35:1 VA YEDABER YHVH EL MOSHEH BE ARVOT MO-AV AL YARDEN YERECHO LEMOR
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּעַרְבֹת מוֹאָב עַל יַרְדֵּן יְרֵחוֹ לֵאמֹר
KJ (King James translation): And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
BN (BibleNet translation): Then YHVH spoke to Mosheh in the plains of Mo-Av by the Yarden at Yerecho, saying:
A reminder once again that Mosheh handed over power to his successor Yehoshu'a in chapter 27 of this book, with a full inauguration ceremony. So is our text badly misorganised, and these latter chapters should have come sooner; or is Mosheh functioning in some senior role, as tribal elder? It is not logical that YHVH instructed him to hand over, and go up to Mount Avarim to prepare to die, but that he should still be down here in the plains, still in charge, still the recipient of instructions from YHVH.
35:2 TSAV ET BENEY YISRA-EL VE NATNU LA LEVIYIM MI NACHALAT ACHUZATAM ARIM LASHAVET U MIGRASH LE ARIM SEVIYVOTEYHEM TITNU LA LEVIYIM
צַו אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנָתְנוּ לַלְוִיִּם מִנַּחֲלַת אֲחֻזָּתָם עָרִים לָשָׁבֶת וּמִגְרָשׁ לֶעָרִים סְבִיבֹתֵיהֶם תִּתְּנוּ לַלְוִיִּם
BN: Instruct the Beney Yisra-El, that they give to the Leviyim, out of the inheritance of their possession, cities to dwell in; and open land round about the cities you shall give to the Leviyim.
The details of this, in post-exilic times at least, can be found in the Book of Nechem-Yah (Nehemiah), starting at chapter 11.
35:3 VE HAYU HE ARIM LAHEM LASHAVET U MIGRESHEYHEM YIHEYU LI VEHEMTAM VE LI RECHUSHAM U LE CHOL CHAYATAM
וְהָיוּ הֶעָרִים לָהֶם לָשָׁבֶת וּמִגְרְשֵׁיהֶם יִהְיוּ לִבְהֶמְתָּם וְלִרְכֻשָׁם וּלְכֹל חַיָּתָם
KJ: And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts.
BN: And they shall have the cities to dwell in; and their open land shall be for their cattle, and for their substance, and for all their beasts.
Aristocratic privilege, or economic necessity? Both probably. There are going to be far more Levites than there will be jobs available; plus there will be Levites with "blemishes" - a hare-lip or a wart on the nose perhaps, autism or Down's Syndrome even - who will not be able or permitted to serve in even the most menial of chores related to the Mishkan; but being of the Levitical caste they cannot simply go out into the ordinary world and soldier or serve in the store or become accountants. And at the same time, this allows the whole caste to provide itself with home-grown fruit and vegetables, the leisure activity of gardening, milk and meat too, whether for the days when the number of sacrifices happens to be low, or when someone has clutched the horns of the altar and has to be fed. So, yes - both.
35:4 U MIGRESHEY HE ARIM ASHER TITNU LA LEVIYIM MI KIR HA IR VA CHUTSAH ELEPH AMAH SAVIV
וּמִגְרְשֵׁי הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר תִּתְּנוּ לַלְוִיִּם מִקִּיר הָעִיר וָחוּצָה אֶלֶף אַמָּה סָבִיב
BN: And the open land about the cities, which you shall give to the Leviyim, shall be from the wall of the city outwards, a thousand cubits round about.
AMAH: A cubit is 17.75 inches (1ft 5¾ ins).
SAVIV: Which is to say the entire circle surrounding the city wall will be Levitical Green Belt. How will the tribes react to this? It is the closest and most convenient land to the town, which would give it high value in today's world. It also prevents the expansion of cities, because any suburb built by the ordinary of Yisra-El can only begin beyond that. It is a useful means of providing entry and access control to the city. It is also the place where an enemy would set a siege, and this will render it holy ground, which is likely to be a deterrent of some sort to at least some of the more superstitious, whether of Yisra-El or otherwise.
On the other hand, in this world of war, in which besieging cities is commonplace, the Leviyim might themselves be unhappy that their lands will be the site of the siege-engines, their crops and animals quickly destroyed or taken, their own homes the immediate point of assault...
Again, look at the texts of Ezra and Nechem-Yah where this is specifically described at the time of the rebuilding after the return from Babylonian exile in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.
35:5 U MADOTEM MI CHUTS LA IR ET PE'AT KEDMAH ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE ET PE'AT NEGEV ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE ET PE'AT YAM ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE ET PE'AT TSAPHON ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE HA IR BA TAVECHA ZEH YIHEYEH LAHEM MIGRESHEY HE ARIM
KJ: And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
BN: And you shall measure outside the city to the east side two thousand cubits, and to the south side two thousand cubits, and to the west side two thousand cubits, and to the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall be open land for them around the cities.
