กันดารวิถี 35:9 วิจารณ์

We have in this chapter the determination of another question that arose upon the case of the daughters of Zelophehad. God had appointed that they should inherit, Num 27:7. Now here, I. An inconvenience is suggested, in case they should marry into any other tribe (Num 36:1-4). II. It is prevented by a divine appointment that they should marry in their own tribe and family (Num 36:5-7), and this is settled for a rule in like cases (Num 36:8, Num 36:9); and they did marry accordingly to some of their own relations (Num 36:10-12), and with this the book concludes (Num 36:13).

We have here the orders given concerning the cities of refuge, fitly annexed to what goes before, because they were all Levites' cities. In this part of the constitution there is a great deal both of good law and pure gospel. I. Here is a great deal of good law, in the case of murder and manslaughter, a case of which the laws of all nations have taken particular cognizance. It is here enacted and provided, consonant to natural equity, 1. That wilful murder should be punished with death, and in that case no sanctuary should be allowed, no ransom taken, nor any commutation of the punishment accepted: The murderer shall surely be put to death, Num 35:16. It is supposed to be done of hatred (Num 35:20), or in enmity (Num 35:21), upon a sudden provocation (for our Saviour makes rash anger, as well as malice prepense, to be murder, Mat 5:21, Mat 5:22), whether the person be murdered with an instrument of iron (Num 35:16) or wood (Num 35:18), or with a stone thrown at him (Num 35:17, Num 35:20); nay, if he smite him with his hand in enmity, and death ensue, it is murder (Num 35:21); and it was an ancient law, consonant to the law of nature, that whoso sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, Gen 9:6. Where wrong has been done restitution must be made; and, since the murderer cannot restore the life he has wrongfully taken away, his own must be exacted from him in lieu of it, not (as some have fancied) to satisfy the manes or ghost of the person slain, but to satisfy the law and the justice of a nation; and to be a warning to all others not to do likewise. It is here said, and it is well worthy the consideration of all princes and states, that blood defiles not only the conscience of the murderer, who is thereby proved not to have eternal life abiding in him (Jo1 3:15), but also the land in which it is shed; so very offensive is it to God and all good men, and the worst of nuisances. And it is added that the land cannot be cleansed from the blood of the murdered, but by the blood of the murderer, Num 35:33. If murderers escape punishment from men, those that suffer them to escape will have a great deal to answer for, and God will nevertheless not suffer them to escape his righteous judgments. Upon the same principle it is provided that no satisfaction should be taken for the life of a murderer (Num 35:31): If a man would give all the substance of his house to the judges, to the country, or to the avenger of blood, to atone for his crime, it must utterly be contemned. The redemption of the life is so precious that it cannot be obtained by the multitude of riches (Psa 49:6-8), which perhaps may allude to this law. A rule of law comes in here (which is a rule of our law in cases of treason only) that no man shall be put to death upon the testimony of one witness, but it was necessary there should be two (Num 35:30); this law is settled in all capital cases, Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15. And, lastly, not only the prosecution, but the execution, of the murderer, is committed to the next of kin, who, as he was to be the redeemer of his kinsman's estate if it were mortgaged, so he was to be the avenger of his blood if he were murdered (Num 35:19): The avenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer, if he be convicted by the notorious evidence of the fact, and he needed not to have recourse by a judicial process to the court of judgment. But if it were uncertain who the murderer was, and the proof doubtful, we cannot think that his bare suspicion, or surmise, would empower him to do that which the judges themselves could not do but upon the testimony of two witnesses. Only if the fact were plain then the next heir of the person slain might himself, in a just indignation, slay the murderer wherever he met him. Some think this must be understood to be after the lawful judgment of the magistrate, and so the Chaldee says, "He shall slay him, when he shall be condemned unto him by judgment;" but it should seem, by Num 35:24, that the judges interposed only in a doubtful case, and that if the person on whom he took vengeance was indeed the murderer, and a wilful murderer, the avenger was innocent (Num 35:27), only, if it proved otherwise, it was at his peril. Our law allows an appeal to be brought against a murderer by the widow, or next heir, of the person murdered, yea, though the murderer have been acquitted upon an indictment; and, if the murderer be found guilty upon that appeal, execution shall be awarded at the suit of the appellant, who may properly be called the avenger of blood. 2. But if the homicide was not voluntary, nor done designedly, if it was without enmity, or lying in wait (Num 35:22), not seeing the person or not seeking his harm (Num 35:23), which our law calls chance-medley, or homicide per infortunium - through misfortune, in this case there were cities of refuge appointed for the manslayer to flee to. By our law this incurs a forfeiture of goods, but a pardon is granted of course upon the special matter found. Concerning the cities of refuge the law was, (1.) That, if a man killed another, in these cities he was safe, and under the protection of the law, till he had his trial before the congregation, that is, before the judges in open court. If he neglected thus to surrender himself, it was at his peril; if the avenger of blood met him elsewhere, or overtook him loitering in his way to the city of refuge, and slew him, his blood was upon his own head, because he did not make use of the security which God had