Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.
Deuteronomy belongs to the fifth and last book of the Pentateuch, consisting of three addresses spoken by Moses just before his death. This verse stands in chapters 5 to 26, which review the law for the new generation, the second section from which the book takes its name, with Deuteronomy meaning second law or duplicate of the law. It is part of the special instructions and directions in Deuteronomy 18-26, which give a great principle for deciding questions and repeat the law for the government of Israel and the regulation of their worship. It is part of the provision for cities of refuge described in Deuteronomy 19:2-13.
The verse commands Israel to separate or set apart three cities as cities of refuge. The command belongs to the Mosaic legislation dealing with the Hebrew custom that authorized and even required the next of kin to avenge a murdered person by killing the murderer. That custom of blood revenge was too deeply rooted to be suddenly abolished, so the command restricts it and mitigates its effects. The cities were to be accessible places where a homicide, especially one who had killed another unintentionally, might escape from vengeance by the victim's relatives and claim protection until the case could be heard. They provided a fair trial and hearing to establish guilt or innocence, so that an accidental killing would not be punished as murder, while a guilty murderer would not escape the legal consequences of the crime.
The command to separate cities of refuge means God's people are to secure a place of refuge for Jews after they accept Christ, since they are persecuted most bitterly and have to leave their countrymen. That place is to be in a fine location obtained providentially on reasonable terms, to give them work and at the same time train them to be workers for others.
Deuteronomy belongs to the fifth and last book of the Pentateuch, consisting of three addresses spoken by Moses just before his death. This verse stands in chapters 5 to 26, which review the law for the new generation, the second section from which the book takes its name, with Deuteronomy meaning second law or duplicate of the law. It is part of the special instructions and directions in Deuteronomy 18-26, which give a great principle for deciding questions and repeat the law for the government of Israel and the regulation of their worship. It is part of the provision for cities of refuge described in Deuteronomy 19:2-13.
The verse commands Israel to separate or set apart three cities as cities of refuge. The command belongs to the Mosaic legislation dealing with the Hebrew custom that authorized and even required the next of kin to avenge a murdered person by killing the murderer. That custom of blood revenge was too deeply rooted to be suddenly abolished, so the command restricts it and mitigates its effects. The cities were to be accessible places where a homicide, especially one who had killed another unintentionally, might escape from vengeance by the victim's relatives and claim protection until the case could be heard. They provided a fair trial and hearing to establish guilt or innocence, so that an accidental killing would not be punished as murder, while a guilty murderer would not escape the legal consequences of the crime.
The command to separate cities of refuge means God's people are to secure a place of refuge for Jews after they accept Christ, since they are persecuted most bitterly and have to leave their countrymen. That place is to be in a fine location obtained providentially on reasonable terms, to give them work and at the same time train them to be workers for others.