MIGRESHEY HE ARIM: The previous verse explicitly stated one thousand; but this is just as explicitly saying two thousand. It can't be both. Am I mis-reading it? Or is this the concept of "suburb" as I described it in my note to the previous verse: the city kept small, with a surrounding wall, then the Levitical land, and then the migrashim, small villages that grow up in the immediate surrounds, providing homes to those who serve the city. And from this the idea of a sub-urb. If this is correct, it helps us explain the difference between the MIGRASHIM, the CHATSEROT and the KERAYOT. CHATSEROT are generally villages in rural areas, detached from towns; KERAYOT are stand-alone towns, but unwalled, and not large or significant enough to be called ARIM (IR = "city"). So, to give a mediaeval example, the square mile of London within the Roman wall was an IR, Redcliff and Spitalfields, immediately beyond the eastern wall, but under the authority of the Tower of London which shadowed it, would have been MIGRASHIM. Stepney and White Chapel and Bethnal Green would have been CHATSEROT, but Barking, which had one of the major abbeys in the country and a huge town serving it, would have been a KERIYAH.
35:6 VE ET HE ARIM ASHER TITNU LA LEVIYIM ET SHESH AREY HA MIKLAT ASHER TITNU LANUS SHAMAH HA ROTSE'ACH VA ALEYHEM TITNU ARBA'IM U SHETAYIM IR
KJ: So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs.
BN: The total number of cities that you shall give to the Leviyim shall be forty-eight: these you shall give, with the open land surrounding them.
35:8 VE HE ARIM ASHER TITNU MEY ACHUZAT BENEY YISRA-EL ME ET HA RAV TARBU U ME ET HA ME'AT TAM'IYTU ISH KE PHI NACHALATO ASHER YINCHALO YITEN ME ARAV LA LEVIYIM
KJ: And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.
BN: And as to the cities which you shall give, out of the possession of the Beney Yisra-El, from the many you shall take many, and from the few you shall take few; each tribe according to its inheritance which it inherits shall give of its cities to the Leviyim.
In other words: down to you to conquer your own tribal area, and what you get is shared out with the Leviyim in the stipulated manner; and what you don't get...
pey break
35:9 VA YEDABER YHVH EL MOSHEH LEMOR
KJ: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
BN: Then YHVH spoke to Mosheh, saying:
35:10 DABER EL BENEY YISRA-EL VE AMARTA ALEYHEM KI ATEM OVRIM ET HA YARDEN ARTSAH KENA'AN
KJ: Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
BN: Speak to the Beney Yisra-El, and say to them: "When you cross over the Yarden into the land of Kena'an...
On the other hand, in this world of war, in which besieging cities is commonplace, the Leviyim might themselves be unhappy that their lands will be the site of the siege-engines, their crops and animals quickly destroyed or taken, their own homes the immediate point of assault...
Again, look at the texts of Ezra and Nechem-Yah where this is specifically described at the time of the rebuilding after the return from Babylonian exile in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.
35:5 U MADOTEM MI CHUTS LA IR ET PE'AT KEDMAH ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE ET PE'AT NEGEV ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE ET PE'AT YAM ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE ET PE'AT TSAPHON ALPAYIM BA AMAH VE HA IR BA TAVECHA ZEH YIHEYEH LAHEM MIGRESHEY HE ARIM
וּמַדֹּתֶם מִחוּץ לָעִיר אֶת פְּאַת קֵדְמָה אַלְפַּיִם בָּאַמָּה וְאֶת פְּאַת נֶגֶב אַלְפַּיִם בָּאַמָּה וְאֶת פְּאַת יָם אַלְפַּיִם בָּאַמָּה וְאֵת פְּאַת צָפוֹן אַלְפַּיִם בָּאַמָּה וְהָעִיר בַּתָּוֶךְ זֶה יִהְיֶה לָהֶם מִגְרְשֵׁי הֶעָרִים
KJ: And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.
BN: And you shall measure outside the city to the east side two thousand cubits, and to the south side two thousand cubits, and to the west side two thousand cubits, and to the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall be open land for them around the cities.
MIGRESHEY HE ARIM: The previous verse explicitly stated one thousand; but this is just as explicitly saying two thousand. It can't be both. Am I mis-reading it? Or is this the concept of "suburb" as I described it in my note to the previous verse: the city kept small, with a surrounding wall, then the Levitical land, and then the migrashim, small villages that grow up in the immediate surrounds, providing homes to those who serve the city. And from this the idea of a sub-urb. If this is correct, it helps us explain the difference between the MIGRASHIM, the CHATSEROT and the KERAYOT. CHATSEROT are generally villages in rural areas, detached from towns; KERAYOT are stand-alone towns, but unwalled, and not large or significant enough to be called ARIM (IR = "city"). So, to give a mediaeval example, the square mile of London within the Roman wall was an IR, Redcliff and Spitalfields, immediately beyond the eastern wall, but under the authority of the Tower of London which shadowed it, would have been MIGRASHIM. Stepney and White Chapel and Bethnal Green would have been CHATSEROT, but Barking, which had one of the major abbeys in the country and a huge town serving it, would have been a KERIYAH.
