Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.
| Word | Hebrew | Strong’s | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| enmity | בְאֵיבָ֞ה ve.'ei.Vah | H342 | hostility · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute |
| smite | הִכָּ֤הוּ hi.Ka.hu | H5221 | to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular |
| hand | בְיָדוֹ֙ ve.ya.Do | H3027 | a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular |
| die | וַיָּמֹ֔ת vai.ya.Mot | H4191 | to die (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular |
| smote | הַמַּכֶּ֖ה ha.ma.Keh | H5221 | to strike (lightly or severely · definite article + verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute |
| surely | מֽוֹת mot- | H4191 | to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal infinitive absolute |
| death | יוּמַ֥ת yu.Mat | H4191 | to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, hophal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular |
| murderer | רֹצֵ֣חַֽ ro.Tze.ach | H7523 | properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute |
| revenger | גֹּאֵ֣ל go.'El | H1350 | to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relati… · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular construct |
| blood | הַדָּ֗ם ha.Dam | H1818 | blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or… · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute |
| slay | יָמִ֛ית ya.Mit | H4191 | to die (literally or figuratively) · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular |
| murderer | הָרֹצֵ֖חַ ha.ro.Tze.ach | H7523 | properly · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute |
| meeteth | בְּפִגְעוֹ be.fig.'ov- | H6293 | to impinge · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 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).
If he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, &c.--Various cases are here enumerated in which the Goel or avenger was at liberty to take the life of the murderer; and every one of them proves a premeditated purpose.
The revenger of blood - גאל הדם goel haddam, the redeemer of blood; the next in blood to him who was slain. See on Num 35:12 (note).
Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die,.... Give him a blow with his fist, on some part of his body where life is most in danger, and which issues in death: he that smote him shall surely be put to death, for he is a murderer; and therefore, according to the original law, ought to die, without reprieve or pardon; and notwithstanding this law made for cities of refuge, which were to be denied him: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meeteth him: that is, when he is condemned, as both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan interpret it, after a hearing and trial of his case.
Numbers 35:9-34 9. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 9. Et locutus est Jehova ad Mosen dicendo: 10. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan, 10. Alloquere filios Israel, et dicas eis, Quum transieritis Jordanem in terra Chanaan, 11. Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. 11. Constituetis vobis urbes: urbes autem refugii erunt vobis, quo fugiet homicida qui percusserit aliquem per errorem. 12. And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregati…
Read the whole note in the consoleDictionary: 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).
And so also the man who hit another in hatred, or threw at him by lying in wait, or struck him with the hand in enmity, so that he died. And if a murderer of this kind fled into a free city, the elders of his city were to have him fetched out and delivered up to the avenger of blood (Deu 19:11-12). Then follow, in Num 35:22-28, the proceedings to be taken with an unintentional manslayer, viz., if any one hit another "in the moment," i.e., suddenly, unawares (Num 6:9), without enmity, or by throwing anything upon him, without lying in wait, or by letting a stone, by which a man might be killed, fall upon him without seeing him, so that he died in consequence, but without being his enemy, or w…
The avenger was the victim’s closest relative; he was responsible for putting the murderer to death, carrying out the vengeance that justice required (Gen 9:6).
בצדיה — Understand this as the Targum does: בכמנא, BY LAYING IN WAIT.
Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).
