Femte MosebokenKapitel 19

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When the LORD your God cuts off the nations whose land he is giving you, and you drive them out and settle in their cities and their houses,

you shall set apart three cities for yourself in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

Build roads to them, and divide into three regions the territory that the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, so that anyone who kills another may flee there.

This is the rule for the one who kills another and flees there to save his life: anyone who strikes down his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in the past.

Suppose a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as his hand swings the axe to fell a tree, the head slips off the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies. Such a man may flee to one of these cities and live.

Otherwise the avenger of blood might pursue the killer in the heat of his anger, overtake him because the way is long, and take his life—though he did not deserve to die, since he had not hated his neighbor in the past.

That is why I command you: set apart three cities for yourself.

And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your fathers, and gives you all the land he promised to give them—

if you carefully keep all this commandment that I give you today, loving the LORD your God and walking in his ways always—then you shall add three more cities to these three,

so that innocent blood is not shed in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and bloodguilt does not come upon you.

But if a man hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, attacks him and takes his life, and then flees to one of these cities,

the elders of his own city shall send for him and bring him back from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.

Show him no pity. Purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and it will go well with you.

Do not move your neighbor's boundary marker, set up by those who came before you, in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

A single witness is not enough to convict anyone of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

If a malicious witness comes forward against someone, accusing him of wrongdoing,

the two parties to the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office at that time.

The judges shall investigate the matter thoroughly, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother,

then do to him what he intended to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

The rest will hear of it and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.

Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

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Sammanfattning2

Kapitel 19

Main Theme: The chapter provides laws to ensure justice and protect the innocent in Israel through cities of refuge, property boundaries, and witness testimony.

Content: Israel is to establish three cities of refuge for anyone who kills someone accidentally, with the possibility of adding three more if the land expands. Intentional murder is to be punished by death. The chapter forbids moving a neighbor's boundary markers and requires at least two witnesses to convict. False witnesses are to receive the same punishment they sought to impose on the accused.

Key Terms/Images:

Cities of Refuge: Three cities that provide protection for someone who kills unintentionally, so that the innocent are not caught up in blood vengeance.
The Avenger of Blood (goel hadam): The relative of the deceased who has the right to put the murderer to death in cases of intentional killing.
Two or Three Witnesses: A legal requirement for multiple witnesses to ensure a fair judgment and prevent false accusations.
Lex talionis: The principle of "an eye for an eye," ensuring that the punishment is proportional to the crime.

Historisk kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Deuteronomy 19

Places

The chapter addresses the establishment of three cities of refuge in the Promised Land west of the Jordan, in addition to the three already designated east of the Jordan (Deut 4:41-43). Verses 8–9 also mention the possibility of three additional cities if the Lord expands Israel’s borders. These cities were to be strategically located so that no one in Israel had too far to travel to reach a place of refuge. The instruction to "prepare the way" (תָּכִין לְךָ הַדֶּרֶךְ, v. 3) and divide the land into three parts ensured that the cities were evenly distributed geographically. According to later Jewish tradition (Mishnah, Makkot 2:5), the roads leading to these cities were to be well maintained, wide, and clearly marked with signs pointing toward the city of refuge.

Events and Customs

Cities of Refuge and Blood Vengeance: The chapter regulates an existing cultural practice in which the nearest male relative (גֹּאֵל הַדָּם, go'el haddam, "the avenger of blood") was obligated to avenge a killing. This custom was widespread throughout the ancient Near East. Israel’s system of cities of refuge was unique in that it made a clear legal distinction between intentional murder and unintentional killing—a distinction not as clearly drawn in surrounding cultures. The example of an axe head slipping loose (v. 5) concretely illustrates what is considered accidental killing.

Boundary Stones: The prohibition against moving boundary stones (v. 14) addresses a practice condemned throughout the ancient Near East. Egyptian "wisdom texts" such as the Instructions of Amenemope contain similar prohibitions. Boundary stones were sacred markers of inheritance rights to land, and moving them constituted both theft and an attack on the divine allocation of the land.

Key Terms

*גֹּאֵל הַדָּם (go'el haddam): "The avenger of blood" – the nearest male relative responsible for restoring family honor by taking the life of the killer. The word go'el* is also used to describe one who redeems a relative from debt slavery or buys back lost property, pointing to a broader role as the family’s protector.

*עֵד חָמָס ('ed chamas): "A malicious witness" or "a violent witness" (v. 16) – refers to a witness who deliberately gives false testimony with the intent to harm the accused. The principle of lex talionis* (the law of retaliation, vv. 19, 21) was to be applied to such witnesses: they were to suffer the punishment they had attempted to inflict on others.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Archaeological discoveries of boundary stones (kudurru) from Mesopotamia, often inscribed with curses invoking divine judgment against anyone who moves them, confirm how seriously this offense was regarded in ancient cultures. Such stones were frequently decorated with divine symbols that granted them sacred protection. Law codes from Mesopotamia, including fragments dealing with unintentional killing, show that distinguishing between intentional and accidental homicide was a legal challenge that several cultures sought to resolve. However, Israel’s system of cities of refuge represents a systematic solution that balanced justice with the protection of the innocent.

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Nyckelord8

Cities — Areas established as settlements, here referring to cities of refuge for those who have unintentionally killed someone.
Refuge — A safe place or shelter where a person can seek protection and avoid punishment or revenge.
Murderer — A person who has taken the life of another human being, either intentionally or by accident.
Avenger — A person who seeks to inflict harm or punish someone for a wrong they have committed, especially in connection with murder.
Boundary — A geographical line that separates two areas, here referring to the territorial borders of Israel's tribes.
Witness — A person who gives information about an event they have seen, heard, or experienced, especially in a legal context.
False testimony — Giving incorrect information or lying in a court case, which can lead to innocent people being convicted.
Two or three witnesses — The requirement that at least two or three witnesses must be present to confirm an accusation or event.