35:6 VE ET HE ARIM ASHER TITNU LA LEVIYIM ET SHESH AREY HA MIKLAT ASHER TITNU LANUS SHAMAH HA ROTSE'ACH VA ALEYHEM TITNU ARBA'IM U SHETAYIM IR
וְאֵת הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר תִּתְּנוּ לַלְוִיִּם אֵת שֵׁשׁ עָרֵי הַמִּקְלָט אֲשֶׁר תִּתְּנוּ לָנֻס שָׁמָּה הָרֹצֵחַ וַעֲלֵיהֶם תִּתְּנוּ אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁתַּיִם עִיר
KJ: And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
BN: And the cities which you shall give to the Leviyim shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall establish so that a person who commits manslaughter may flee there; and beside these you shall give forty-two cities.
BN: And the cities which you shall give to the Leviyim shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall establish so that a person who commits manslaughter may flee there; and beside these you shall give forty-two cities.
Making 48 in all, 4 per tribe, but only half the tribes have to create the Miklatim (shelters).
Note that the cities are not named, nor the tribal areas in which they should be. Having a refuge city in your tribal area gives you status, so a deity wanting to establish a balanced and cooperative society would surely have insisted on one in every tribal region? Naming the cities, on the other hand, requires conquering them, and this still has to happen, and who can say what the divine plan has in mind for conquest until the moment after it has happened? In the event the six will be "Kedesh in the Galil on Mount Naphtali, and Shechem on Mount Ephrayim, and Kiryat Arba, which is Chevron, on the mountain of Yehudah; and on the other side of the Yarden, east of Yericho, they assigned Betser in the wilderness, on the plain, from the tribe of Re'u-Ven, and Ramot in Gil'ad from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Ha Bashan from the tribe of Menasheh." (Joshua 20:7/8). See verse 14, below, for more detail and a map.
Note that the cities are not named, nor the tribal areas in which they should be. Having a refuge city in your tribal area gives you status, so a deity wanting to establish a balanced and cooperative society would surely have insisted on one in every tribal region? Naming the cities, on the other hand, requires conquering them, and this still has to happen, and who can say what the divine plan has in mind for conquest until the moment after it has happened? In the event the six will be "Kedesh in the Galil on Mount Naphtali, and Shechem on Mount Ephrayim, and Kiryat Arba, which is Chevron, on the mountain of Yehudah; and on the other side of the Yarden, east of Yericho, they assigned Betser in the wilderness, on the plain, from the tribe of Re'u-Ven, and Ramot in Gil'ad from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Ha Bashan from the tribe of Menasheh." (Joshua 20:7/8). See verse 14, below, for more detail and a map.
35:7 KOL HE ARIM ASHER TITNU LA LEVIYIM ARBA'IM U SHEMONAH IR ET'HEN VE ET MIGRESHEYHEN
כָּל הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר תִּתְּנוּ לַלְוִיִּם אַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמֹנֶה עִיר אֶתְהֶן וְאֶת מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶן
BN: The total number of cities that you shall give to the Leviyim shall be forty-eight: these you shall give, with the open land surrounding them.
35:8 VE HE ARIM ASHER TITNU MEY ACHUZAT BENEY YISRA-EL ME ET HA RAV TARBU U ME ET HA ME'AT TAM'IYTU ISH KE PHI NACHALATO ASHER YINCHALO YITEN ME ARAV LA LEVIYIM
וְהֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר תִּתְּנוּ מֵאֲחֻזַּת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֵת הָרַב תַּרְבּוּ וּמֵאֵת הַמְעַט תַּמְעִיטוּ אִישׁ כְּפִי נַחֲלָתוֹ אֲשֶׁר יִנְחָלוּ יִתֵּן מֵעָרָיו לַלְוִיִּם
KJ: And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of his cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.
BN: And as to the cities which you shall give, out of the possession of the Beney Yisra-El, from the many you shall take many, and from the few you shall take few; each tribe according to its inheritance which it inherits shall give of its cities to the Leviyim.
In other words: down to you to conquer your own tribal area, and what you get is shared out with the Leviyim in the stipulated manner; and what you don't get...
pey break
35:9 VA YEDABER YHVH EL MOSHEH LEMOR
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר
KJ: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
BN: Then YHVH spoke to Mosheh, saying:
35:10 DABER EL BENEY YISRA-EL VE AMARTA ALEYHEM KI ATEM OVRIM ET HA YARDEN ARTSAH KENA'AN
דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי אַתֶּם עֹבְרִים אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן
BN: Speak to the Beney Yisra-El, and say to them: "When you cross over the Yarden into the land of Kena'an...
OVRIM: Once again the word used is the one that also gives IVRIM, "Hebrews".
35:11 VE HIKRIYTEM LACHEM ARIM AREY MIKLAT TIHEYEYNAH LACHEM VE NAS SHAMAH ROTSE'ACH MAKEH NEPHESH BI SHEGAGAH
KJ: Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.
BN: Then you shall establish cities to be cities of refuge for you, that any man who kills any person in a moment of madness or by accident may flee there.
