20:1 VA YEDABER YHVH EL YEHOSHU'A LEMOR
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל יְהֹושֻׁעַ לֵאמֹר
BN (BibleNet Translation): Then YHVH spoke to Yehoshua, saying:
The objective of translation is to render the text in the source language as accurately as possible in the destination language; the translator is not licensed to add or modify meanings; or only in commentary or footnotes. This is only a very small example, and the change is anyway quite pointless; but why has the KJ translator added the word "also", of which there is not even the remotest hint in the original? VA may be translated as "and" or, when used at the opening of a new section, as "then"; but "also" would require the additional word GAM.
20:2 DABER EL BENEY YISRA-EL LEMOR TENU LACHEM ET AREY HA MIKLAT ASHER DIBARTI ALEYCHEM BE YAD MOSHEH
דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר תְּנוּ לָכֶם אֶת עָרֵי הַמִּקְלָט אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה
KJ: Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses,
BN: Speak to the children of Yisra-El, saying: "Create for yourselves cities of refuge, as I instructed you through the hand of Mosheh...
AREY HA MIKLAT: See Numbers 35:9 ff.
BN: Speak to the children of Yisra-El, saying: "Create for yourselves cities of refuge, as I instructed you through the hand of Mosheh...
AREY HA MIKLAT: See Numbers 35:9 ff.
BE YAD MOSHEH: Based on my comment at the last verse, I am desperately wanting to translate this as "as I instructed you through the ear of Mosheh", which would make a lot more sense in English; but alas I can't. "The hand" is the symbol of power in the Yisra-Eli world, possibly because it holds the pen which signs the executive orders, possibly because it holds the sceptre of office, possibly because it wields the lead sword when the commander-in-chief takes his troops once more unto the breach; and quite probably all three. The name is also associated with the might of the deity, though in his/their case it is hyphenated to the Name, as in Yad va Shem - for which see Isaiah 56:5.
20:3 LANUS SHAMAH ROTSE'ACH MAKEH NEPHESH BISHGAGAH BIVLI DA'AT VE HAYU LACHEM LE MIKLAT MI GO'EL HA DAM
לָנוּס שָׁמָּה רֹוצֵחַ מַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה בִּבְלִי דָעַת וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לְמִקְלָט מִגֹּאֵל הַדָּם
BN: "So that he who commits manslaughter unintentionally and unwittingly may flee there; and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood...
BISHGAGAH BIVLI DA'AT: We need to read this as an entire phrase, even though we also need to understand it word by word. BISHGAGAH means "in madness" or "by accident", BIVLI means "without", and DA'AT is "knowledge" - so we have a compound of vindications and mitigations that reduce the act of killing somebody from murder to manslaughter, and thereby redeem - I have chosen that word entirely deliberately - the male members of the victim's family from the obligation to take revenge, by killing the killer. The word GO'EL describes both the redeemer of the victim's blood when it was murder and therefore the vengeance is required, and the act of redemption from needing to do so when it turns out to have been manslaughter. But between those two statements there lies a need for proof, and this is why the man who kills "unintentionally and unwittingly" is given the right to seek asylum in a refuge city, until a court can be convened and the case heard properly.
Our first encounter with this was with the story of Lamech, in Genesis 4:23 ff - for which see my notes there - but the Lamech story relates back to the killing of Havel (Abel) by Kayin (Cain), for which see especially my notes to Genesis 4:14. Lamech's cry in Genesis 4:23 tells us of a man who has been attacked, presumably to rob him, and who has killed his assailants in self-defense: "Adah and Tsilah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man for wounding me, and a young man for bruising me...", for which he now expects the Go'el to exact revenge, and justifiably, as per verse 24: "So Kayin shall be avenged sevenfold, and Lamech seventy-sevenfold."
The law of the Go'el is formally established in Genesis 9:5 ff, and note the infinite plays on the number seven, which is always the sacred number of the deity.
The concept of redemption at a divine level is rather different, though it uses the same word Go'el. The first explanation of this can be found in Ya'akov's blessing of his grandsons, in Genesis 48:16: "Ha malach ha go'el oti mi kol ra - May the angel who redeemed me from all evil...", and given a much fuller explanation in Exodus 6:6, where YHVH tells Mosheh "ve ga'alti et'chem - and I will redeem you..."
