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Joshua 20:3 KJV
Joshua · chapter 20 · verse 3
That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.Joshua 20:3 · King James Version
Joshua 20:3 in context
1The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,
2Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
3That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
4And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
5And 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.
Commentary
Key words (Strong's)
- unwittinglydaʻathknowledgeH1847 →
- unawaresshᵉgâgâha mistake or inadvertent transgressionH7684 →
- killethnâkâhto strikeH5221 →
- avengergâʼalto be the next of kinH1350 →
- slayerrâtsachproperly, to dash in piecesH7523 →
- personnepheshproperly, a breathing creatureH5315 →
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Many things were by the law of Moses ordered to be done when they came to Canaan and this among the rest, the appointing of sanctuaries for the protecting of those that were guilty of casual murder, which was a privilege to all Israel, since no man could be sure but some time or other it might be his own case;
— Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on verses 1-6