SHEGAGAH: I have commented on this before, I know - the word has come up several times before: Leviticus 4:2 and 22:14, for example, also Numbers 15:25, several others... my notes on this are at Leviticus 4:27. In modern Ivrit there is SHEGI'AH (שְׁגִיאָה), which is an "error" or "mistake", and there is SHIG'AON (שִׁגָעוֹן) which is "madness" (see Psalm 7); both begin Sheen-Gimmel (שג), but one then has an Aleph (א) where the other has an Ayin (ע), which tells us that they come from different roots, despite the apparent similarity of sound as well as meaning. But the word in this verse is neither of them; it is SHEGAGAH, from the root SHAGAG, which means "to wander", and is obviously being used here in the metaphorical sense. Translating it as "unintentional" is extremely vague; the intention is a manslaughter carried out in a moment of insanity, of lost control, or even by accident, as opposed to deliberate and premeditated murder, and more especially, as opposed to the Go'el, which requires no Miklat; the unintentional killer becomes subject to the Go'el before he becomes subject to the law, so it is from the Go'el that he is obtaining refuge, not from the police or the courts. The next verse confirms this.
35:12 VE HAYU LACHEM HE ARIM LE MIKLAT MI GO'EL VE LO YAMUT HA ROTSE'ACH AD AMDO LIPHNEY HA EDAH LA MISHPAT
וְהָיוּ לָכֶם הֶעָרִים לְמִקְלָט מִגֹּאֵל וְלֹא יָמוּת הָרֹצֵחַ עַד עָמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה לַמִּשְׁפָּט
KJ: 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.
BN: And the cities shall serve you as a refuge from the Go'el, so that he who commits manslaughter does not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
The law of the Go'el makes it a blood-feud when one of your family is killed, and you become the "avenger of blood", whose duty is to to take revenge by killing the killer. But this law puts a fence around the law of the Go'el, by providing a place of refuge where the "blood-vengeance" is prohibited. We can also draw from this the inference that, if you have killed someone in cold blood, planned and pre-meditated, the law of the Miklat does not apply to you; but the law of the Go'el does. That inference will become explicit in verse 16.
35:13 VE HE ARIM ASHER TITNU SHESH AREY MIKLAT TIHEYENAH LACHEM
וְהֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר תִּתֵּנוּ שֵׁשׁ עָרֵי מִקְלָט תִּהְיֶינָה לָכֶם
KJ: And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.
BN: And as to the cities which you shall give, there shall be six cities of refuge for you.
Odd that this instruction should have been given, slightly differently, just a handful of verses ago - do we yet again have two versions badly merged? The verse below is very specific that the two-and-a-half tribes outside the main portion of Yisra-El should have three of these; which means, in effect, you are fleeing the country not just the scene of the crime.
35:11 VE HIKRIYTEM LACHEM ARIM AREY MIKLAT TIHEYEYNAH LACHEM VE NAS SHAMAH ROTSE'ACH MAKEH NEPHESH BI SHEGAGAH
וְהִקְרִיתֶם לָכֶם עָרִים עָרֵי מִקְלָט תִּהְיֶינָה לָכֶם וְנָס שָׁמָּה רֹצֵחַ מַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה
BN: Then you shall establish cities to be cities of refuge for you, that any man who kills any person in a moment of madness or by accident may flee there.
SHEGAGAH: I have commented on this before, I know - the word has come up several times before: Leviticus 4:2 and 22:14, for example, also Numbers 15:25, several others... my notes on this are at Leviticus 4:27. In modern Ivrit there is SHEGI'AH (שְׁגִיאָה), which is an "error" or "mistake", and there is SHIG'AON (שִׁגָעוֹן) which is "madness" (see Psalm 7); both begin Sheen-Gimmel (שג), but one then has an Aleph (א) where the other has an Ayin (ע), which tells us that they come from different roots, despite the apparent similarity of sound as well as meaning. But the word in this verse is neither of them; it is SHEGAGAH, from the root SHAGAG, which means "to wander", and is obviously being used here in the metaphorical sense. Translating it as "unintentional" is extremely vague; the intention is a manslaughter carried out in a moment of insanity, of lost control, or even by accident, as opposed to deliberate and premeditated murder, and more especially, as opposed to the Go'el, which requires no Miklat; the unintentional killer becomes subject to the Go'el before he becomes subject to the law, so it is from the Go'el that he is obtaining refuge, not from the police or the courts. The next verse confirms this.
35:12 VE HAYU LACHEM HE ARIM LE MIKLAT MI GO'EL VE LO YAMUT HA ROTSE'ACH AD AMDO LIPHNEY HA EDAH LA MISHPAT
וְהָיוּ לָכֶם הֶעָרִים לְמִקְלָט מִגֹּאֵל וְלֹא יָמוּת הָרֹצֵחַ עַד עָמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה לַמִּשְׁפָּט
KJ: 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.
BN: And the cities shall serve you as a refuge from the Go'el, so that he who commits manslaughter does not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
The law of the Go'el makes it a blood-feud when one of your family is killed, and you become the "avenger of blood", whose duty is to to take revenge by killing the killer. But this law puts a fence around the law of the Go'el, by providing a place of refuge where the "blood-vengeance" is prohibited. We can also draw from this the inference that, if you have killed someone in cold blood, planned and pre-meditated, the law of the Miklat does not apply to you; but the law of the Go'el does. That inference will become explicit in verse 16.