provided for him. (2.) If, upon trial, it were found to be willful murder, the city of refuge should no longer be a protection to him; it was already determined: Thou shalt take him from my altar, that he may die, Exo 21:14. (3.) But if it were found to be by error or accident, and that the stroke was given without any design upon the life of the person slain or any other, then the man-slayer should continue safe in the city of refuge, and the avenger of blood might not meddle with him, Num 35:25. There he was to remain in banishment from his own house and patrimony till the death of the high priest; and, if at any time he went out of that city or the suburbs of it, he put himself out of the protection of the law, and the avenger of blood, if he met him, might slay him, Num 35:26-28. Now, [1.] By the preservation of the life of the man-slayer God would teach us that men ought not to suffer for that which is rather their unhappiness than their crime, rather the act of Providence than their own act, for God delivered him into his hand, Exo 21:13. [2.] By the banishment of the man-slayer from his own city, and his confinement to the city of refuge, where he was in a manner a prisoner, God would teach us to conceive a dread and horror of the guilt of blood, and to be very careful of life, and always afraid lest by oversight or negligence we occasion the death of any. [3.] By the limiting of the time of the offender's banishment to the death of the high priest, an honour was put upon that sacred office. The high priest was to be looked upon as so great a blessing to his country that when he died their sorrow upon that occasion should swallow up all other resentments. The cities of refuge being all of them Levites' cities, and the high priest being the head of that tribe, and consequently having a peculiar dominion over these cites, those that were confined to them might properly be looked upon as his prisoners, and so his death must be their discharge; it was, as it were, at his suit that the delinquent was imprisoned, and therefore at his death it fell. Actio moritur cum persona - The suit expires with the party. Anisworth has another notion of it, That as the high priests, while they lived, by their service and sacrificing made atonement for sin, wherein they prefigured Christ's satisfaction, so, at their death, those were released that had been exiled for casual murder, which typified redemption in Israel. [4.] By the abandoning of the prisoner to the avenger of blood, in case he at any time went out of the limits of the city of refuge, they were taught to adhere to the methods which Infinite Wisdom prescribed for their security. It was for the honour of a remedial law that it should be so strictly observed. How can we expect to be saved if we neglect the salvation, which is indeed a great salvation! II. Here is a great deal of good gospel couched under the type and figure of the cities of refuge; and to them the apostle seems to allude when he speaks of our fleeing for refuge to the hope set before is (Heb 6:18), and being found in Christ, Phi 3:9. We never read in the history of the Old Testament of any use made of these cities of refuge, any more than of other such institutions, which yet, no doubt, were made use of upon the occasions intended; only we read of those that, in dangerous cases, took hold of the horns of the altar (Kg1 1:50; Kg1 2:28); for the altar, wherever that stood, was, as it were the capital city of refuge. But the law concerning these cities was designed both to raise and to encourage the expectations of those who looked for redemption in Israel, which should be to those who were convinced of sin, and in terror by reason of it, as the cities of refuge were to the man-slayer. Observe, 1. There were several cities of refuge, and they were so appointed in several parts of the country that the man-slayer, wherever he dwelt in the land of Israel, might in half a day reach one or other of them; so, though there is but one Christ appointed for our refuge, yet, wherever we are, he is a refuge at hand, a very present help, for the word is nigh us and Christ in the word. 2. The man-slayer was safe in any of these cities; so in Christ believers that flee to him, and rest in him, are protected from the wrath of God and the curse of the law. There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus, Rom 8:1. Who shall condemn those that are thus sheltered? 3. They were all Levites' cities; it was a kindness to the poor prisoner that though he might not go up to the place where the ark was, yet he was in the midst of Levites, who would teach him the good knowledge of the Lord, and instruct him how to improve the providence he was now under. It might also be expected that the Levites would comfort and encourage him, and bid him welcome; so it is the work of gospel ministers to bid poor sinners welcome to Christ, and to assist and counsel those that through grace are in him. 4. Even strangers and sojourners, though they were not native Israelites, might take the benefit of these cities of refuge, Num 35:15. So in Christ Jesus no difference in made between Greek and Jew; even the sons of the stranger that by faith flee to Christ shall be safe in him. 5. Even the suburbs or borders of the city were a sufficient security to the offender, Num 35:26, Num 35:27. So there is virtue even in the hem of Christ's garment for the healing and saving of poor sinners. If we cannot reach to a full assurance, we may comfort ourselves in a good hope through grace. 6. The protection which the man-slayer found in the city of refuge was not owing to the strength of its walls, or gates, or bars, but purely to the divine appointment; so it is the word of the gospel that gives souls safety in Christ, for him hath God the Father sealed. 7. If the offender was ever caught struggling out of the borders of his city of refuge, or stealing home to his house again, he lost the benefit of his protection, and lay exposed to the avenger of blood; so those that are in Christ must abide in Christ, for it is at their peril if they forsake him and wander from him. Drawing back is to perdition.

