Deuteronomio 19:11 Commento

The laws which Moses had hitherto been repeating and urging mostly concerned the acts of religion and devotion towards God; but here he comes more fully to press the duties of righteousness between man and man. This chapter relates, I. To the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill" (Deu 19:1-13). II. To the eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal" (Deu 19:14). III. To the ninth commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness," (Deu 19:15, etc.).

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 19 This chapter contains an order to separate three cities of refuge in the land of Canaan, for such that killed a man unawares to flee to, of which those who were guilty of murder purposely were to have no benefit, Deu 19:1, a law is given against removing landmarks, Deu 19:14, and others concerning witnesses, that they should be more than one; be two, or three, Deu 19:15, and that a false witness, on conviction, should be punished, Deu 19:16.

Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence,.... The Targum of Jonathan is,"the wise men of his city,''the sanhedrim, or court of judicature, or at least the civil magistrates of that city, to which such a murderer belonged, had a power to send to the city of refuge whither he was fled, and demand the delivering of him up to them, that his case might be tried before them, and it might appear whether he was a proper person to receive the benefit of the city of refuge or not, and if not, to pass sentence of death upon him, and see it executed as follows: and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die; that is, after the examination and trial of him, and when he is found guilty, and sentence is passed upon him, then he was to be delivered into the hands of the avenger of blood, to be the executioner of that sentence.

OF THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Deu 19:1-13) Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land--Goelism, or the duty of the nearest kinsmen to avenge the death of a slaughtered relative, being the customary law of that age (as it still is among the Arabs and other people of the East), Moses incorporated it in an improved form with his legislative code. For the protection of the unintentional homicide, he provided certain cities of refuge--three had been destined for this purpose on the east of Jordan (Deu 4:41; Num 35:11); three were to be invested with the same privilege on the west of that river when Canaan should be conquered. in the midst of thy land--in such a position that they would be conspicuous and accessible, and equidistant from the extremities of the land and from each other.