Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
כִּי יִמָּצֵא חָלָל בָּאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לְרִשְׁתָּהּ נֹפֵל בַּשָּׂדֶה לֹא נוֹדַע מִי הִכָּהוּ
KJ (King James translation): If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him:
BN (BibleNet translation): If some one is found slain, in the land which YHVH your god is giving to you as a possession, and he is lying in the field, and it is not known who has killed him...
CHALAL: "Pierced through", so this could be a man speared by the horns of an animal, but it cannot mean he had a heart attack; something or someone killed him. (It is not connected, however, with HALAL, which is the Arabic word for "permitted", and used to describe what it is permissible for a Moslem to eat; that would require a Hey not a Chet in Ivrit.)
21:2 VE YATS'U ZEKENEYCHA VE SHOPHTEYCHA U MADEDU EL HE ARIM ASHER SEVIVOT HE CHALAL
וְיָצְאוּ זְקֵנֶיךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶיךָ וּמָדְדוּ אֶל הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹת הֶחָלָל
KJ: Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
BN: Then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the towns surrounding the victim.
Is this:
a) From the point where the man is lying to each of the refuge cities, to determine which is the one the killer is most likely to have fled to (though presumably they will also send messengers to each of the refuge cities, to find out if anyone has sought refuge for this particular killing); or
b) From the point where the man is lying to each of the nearby towns, to determine which is the nearest, and which therefore has to take responsibility for burial and investigation; or
c) Neither of these - and now see the next verses.
21:3 VE HAYAH HA IR HA KAROVAH EL HE CHALAL VE LAK'CHU ZIKNEY HA HI EGLAT BAKAR ASHER LO UBAD BAH ASHER LO MASH'CAH BE'OL
KJ: And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;
BN: And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, the elders of that city shall take a heifer from the herd, which has not yet been put to work, and which has not drawn in the yoke...
Any connection to the law of the red heifer, which is also a purification ceremony? See Numbers 19.
21:4 VE HORIDU ZIKNEY HA IR HA HI ET HA EGLAH EL NACHAL EYTAN ASHER LO YE'AVED BO VE LO YIZAREYA VE ARPHU SHAM ET HA EGLAH BA NACHAL
KJ: And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley:
BN: And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a rough valley, one which may neither be plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
It is somewhat bewildering (atavistic? superstitious? shamanistic?) that a cow needs to be be killed in this manner, by contrast with all the other laws which seek to protect animals against needless killing or cruelty. You can't seethe a kid in its mother's milk, but you can kill it... and presumably you can't eat it now, precisely because it has been killed in this manner, which is not kosher for consumption... (see my note on CHALAL and HALAL above, and then ask yourself; is he really right that the two are not connected?).
21:5 VE NIGSHU HA KOHANIM BENEY LEVI KI VAM BACHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA LE SHARTO U LEVARECH BE SHEM YHVH VE AL PIHEM YIHEYEH KOL RIV VE CHOL NAGA
KJ: And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:
BN: And the Kohanim, the Beney Levi, shall approach - for it is they who YHVH your god has chosen to serve as his minister, and to recite the blessings in the name of YHVH, and according to their word shall every controversy and every injury be dealt with.
NAGA: The root means "to touch", but here it is being used in the abstract: every matter that touches upon human life. Gesenius has a column and a half of references, many of which "touch" upon this usage.
21:6 VE CHOL ZIKNEY HA IR HA HI HA KEROVIM EL HE CHALAL YIRCHATSU ET YEDEYHEM AL HA EGLAH HA ARUPHAH VA NACHAL
KJ: And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
BN: And all the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
21:7 VE ANU VE AMRU YADEYNU LO SHAPH'CHAH ET HA DAM HA ZEH VE EYNEYNU LO RA'U
KJ: And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
BN: And they shall answer and say: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes witness it...
VE ANU: A line appears to be missing here, or is left implicit, the one in which the Kohanim ask the formal question: "does anyone in this city know anything about this dead person, has it been investigated, and has anyone come to this city seeking refuge for (unintentionally) killing him? After which: "and they shall answer and say..."