35:13 VE HE ARIM ASHER TITNU SHESH AREY MIKLAT TIHEYENAH LACHEM
וְהֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר תִּתֵּנוּ שֵׁשׁ עָרֵי מִקְלָט תִּהְיֶינָה לָכֶם
KJ: And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge.
BN: And as to the cities which you shall give, there shall be six cities of refuge for you.
Odd that this instruction should have been given, slightly differently, just a handful of verses ago - do we yet again have two versions badly merged? The verse below is very specific that the two-and-a-half tribes outside the main portion of Yisra-El should have three of these; which means, in effect, you are fleeing the country not just the scene of the crime.
35:14 ET SHELOSH HE ARIM TITNU ME EVER LA YARDEN VE ET SHELOSH HE ARIM TITNU BE ERETS KENA'AN AREY MIKLAT TIHEYENAH
אֵת שְׁלֹשׁ הֶעָרִים תִּתְּנוּ מֵעֵבֶר לַיַּרְדֵּן וְאֵת שְׁלֹשׁ הֶעָרִים תִּתְּנוּ בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן עָרֵי מִקְלָט תִּהְיֶינָה
BN: You shall establish three of these cities beyond the Yarden, and you shall establish three cities in the land of Kena'an; they shall be cities of refuge.
With only two and a half tribes beyond the Yarden, but nine and a half inside Kena'an, this feels like an imbalance; on the other hand, it creates better options for running for those inside Kena'an; get across the Yarden and you are in a different political as well as geographical area.
As per my notes at verse 6, the cities (underlined on the map) chosen as Miklatim inside Kena'an would be Kedesh (in Naphtali), Shechem (in west Menasheh) and Chevron (in Yehudah), with Golan (in east Menasheh), Ramot Gil'ad (at the north-eastern tip of Gad), and Betser (in Re'u-Ven) on the east bank of the Yarden. They were strategically chosen so that anyone living in Yisra-El, including strangers (see Joshua 20:9), could flee to them for refuge within a day or less. Deuteronomy 4:43 also institutes the refuge cities, but only the three east of the Yarden are specifically named.
35:15 LIVNEY YISRA-EL VE LA GER VE LA TOSHAV BETOCHAM TIHEYENA SHESH HE ARIM HA ELEH LE MIKLAT LANUS SHAMAH KOL MAKEH NEPHESH BI SHEGAGAH
לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלַגֵּר וְלַתּוֹשָׁב בְּתוֹכָם תִּהְיֶינָה שֵׁשׁ הֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה לְמִקְלָט לָנוּס שָׁמָּה כָּל מַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה
KJ: These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.
BN: For the Beney Yisra-El, and for the stranger, and for he who has settled among them, these six cities shall be for refuge, that anyone who kills any person unintentionally may flee there.
35:16 VE IM BI CHLI VARZEL HIKAHU VA YAMAT ROTSE'ACH HU MOT YUMAT HA ROTSE'ACH
וְאִם בִּכְלִי בַרְזֶל הִכָּהוּ וַיָּמֹת רֹצֵחַ הוּא מוֹת יוּמַת הָרֹצֵחַ
KJ: And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
BN: But if he smote him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.
Though even then there may be mitigating circumstances - attacked, and with nothing else available for self-defense... however, the statement here is about the ROTSE'ACH, not the possible SHEGAGAH, and it clarifies any outstanding questions over Exodus 20:13, LO TIRTSACH: Do not kill. In self-defense, for food, an irritating fly on the window, a rabid dog that needs to be put down; yes, all of these are acts of "killing", but permissible. ROTSE'ACH is "murder".
35:17 VE IM BE EVEN YAD ASHER YAMUT BAH HIKAHU VA YAMOT ROTSE'ACH HU MOT YUMAT HA ROTSE'ACH
וְאִם בְּאֶבֶן יָד אֲשֶׁר יָמוּת בָּהּ הִכָּהוּ וַיָּמֹת רֹצֵחַ הוּא מוֹת יוּמַת הָרֹצֵחַ
KJ: And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
BN: And if he smote him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.
Which conflicts with the tale of Kayin and Havel in Genesis 4; there, Kayin is condemned (Genesis 4:12) to being "a fugitive and a vagabond", which (v 14) he complains will lave him open to "whoever finds me will kill me", and the protective "mark" (verse 15) "so that anyone who found him would know not to smite him." Is there an inference that Kayin's mark was an early equivalent of the refuge city, and given him because he killed Kayin in a moment of "shegagah"?
35:18 O BI CHLI ETS YAD ASHER YAMUT BO HIKAHU VA YAMAT ROTSE'ACH HU MOT YUMAT HA ROTSE'ACH
אוֹ בִּכְלִי עֵץ יָד אֲשֶׁר יָמוּת בּוֹ הִכָּהוּ וַיָּמֹת רֹצֵחַ הוּא מוֹת יוּמַת הָרֹצֵחַ
KJ: Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
BN: Or if he smote him with a weapon of wood in his hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.