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 35 Though the tribe of Levi had no part in the division of the land, yet cities out of the several tribes are here ordered to be given them to dwell in, to the number of forty eight, Num 35:1, six of which were to be cities of refuge, Num 35:9, but not for wilful murderers, in whatsoever way they might kill a man, Num 35:16, but for such who had killed a man unawares, Num 35:22, and several rules are given relating to such persons, Num 35:25, but no satisfaction was to be taken in case of murder, nor to excuse a person's return to his own house before the death of the high priest, who had fled to a city of refuge, that so the land might not be defiled, Num 35:30.

And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time, or he continued his speech unto him: saying: as follows.

The Israelites are commanded to give the Levites, out of their inheritances, cities and their suburbs for themselves and for their cattle, goods, etc., Num 35:1-3. The suburbs to be 3,000 cubits round about from the wall of the city, Num 35:4, Num 35:5. The cities to be forty-two, to which six cities of refuge should be added, in all forty-eight cities, Num 35:6, Num 35:7. Each tribe shall give of these cities in proportion to its possessions, Num 35:8. These cities to be appointed for the person who might slay his neighbor unawares, Num 35:9-12. Of these six cities there shall be three on each side Jordan, Num 35:13, Num 35:14. The cities to be places of refuge for all who kill a person unawares, whether they be Israelites, strangers, or sojourners, Num 35:15. Cases of murder to which the benefit of the cities of refuge shall not extend, Num 35:16-21. Cases of manslaughter to which the benefits of the cities of refuge shall extend, Num 35:22, Num 35:23. How the congregation shall act between the manslayer and the avenger of blood, Num 35:24, Num 35:25. The manslayer shall abide in the city of refuge till the death of the high priest; he shall then return to the land of his possession, Num 35:26-28. Two witnesses must attest a murder before a murderer can be put to death, Num 35:29, Num 35:30. Every murderer to be put to death, Num 35:31. The manslayer is not to be permitted to come to the land of his inheritance till the death of the high priest, Num 35:32. The land must not be polluted with blood, for the Lord dwells in it, Num 35:33, Num 35:34.

EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN TO THE LEVITES. (Num 35:1-5) give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in--As the Levites were to have no territorial domain allocated to them like the other tribes on the conquest of Canaan, they were to be distributed throughout the land in certain cities appropriated to their use; and these cities were to be surrounded by extensive suburbs. There is an apparent discrepancy between Num 35:4 and Num 35:5, with regard to the extent of these suburbs; but the statements in the two verses refer to totally different things--the one to the extent of the suburbs from the walls of the city, the other to the space of two thousand cubits from their extremity. In point of fact, there was an extent of ground, amounting to three thousand cubits, measured from the wall of the city. One thousand were most probably occupied with outhouses for the accommodation of shepherds and other servants, with gardens, vineyards, or oliveyards. And these which were portioned out to different families (Ch1 6:60) might be sold by one Levite to another, but not to any individual of another tribe (Jer 32:7). The other two thousand cubits remained a common for the pasturing of cattle (Lev 25:34) and, considering their number, that space would be fully required.

Appointment of Towns for the Levites. - As the Levites were to receive no inheritance of their own, i.e., no separate tribe-territory, in the land of Canaan (Num 18:20 and Num 18:23), Moses commanded the children of Israel, i.e., the rest of the tribes, in accordance with the divine instructions, to give (vacate) towns to the Levites to dwell in of the inheritance that fell to them for a possession, with pasturage by the cities round about them for their cattle. "Towns to dwell in," i.e., not the whole of the towns as their own property, but as many houses in the towns as sufficed for the necessities of the Levites as their hereditary possession, which could be redeemed, if sold at any time, and which reverted to them without compensation in the year of jubilee, even if not redeemed before (Lev 25:32-33); but any portion of the towns which was not taken possession of by them, together with the fields and villages, continued the property of those tribes to which they had been assigned by lot (cf. Jos 21:12, and my commentary on this passage: also Bhr, Symbolik, ii. p. 50; Ewald, Gesch. ii. p. 403). They were also to give them מגרשׁ (from גּרשׁ, to drive, drive out), pasturage or fields, to feed their flocks upon, all round the cities; and according to Lev 25:34, this was not to be sold, but to remain the eternal possession of the Levites. לבהמתּם, for their oxen and beasts of burden, and לרכוּשׁם, for their (remaining) possessions in flocks (sheep and goats), which are generally described in other cases as Mikneh, in distinction from behemah (e.g., Num 32:26; Gen 34:23; Gen 36:6). לכל־חיּתם and for all their animals, is merely a generalizing summary signifying all the animals which they possessed.

Selection and Appointment of Cities of Refuge for Unpremeditated Manslayers. - Num 35:10, Num 35:11. When the Israelites had come into the land of Canaan, they were to choose towns conveniently situated as cities of refuge, to which the manslayer, who had slain a person (nephesh) by accident (בּשׁגגה: see at Lev 4:2), might flee. הקרה, from קרה, to hit, occurrit, as well as accidit; signifies here to give or make, i.e., to choose something suitable (Dietrich), but not "to build or complete" (Knobel), in the sense of קרה, as the only meaning which this word has is contignare, to join with beams or rafters; and this is obviously unsuitable here. Through these directions, which are repeated and still further expanded in Deu 19:1-13, God fulfilled the promise which He gave in Exo 21:13 : that He would appoint a place for the man who should unintentionally slay his neighbour, to which he might flee from the avenger of blood.