Finally there is the GE'ULAH, also from the same root, which involves the redemption of the land itself. See my notes to Leviticus 25:24 ff, where the laws given are a response to the enserfdom of the people through mortgages that were the basis of the slavery in Egypt (and, ironically, introduced by Yoseph! Genesis 41, verses 34 and 48-50, but especially 47:13-26) - the laws in Leviticus 25 continue through to chapter 27.
See also Numbers 5:8.
20:4 VE NAS EL ACHAT ME HE ARIM HA ELEH VE AMAD PETACH SHA'AR HA IR VE DIBER BE AZNEY ZIKNEY HA IR HA HI ET DEVARAV VE ASPHU OTO HA IRAH ALEYHEM VE NATNU LO MAKOM VE YASHAV IMAM
וְנָס אֶל אַחַת מֵהֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְעָמַד פֶּתַח שַׁעַר הָעִיר וְדִבֶּר בְּאָזְנֵי זִקְנֵי הָעִיר הַהִיא אֶת דְּבָרָיו וְאָסְפוּ אֹתֹו הָעִירָה אֲלֵיהֶם וְנָתְנוּ לֹו מָקֹום וְיָשַׁב עִמָּם
BN: "And when he who flees to one of those cities stands at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declares his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city as one of their own, and give him a home, that he may dwell among them...
So this is not a requirement to run into the shrine and grasp the horns of the altar, and remain there for the foreseeable... which is how it has tended to be portrayed in literature and legend. This functions precisely the same way that political asylum functions today: a formal, legal process, managed by the city elders.
20:5 VE CHI YIRDOPH GO'EL HA DAM ACHARAV VE LO YASGIRU ET HA ROTSE'ACH BE YADO KI VIVLI DA'AT HIKAH ET RE'EHU VE LO SON'E HU LO MITMOL SHILSHOM
וְכִי יִרְדֹּף גֹּאֵל הַדָּם אַחֲרָיו וְלֹא יַסְגִּרוּ אֶת הָרֹצֵחַ בְּיָדֹו כִּי בִבְלִי דַעַת הִכָּה אֶת רֵעֵהוּ וְלֹא שֹׂנֵא הוּא לֹו מִתְּמֹול שִׁלְשֹׁום
KJ: And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime,
BN: "And if the 'Avenger of Blood' pursues after him, they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and did not hate him not before that time...
20:6 VA YASHAV BA IR HA HI AD AMDO LIPHNEY HA EDAH LA MISHPAT AD MOT HA KOHEN HA GADOL ASHER YIHEYEH BA YAMIM HA HEM AZ YASHUV HA ROTSE'ACH U VA EL IRO VE EL BEITO EL HA IR ASHER NAS MI SHAM
וְיָשַׁב בָּעִיר הַהִיא עַד עָמְדֹו לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה לַמִּשְׁפָּט עַד מֹות הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדֹול אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם אָז יָשׁוּב הָרֹוצֵחַ וּבָא אֶל עִירֹו וְאֶל בֵּיתֹו אֶל הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר נָס מִשָּׁם
BN: "And he shall dwell in that city, until he stands before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of whoever is the High Priest at that time; then the slayer may return to his own city, to his own house, to the city from which he fled."
What the law does not state is: can his wife and family come and join him in asylum? Can other aspects of his life be maintained long-distance? What if he has a farm, a shop? And the death of the High Priest could be next week, next year, next decade.
20:7 VA YAKDISHU ET KEDESH BA GALIL BE HAR NAPHTALI VE ET SHECHEM BE HAR EPHRAYIM VE ET KIRYAT ARBA HI CHEVRON BE HAR YEHUDAH
וַיַּקְדִּשׁוּ אֶת קֶדֶשׁ בַּגָּלִיל בְּהַר נַפְתָּלִי וְאֶת שְׁכֶם בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם וְאֶת קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע הִיא חֶבְרֹון בְּהַר יְהוּדָה
BN: And they appointed Kedesh in the Galil on Mount Naphtali, and Shechem on Mount Ephrayim, and Kiryat Arba, which is Chevron, on the mountain of Yehudah.
KEDESH: Was Kedesh already called that, and chosen because it was holy; or vice versa (see also Joshua 19:37)? The root KADASH, simply means "set apart", which of course a refuge city is from non-refuge cities; and is used to mean "holy", which of course is also true of a refuge-city. Numerous places in the Torah have had the name KEDESH or usually KADESH, either, like here, on its own, or, as with Kadesh Barne'a, attached to a specific geographical location. And here the verb used for "appoint" is LEHAKDISH, "to make something holy", so there is a distinct impression that the town was being renamed; however, the same verb is also used for SHECHEM and KIRYAT ARBA, and their names are not changed to KEDESH.