35:19 GO'EL HA DAM HU YAMIT ET HA ROTSE'ACH BE PHIG'O VO HU YEMITENU
גֹּאֵל הַדָּם הוּא יָמִית אֶת הָרֹצֵחַ בְּפִגְעוֹ בוֹ הוּא יְמִתֶנּוּ
KJ: The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
BN: The Go'el shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.
The inference of this is that he who killed is sentenced to death by the court, but the Go'el still stands; he who killed is not put to death by the court, but he is now denied Miklat, so the Go'el can be carried out.
35:20 VE IM BE SIN'AH YEHEDAPHENU O HISHLICH ALAV BITSDIYAH VA YAMOT
וְאִם בְּשִׂנְאָה יֶהְדֳּפֶנּוּ אוֹ הִשְׁלִיךְ עָלָיו בִּצְדִיָּה וַיָּמֹת
BN: And if he thrust at him in hatred, or hurled anything at him, lying in wait, so that he died...
VE: King James and others translate this as "but"; but it is very definitely "and" on this occasion; the legal statute is providing "whereas" alternatives, a list of circumstances that distinguish ROTSE'ACH from SHEGAGAH.
YEHEDAPHENU: Or possibly YEHDAPHENU; the double sheva makes this difficult to read. Normally a sheva at the end of a syllable is silent, but vocalised at the beginning or in mid-syllable. But here there are two, one under the Hey, at the end of the syllable, and so silent, one under the Dalet, which is the start of a syllable, and therefore pronounced. But the dalet also has a kamets, which makes it appear that the second sheva is an error.
HISHLICH ALAV: This would also include the person, even a police officer or other official person, who "framed" an innocent person, leading to their having the death sentence pronounced. If it then became known that the victim had been "framed", the perpetrator would be guilty of HISHLICH ALAV, and receive the same outcome.
35:21 O VE EYVAH HIKAHU VE YADO VA YAMOT MOT YUMAT HA MAKEH ROTSE'ACH HU GO'EL HA DAM YAMIT ET HA ROTSE'CH BE PHIG'O VO
KJ: Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.
BN: Or in enmity smote him with his hand, that he died; he that smote him shall surely be put to death: he is a murderer; the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a Go'el for a Go'el. It is entirely logical.
35:22 VE IM BE PHETA BE LO AYVAH HADAPHO O HISHLIYCH ALAV KOL KELI BE LO TSEDIYAH
KJ: Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:
BN: Or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, but it dropped on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, nor sought his harm...
The KJ, and most other translations that say "cast" or "throw", surely know that YAPEL doesn't mean "throw", but "fall", and here in the Hiphil, and therefore "drop". Cast and throw don't make any sense anyway: how do you accidentally throw a stone at an anonymous passing stranger, and so hard that it kills him? A fast bowler, and the stone a cricket ball? David knew exactly what he was doing when he took out Gol-Yat. No, much more likely this is the guys on the building site, removing the old stone roof and throwing the pieces down to their colleagues who are loading them on the donkey for removal...
35:21 O VE EYVAH HIKAHU VE YADO VA YAMOT MOT YUMAT HA MAKEH ROTSE'ACH HU GO'EL HA DAM YAMIT ET HA ROTSE'CH BE PHIG'O VO
אוֹ בְאֵיבָה הִכָּהוּ בְיָדוֹ וַיָּמֹת מוֹת יוּמַת הַמַּכֶּה רֹצֵחַ הוּא גֹּאֵל הַדָּם יָמִית אֶת הָרֹצֵחַ בְּפִגְעוֹ בוֹ
BN: Or in enmity smote him with his hand, that he died; he that smote him shall surely be put to death: he is a murderer; the avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and a Go'el for a Go'el. It is entirely logical.
35:22 VE IM BE PHETA BE LO AYVAH HADAPHO O HISHLIYCH ALAV KOL KELI BE LO TSEDIYAH
וְאִם בְּפֶתַע בְּלֹא אֵיבָה הֲדָפוֹ אוֹ הִשְׁלִיךְ עָלָיו כָּל כְּלִי בְּלֹא צְדִיָּה
KJ: But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait,
BN: But if he thrust at him suddenly, without enmity, or hurled anything at him without lying in wait...
Even random killing, anonymous stranger killing anonymous stranger, perhaps through mental deficiency...
35:23 O VE CHOL EVEN ASHER YAMUT BAH BE LO RE'OT VA YAPEL ALAV VA YAMOT VE HU LO OYEV LO VE LO MEVAKESH RA'ATO
BN: But if he thrust at him suddenly, without enmity, or hurled anything at him without lying in wait...
Even random killing, anonymous stranger killing anonymous stranger, perhaps through mental deficiency...
