: if he has inadvertently killed his neighbor, without having previously been his enemy. For example, a man goes to cut wood in the forest with another man; his hand raises the axe to fell a tree; the iron escapes from the handle, hits his companion and kills him: this man will flee to one of these cities and his life will be saved. Otherwise, the avenger of blood, pursuing the murderer in the ardor of his anger, would reach him, if the path were too long, and deal him a mortal blow; and yet this man would not have deserved death, since he had no previous hatred against the victim. Therefore I command you: Set apart three cities. And if Yahweh, your God, enlarges your borders, as he swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land he promised your fathers to give you, - provided you observe and do all these commandments I command you today, loving Yahweh, your God, and always walking in His ways, - you shall add three more cities to these three, so that innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of the land Yahweh, your God, is giving you for an inheritance, and that there will be no blood on you. But if a man hates his neighbor, and ambushes him and strikes him dead, and then flees to one of these cities, the elders of his city shall send and seize him, and deliver him into the hands of the avenger of blood, that he may die. Thine eye shall have no pity on him, and thou shalt take away innocent blood from Israel, and thou shalt prosper.