All three are on mountains - and mountains are always considered more holy than plains or valleys, because the gods live there. However it is much more arduous to flee on foot to a mountain-village than to a town in a valley, or perhaps this was also a factor in consideration. Three of the big cities too, all connected with the patriarchs and all connected with David, especially Kiryat Arba - and is it not odd that it is named as such, and then the explanation that it was Chevron? We had the giving of the city to Kalev in chapter 14, and it was definitely named Chevron there.
NAPHTALI...EPHRAYIM: almost certainly these are Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyval, but with a new name to reflect the new "ownership".
20:8 U ME EVER LE YARDEN YERIYCHO MIZRACHAH NATNU ET BETSER BA MIDBAR BA MISHOR MI MATEH RE'U-VEN VE ET RA'MOT BA GIL'AD MI MATEH GAD VE ET GOLAN BA BASHAN MI MATEH MENASHEH
20:8 U ME EVER LE YARDEN YERIYCHO MIZRACHAH NATNU ET BETSER BA MIDBAR BA MISHOR MI MATEH RE'U-VEN VE ET RA'MOT BA GIL'AD MI MATEH GAD VE ET GOLAN BA BASHAN MI MATEH MENASHEH
וּמֵעֵבֶר לְיַרְדֵּן יְרִיחֹו מִזְרָחָה נָתְנוּ אֶת בֶּצֶר בַּמִּדְבָּר בַּמִּישֹׁר מִמַּטֵּה רְאוּבֵן וְאֶת רָאמֹת בַּגִּלְעָד מִמַּטֵּה גָד וְאֶת־ [גָּלֹון כ] (גֹּולָן ק) בַּבָּשָׁן מִמַּטֵּה מְנַשֶּׁה
BN: 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.
NATNU: Where the previous verse used LEHAKDISH, this uses the rather more banal NATAN, "to give". Why such a distinction? And in verse 9, MU'ADAH, which is the passive form of the verb made from the root MO'ED, which we have seen many times in the Torah, being an "appointed time", a fast, a feast, a festival.
BETSER: See the link for some background, including speculation as to whether BETSER is BATSRAH, for which see Isaiah 63:1 as well. I am more interested in the fact that the root, BATSAR, means "cut off", in the sense of being made inaccessible - and therefore difficult for either the exile or the Go'el to get to, adding weight to my mountain theory, above
RA'MOT: RA'MOT BA GIL'AD, as opposed to Ra'mot Gil'ad, which is a generic name for the Golan Heights in general? Deuteronomy 4:43, which already named these refuge-cities, likewise has RA'MOT BA GIL'AD.
GOLAN: Again a town, rather than the generic name.
HA BASHAN: With a definite article, again making a distinction between a place and a region. The name was probably non-Yehudit in its origins, from the fact that it was Mo-Avi land that was conquered, and the Beney Mo-Av spoke an early dialect of Aramaic, which sourced later Arabic; and in Arabic BASHAN means "soft and sandy soil". However, there is also BASHNAH in Hosea 10:6, with YEVOSH three words later from the same root: LAVUSH meaning "to shame", whence LEHITBAYESH for "to be ashamed" or "to be embarrassed": a perfect name for a city of refuge.
20:9 ELEH HAYU AREY HA MU'ADAH LE CHOL BENEY YISRA-EL VE LA GER HA GAR BETOCHAM LANUS SHAMAH KOL MAKEH NEPHESH BISHGAGAH VE LO YAMUT BEYAD GO'EL HA DAM AD AMDO LIPHNEY HA EDAH
אֵלֶּה הָיוּ עָרֵי הַמּוּעָדָה לְכֹל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתֹוכָם לָנוּס שָׁמָּה כָּל מַכֵּה נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה וְלֹא יָמוּת בְּיַד גֹּאֵל הַדָּם עַד עָמְדֹו לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה
KJ: These were the cities appointed for all the Beney Yisra-El, and for the stranger who sojourned among them, that anyone who killed any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the 'Avenger of Blood', until he had stood before the congregation.
MU'ADAH: See my first note at verse 8.
pey break
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