35:23 O VE CHOL EVEN ASHER YAMUT BAH BE LO RE'OT VA YAPEL ALAV VA YAMOT VE HU LO OYEV LO VE LO MEVAKESH RA'ATO
אוֹ בְכָל אֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר יָמוּת בָּהּ בְּלֹא רְאוֹת וַיַּפֵּל עָלָיו וַיָּמֹת וְהוּא לֹא אוֹיֵב לוֹ וְלֹא מְבַקֵּשׁ רָעָתוֹ
KJ: Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:
BN: Or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, but it dropped on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, nor sought his harm...
The KJ, and most other translations that say "cast" or "throw", surely know that YAPEL doesn't mean "throw", but "fall", and here in the Hiphil, and therefore "drop". Cast and throw don't make any sense anyway: how do you accidentally throw a stone at an anonymous passing stranger, and so hard that it kills him? A fast bowler, and the stone a cricket ball? David knew exactly what he was doing when he took out Gol-Yat. No, much more likely this is the guys on the building site, removing the old stone roof and throwing the pieces down to their colleagues who are loading them on the donkey for removal...
35:24 VE SHAPHTU HA EDAH BEYN HA MAKEH U VEYN GO'EL HA DAM AL HA MISHPATIM HA ELEH
וְשָׁפְטוּ הָעֵדָה בֵּין הַמַּכֶּה וּבֵין גֹּאֵל הַדָּם עַל הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה
BN: Then the congregation shall judge between the murderer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances.
If the congregation is doing the judging, does that mean a jury in a court of law? The modern idea of juries is that "twelve good men and true" serve as representatives of the entire community, so what they determine stands for everyone.
The point of the sentence being also the point of the list above: there is an absolute obligation to determine motive, circumstance, context etc, before a distinction can be made between ROTSE'ACH and SHEGAGAH, which is why there need to be refuge cities. There is an interesting discussion to be had, comparing this system to the completely failed remand system that we use today; though I guess it could be argued that this is what the system of "bail" is intended to achieve.
35:25 VE HITSIYLU HA EDAH ET HA ROTSE'ACH MI YAD GO'EL HA DAM VE HESHIYVU OTO HA EDAH EL IR MIKLAT ASHER NAS SHAMAH VA YASHAV BAH AD MOT HA KOHEN HA GADOL ASHER MASHACH OTO BE SHEMEN HA KODESH
וְהִצִּילוּ הָעֵדָה אֶת הָרֹצֵחַ מִיַּד גֹּאֵל הַדָּם וְהֵשִׁיבוּ אֹתוֹ הָעֵדָה אֶל עִיר מִקְלָטוֹ אֲשֶׁר נָס שָׁמָּה וְיָשַׁב בָּהּ עַד מוֹת הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדֹל אֲשֶׁר מָשַׁח אֹתוֹ בְּשֶׁמֶן הַקֹּדֶשׁ
BN: Then the congregation shall deliver the man who has committed manslaughter out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, to which he had fled; and he shall dwell there until the death of the Kohen ha Gadol, who was anointed with the holy oil.
This last is quite extraordinary. The man is acquitted, but he still has to return to the Miklat, not his own home, presumably because there is a chance that the Go'el will not accept the court's decision and will seek his revenge anyway. But the man is only protected in the Miklat until the death of the Kohen ha Gadol, which could be the next day or it could be decades. How is this justice? And what happens to his wife and family in the meanwhile? And what happens after the Kohen ha Gadol dies? (see verse 28).
35:26 VE IM YATS'O YETS'E HA ROTSE'ACH ET GEVUL IR MIKLATO ASHER YANUS SHAMAH
וְאִם יָצֹא יֵצֵא הָרֹצֵחַ אֶת גְּבוּל עִיר מִקְלָטוֹ אֲשֶׁר יָנוּס שָׁמָּה
KJ: But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled;
BN: But if the man who committed manslaughter shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, to which he has fled...
35:27 U MATSA OTO GO'EL HA DAM MI CHUTS LIGVUL IR MIKLAT VE RATSACH GO'EL HA DAM ET HA ROTSE'ACH EYN LO DAM
וּמָצָא אֹתוֹ גֹּאֵל הַדָּם מִחוּץ לִגְבוּל עִיר מִקְלָטוֹ וְרָצַח גֹּאֵל הַדָּם אֶת הָרֹצֵחַ אֵין לוֹ דָּם
KJ: And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:
BN: And the avenger of blood finds him beyond the borders of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood slays the man who committed manslaughter, there shall be no blood-guilt upon him.
Which ruling upholds the Go'el over the scales of justice.
And renders it the precise reverse of the Mark of Kayin (see my notes at verse 17). Kayin wanders throughout the world, protected by the Mark; the manslaughterer dares not leave the Miklat, because the Mark is only valid there.
35:28 KI VE IR MIKLAT YESHEV AD MOT HA KOHEN HA GADOL VA ACHAREY MOT HA KOHEN HA GADOL YASHUV HA ROTSE'ACH EL ERETS ACHUZATO
כִּי בְעִיר מִקְלָטוֹ יֵשֵׁב עַד מוֹת הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדֹל וְאַחֲרֵי מוֹת הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדֹל יָשׁוּב הָרֹצֵחַ אֶל אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזָּתוֹ
KJ: Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
BN: Because he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the Kohen ha Gadol; but after the death of the Kohen ha Gadol the man who committed manslaughter may return to the land of his possession.
