Joshua 20:4

And 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.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
flee	וְנָ֞ס ve.Nas	H5127	to flit · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
one	אַחַ֣ת 'a.Chat	H259	properly · cardinal number, feminine singular absolute
cities	מֵהֶעָרִ֣ים me.he.'a.Rim	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · preposition + definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
stand	וְעָמַד֙ ve.'a.Mad	H5975	to stand · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
entering	פֶּ֚תַח Pe.tach	H6607	an opening (literally) · noun, common masculine singular construct
gate	שַׁ֣עַר Sha.'ar	H8179	an opening · noun, common masculine singular construct
city	הָעִ֔יר ha.'Ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
declare	וְדִבֶּ֛ר ve.di.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
cause	דְּבָרָ֑יו de.va.Rav	H1697	a word · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
ears	בְּאָזְנֵ֛י be.'a.ze.Nei	H241	broadness. i.e. (concrete) the ear (from its form in ma… · preposition + noun, common feminine dual construct
elders	זִקְנֵ֥י zik.Nei-	H2205	old · adjective, masculine plural construct
city	הָעִֽיר ha.'ir-	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
take	וְאָסְפ֨וּ ve.'a.se.Fu	H622	to gather for any purpose · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
city	הָעִ֙ירָה֙ ha.'I.rah	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute + directional suffix
give	וְנָתְנוּ ve.na.te.nu-	H5414	to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
place	מָק֖וֹם ma.Kom	H4725	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
dwell	וְיָשַׁ֥ב ve.ya.Shav	H3427	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 38:7 Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the k…
Ruth 4:1-2 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a on…
Job 5:4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
Job 29:7 When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street!
Psalms 26:9 Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
Proverbs 31:23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
Hebrews 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 20:1-6

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; and it was for the interest of the land that the blood of an innocent person, whose hand only was guilty but not his heart, should not be shed, no, not by the avenger of blood: of this law, which was so much for their advantage, God here reminds them, that they might remind themselves of the other laws he had given them, which concerned his honour. 1. Orders are given for the appointin…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 20:4

he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city--It was the place of public resort, and on arriving there he related his tale of distress to the elders, who were bound to give him shelter and the means of support, until the local authorities (Jos 20:6), having carefully investigated the case, should have pronounced the decision. If found guilty, the manslayer was surrendered to the blood-avenger; if extenuating circumstances appeared, he was to remain in the city of refuge, where he would be safe from the vindictive feelings of his pursuers; but he forfeited the privilege of immunity the moment he ventured beyond the walls.

Adam Clarke on Joshua 20:2

Cities of refuge - An institution of this kind was essentially necessary wherever the patriarchal law relative to the right of redemption and the avenging of blood was in force; we have already seen that the nearest of kin to a deceased person had not only the right of redeeming an inheritance that had been forfeited or alienated, but had also authority to slay on the spot the person who had slain his relative. Now, as a man might casually kill another against whom he had no ill-will, and with whom he had no quarrel, and might have his life taken away by him who was called the avenger of blood, though he had not forfeited his life to the law; therefore these privileged cities were appointed,…

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Dictionary and topics

Gate — (1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; Neh. 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Gen. 19:1), of Gaza (Judg. 16:3). (2.) Of royal palaces (Neh. 2:8). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:34, 35; 2…
Avenger Of Blood · SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Cities Of Refuge · Required to be: Open to all manslayers — Required to be: Open to all manslayers
Communion · .Joshua — .Joshua
Court · .The gates of cities — .The gates of cities
Homicide · 4:41-43;19:2-10; — 4:41-43;19:2-10;
Refuge · .From the avenger of bloo — .From the avenger of bloo

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Joshua 20:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 20:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 20:4

Adam Clarke on Joshua 20:2

Dictionary and topics

Joshua 20:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Joshua 20:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 20:4

Adam Clarke on Joshua 20:2

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Joshua 20:4

John Calvin on Joshua 20:1-6

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Joshua 20:3