And from this litle tale we get the concept, much favoured among politicians, and known as "washing your hands of the matter".
21:8 KAPER LE AMCHA YISRA-EL ASHER PADITA YHVH VE AL TITEN DAM NAKI BE KEREV AMCHA YISRA-EL VE NIKAPER LAHEM HA DAM
כַּפֵּר לְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר פָּדִיתָ יְהוָה וְאַל תִּתֵּן דָּם נָקִי בְּקֶרֶב עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִכַּפֵּר לָהֶם הַדָּם
KJ: Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
BN: "Forgive, YHVH, your people Yisra-El, whom you have redeemed, and do not allow innocent blood to remain in the midst of your people Yisra-El." And the blood shall be forgiven them.
Which last sentence I would prefer to translate more honestly as "and the cause of the blood shall no longer be their responsibility"; but the text says what it says, and I would be abrogating my responsibility if I did not translate it accurately, literally and precisely.
KAPER: Atonement, as in Yom Kippur. Which confirms that this is indeed connected to the law of the red heifer in Numbers 19.
PADITA: The blood is only one half of the issue however. There is also the matter of the Go'el, the blood-vengeance - and without a perpetrator, this sacred duty cannot be performed. So the ceremony literally washes away the blood, and "redeems" the Go'el. The root of PADITA is PADAH, "to cut loose", or "set free" (cf Exodus 13:13, 34:20, which also connects this to the Pidyon ha Ben, Numbers 18:15 ff et al). What then is the difference between GA'ALTA and PADITA, if both are forms of redemption?
21:9 VE ATAH TEVA'ER HA DAM HA NAKI MI KIRBECHA KI TA'ASEH HA YASHAR BE EYNEY YHVH
KJ: So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
BN: Thus shall you put away the innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of YHVH.
samech break
The sedra ends here, though in the Christian translations the chapter does not. Sedra 6, Ki Tetse now begins. The text is on the next page, for which click here.
21:3 VE HAYAH HA IR HA KAROVAH EL HE CHALAL VE LAK'CHU ZIKNEY HA HI EGLAT BAKAR ASHER LO UBAD BAH ASHER LO MASH'CAH BE'OL
וְהָיָה הָעִיר הַקְּרֹבָה אֶל הֶחָלָל וְלָקְחוּ זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִוא עֶגְלַת בָּקָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא עֻבַּד בָּהּ אֲשֶׁר לֹא מָשְׁכָה בְּעֹל
BN: And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, the elders of that city shall take a heifer from the herd, which has not yet been put to work, and which has not drawn in the yoke...
Any connection to the law of the red heifer, which is also a purification ceremony? See Numbers 19.
21:4 VE HORIDU ZIKNEY HA IR HA HI ET HA EGLAH EL NACHAL EYTAN ASHER LO YE'AVED BO VE LO YIZAREYA VE ARPHU SHAM ET HA EGLAH BA NACHAL
וְהוֹרִדוּ זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִוא אֶת הָעֶגְלָה אֶל נַחַל אֵיתָן אֲשֶׁר לֹא יֵעָבֵד בּוֹ וְלֹא יִזָּרֵעַ וְעָרְפוּ שָׁם אֶת הָעֶגְלָה בַּנָּחַל
BN: And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a rough valley, one which may neither be plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
It is somewhat bewildering (atavistic? superstitious? shamanistic?) that a cow needs to be be killed in this manner, by contrast with all the other laws which seek to protect animals against needless killing or cruelty. You can't seethe a kid in its mother's milk, but you can kill it... and presumably you can't eat it now, precisely because it has been killed in this manner, which is not kosher for consumption... (see my note on CHALAL and HALAL above, and then ask yourself; is he really right that the two are not connected?).