And the Go'el still applies, or the Go'el is now removed?
And then there is the concept, given here, of a KOHEN HA GADOL. Though I have used the term repeatedly in these commentaries, and done so because his status as High Priest has been "understood" since time immemorial, there is no text at all in which either Aharon or El-Azar, or any other Kohen through King David's time, was ever recorded with such a title (click here for all the references that there are to Aharon in his "priestly" role; those that say "High Priest" are all post-Torah). Clearly both Aharon and El-Azar had that role, but without the official title. Presumably it was created in the Second Temple period, again providing us with clear documentary proof that the text we have is not Mosaic in origin.
35:29 VE HAYU ELEH LACHEM LE CHUKAT MISHPAT LE DOROTEYCHEM BE CHOL MOSHVOTEYCHEM
וְהָיוּ אֵלֶּה לָכֶם לְחֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם בְּכֹל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם
KJ: So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
BN: And these things shall be a legal statute for you, throughout your generations, and wherever you live.
35:30 KOL MAKEH NEPHESH LE PHI EDIM YIRTSACH ET HA ROTSE'ACH VE ED ECHAD LO YA'ANEH VE NEPHESH LAMOT
BN: And these things shall be a legal statute for you, throughout your generations, and wherever you live.
35:30 KOL MAKEH NEPHESH LE PHI EDIM YIRTSACH ET HA ROTSE'ACH VE ED ECHAD LO YA'ANEH VE NEPHESH LAMOT
כָּל מַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ לְפִי עֵדִים יִרְצַח אֶת הָרֹצֵחַ וְעֵד אֶחָד לֹא יַעֲנֶה בְנֶפֶשׁ לָמוּת
BN: Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain on the word of witnesses; but one witness testifying against any person will not be sufficient for the death penalty.
35:31 VE LO TIK'CHU CHOPHER LE NEPHESH ROTSE'ACH ASHER HU RASHA LAMOT KI MOT YUMAT
וְלֹא תִקְחוּ כֹפֶר לְנֶפֶשׁ רֹצֵחַ אֲשֶׁר הוּא רָשָׁע לָמוּת כִּי מוֹת יוּמָת
KJ: Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
BN: Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer; he who is guilty of death shall surely be put to death.
"Ransom" in the sense of buying your way out of the death-sentence. An odd concept to us, but it was standard practice around the world until very recent times.
35:32 VE LO TIK'CHU CHOPHER LANUS EL IR MIKLAT LASHUV LASHEVET BA ARETS AD MOT HA KOHEN
וְלֹא תִקְחוּ כֹפֶר לָנוּס אֶל עִיר מִקְלָטוֹ לָשׁוּב לָשֶׁבֶת בָּאָרֶץ עַד מוֹת הַכֹּהֵן
BN: And you shall take no ransom for he who has fled to his city of refuge, that he might return to his homeland before the death of the priest.
But presumably the man's wife and children can come and join him in the city of refuge, and he can live a normal life in the city. I state this because, in folk-lore, we seem to have a sense of a man clutching the horns of the altar, in fear that he will be killed the moment he lets go. But no, once the court has confirmed his status, he is free to live a normal life inside the city; the whole walled city is his place of refuge, and no one gets in or out without crossing Levitical land.
35:33 VE LO TACHANIYPHU ET HA ARETS ASHER ATEM BAH KI HA DAM HU YACHANIPH ET HA ARETS VE LA ARETS LO YECHUPAR LA DAM ASHER SHUPACH BAH KI IM BE DAM SHOPHCHU
וְלֹא תַחֲנִיפוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם בָּהּ כִּי הַדָּם הוּא יַחֲנִיף אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְלָאָרֶץ לֹא יְכֻפַּר לַדָּם אֲשֶׁר שֻׁפַּךְ בָּהּ כִּי אִם בְּדַם שֹׁפְכוֹ
BN: So you shall not pollute the land in which you live. For blood pollutes the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but only by the blood of he who shed it.
Everything comes back to blood eventually in the Jewish world! The death penalty, as created here, is really just another purification ritual, for everyone concerned, and even for the soil on which the event took place.
35:34 VE LO TETAM'E ET HA ARETS ASHER ATEM YOSHVIM BAH ASHER ANI SHOCHEN BETOCHAH KI ANI YHVH SHOCHEN BETOCH BENEY YISRA-EL
KJ: Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
BN: Do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I, YHVH, dwell in the midst of the Beney Yisra-El.
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35:34 VE LO TETAM'E ET HA ARETS ASHER ATEM YOSHVIM BAH ASHER ANI SHOCHEN BETOCHAH KI ANI YHVH SHOCHEN BETOCH BENEY YISRA-EL
וְלֹא תְטַמֵּא אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם יֹשְׁבִים בָּהּ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי שֹׁכֵן בְּתוֹכָהּ כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה שֹׁכֵן בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ: Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
BN: Do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I, YHVH, dwell in the midst of the Beney Yisra-El.
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