21:5 VE NIGSHU HA KOHANIM BENEY LEVI KI VAM BACHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA LE SHARTO U LEVARECH BE SHEM YHVH VE AL PIHEM YIHEYEH KOL RIV VE CHOL NAGA
וְנִגְּשׁוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי לֵוִי כִּי בָם בָּחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְשָׁרְתוֹ וּלְבָרֵךְ בְּשֵׁם יְהוָה וְעַל פִּיהֶם יִהְיֶה כָּל רִיב וְכָל נָגַע
BN: And the Kohanim, the Beney Levi, shall approach - for it is they who YHVH your god has chosen to serve as his minister, and to recite the blessings in the name of YHVH, and according to their word shall every controversy and every injury be dealt with.
NAGA: The root means "to touch", but here it is being used in the abstract: every matter that touches upon human life. Gesenius has a column and a half of references, many of which "touch" upon this usage.
21:6 VE CHOL ZIKNEY HA IR HA HI HA KEROVIM EL HE CHALAL YIRCHATSU ET YEDEYHEM AL HA EGLAH HA ARUPHAH VA NACHAL
וְכֹל זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִוא הַקְּרֹבִים אֶל הֶחָלָל יִרְחֲצוּ אֶת יְדֵיהֶם עַל הָעֶגְלָה הָעֲרוּפָה בַנָּחַל
KJ: And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
BN: And all the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
21:7 VE ANU VE AMRU YADEYNU LO SHAPH'CHAH ET HA DAM HA ZEH VE EYNEYNU LO RA'U
וְעָנוּ וְאָמְרוּ יָדֵינוּ לֹא שפכה (שָׁפְכוּ) אֶת הַדָּם הַזֶּה וְעֵינֵינוּ לֹא רָאוּ
BN: And they shall answer and say: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes witness it...
VE ANU: A line appears to be missing here, or is left implicit, the one in which the Kohanim ask the formal question: "does anyone in this city know anything about this dead person, has it been investigated, and has anyone come to this city seeking refuge for (unintentionally) killing him? After which: "and they shall answer and say..."
And from this litle tale we get the concept, much favoured among politicians, and known as "washing your hands of the matter".
21:8 KAPER LE AMCHA YISRA-EL ASHER PADITA YHVH VE AL TITEN DAM NAKI BE KEREV AMCHA YISRA-EL VE NIKAPER LAHEM HA DAM
כַּפֵּר לְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר פָּדִיתָ יְהוָה וְאַל תִּתֵּן דָּם נָקִי בְּקֶרֶב עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנִכַּפֵּר לָהֶם הַדָּם
KJ: Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
BN: "Forgive, YHVH, your people Yisra-El, whom you have redeemed, and do not allow innocent blood to remain in the midst of your people Yisra-El." And the blood shall be forgiven them.
Which last sentence I would prefer to translate more honestly as "and the cause of the blood shall no longer be their responsibility"; but the text says what it says, and I would be abrogating my responsibility if I did not translate it accurately, literally and precisely.
KAPER: Atonement, as in Yom Kippur. Which confirms that this is indeed connected to the law of the red heifer in Numbers 19.
PADITA: The blood is only one half of the issue however. There is also the matter of the Go'el, the blood-vengeance - and without a perpetrator, this sacred duty cannot be performed. So the ceremony literally washes away the blood, and "redeems" the Go'el. The root of PADITA is PADAH, "to cut loose", or "set free" (cf Exodus 13:13, 34:20, which also connects this to the Pidyon ha Ben, Numbers 18:15 ff et al). What then is the difference between GA'ALTA and PADITA, if both are forms of redemption?
21:9 VE ATAH TEVA'ER HA DAM HA NAKI MI KIRBECHA KI TA'ASEH HA YASHAR BE EYNEY YHVH
וְאַתָּה תְּבַעֵר הַדָּם הַנָּקִי מִקִּרְבֶּךָ כִּי תַעֲשֶׂה הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה
KJ: So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
BN: Thus shall you put away the innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of YHVH.
samech break
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