S laces a bad character by filling them witn mur- erors. On the contrary, these six cities were of the highest rank in every Avay : thev were all Levitical cities — Shechem and Hebron Leing royal cities, and Hebron in addition a priestly city. Each city, according to the (ideal ?) legislation of
• There Is also ft doubtful example in Sir 4® ' Refr&in nol to speak, when there is occasion to do jfood ' (pr. ^*l «*Awr»x Xtyf, KV * UefraiD not speech ') : ct. Job Ztt' ' Princes retrained talking.'
214
EEFUSE
REGENERATION
P, vas to have a suburb of a little; more than half a mile in extent in every direction, so that the refugees might not be absolutely coulined within the city's walls (Nu 35').
This privilege of asylum was evidently not de- signed for wilful murderers. A wilful murderer was to be put to death at once, and these cities were for those who had taken liie unintentionally ('^=3 Tin Dt 4« Jos 20»- " [D^], .i:;^ ? Nu 35"- ", Jos 20'- » [all P]). That there was to be a strict trial (Nu 35'"- ''*) is sufficient proof that some persons who had committed wilful murder availed them- selves of this possible chance of escaping with their lives (Nu 35'-). The trial took place where the accused had lived or was well known, and not necessarily in the place where he had sought refuge ; and this is shown by the fact that, if proved innocent of wilful murder, the authorities were to see him safely back to the city of refuge after the trial was over. The law of murder and of unintentional killing is fully stated in Nu 35"'"-^ After being taken back to the city of refuge to which he had fled at first, the offender was bound to remain there until the death of the then reign- ing ' high priest ' (an expression which is taken by many to imply that the passage in its present form reflects the usage or the theory of a late age in Israel's history), after which he was free to return to his ONvn home. During that period, however, if accidentally or otherwise he passed beyond the suburb limits of the city of refuge, the avenger of blood might slay him. No payment of money was ever allowed to interfere with the strict fulfilment of this i)enalty (Nu 35^^). Besides these regularly appointed cities of refuge, the temple at Jerusalem, or possibly the altar (see ALTAR) alone, enjoyed a similar prerogative, as is shown by the cases of Adonijah and Joab (1 K 1» ll-^; cf. Ex 2V^<'). As a ground of their action, we must presuppose a well - understood custom or sentiment, which gave to the altar the right of asylum in cases of life and death.*
It is a curious fact that in the later history of the Hebrews very little is said to show how gener- ally homicides availed themselves of the refuge thus afforded. It may have been such a matter of course that nothing was ever said about it. The provision so carefully made by the Hebrews to shield those who had committed no intentional wrouji had its counterpart among the Greeks and Romans, and may be looked upon as one of the most humane features of ancient ci\ilization, where, in the general administration of affairs, cruelty and injustice, as we regard them, were frequently conspicuous. See, fuither, art. GOKL.
S. Merrill. REFUSE — The verb 'to refuse' frequently has in AV its earlier meaning of ' reject,' especially as unft for use, which is still retained in the subst. 'refuse.' Thus I's 118^ 'The stone which the builders refused (KV ' rejected ' t), is become the head stone of the comer ' ; Is 8' ' Forasmuch as this people refusetli the waters of Shiloah that go softly.' So Knox, Works, iii. 210, ' He that refuseth aot himself, and takis not up his croce, and folio wis
• As to the relation ot Dt «««■ to 191^, and on the whole iubjcct, see Driver, Oeut. 233.
t The Gr. of the Sept. is BfrtitMifjutra*, the Lat. of the Vut^. reprohaverunt ; Wye. translates ' repreveden,' Gov. and Gen. 'refused,' Douav 'rejected,' Bish. 'refused.' TJie pas-jajje is quoted in Mt 21«, Mk 12i», Lk 20" where the Gr. is always atxthoKi/xAirx*, and the Vulg. reprobaverunt ; Wye. has * repre- veden' in Mt and Lk, but 'dispisid* in Mk ; Tind. has always 'refused' or 'did refuse,* Rhem. and AV 'rejected.' The puy^a^'e is also quoted in Ac 4^^ and 1 P 2*, but with less verbal o\art- nesa. Thus Ac 4^1 Gr. icaoflivijffiiV, Vulg. qui re^trubatus t'nt, Wye. •which was reproved,* Tind. 'cast a sj'de,' Rhem. 'rejected,' Bish. ' set nought,' AV and RV ' set at nought ' ; IP 2* Gr. eiira^iicxiujcir,u.i»e¥, Vulg. reprobatum, Wye. ' reproved,' Tind. 'disalowed' (so Gov., Gran., Gen., Bish., AV), Rhem. 'repro- bated,' BV ' rejected.'
me, is not worthie of me ' ; p. 317, ' Peter was per. mitted once to sincke, and tliryse most shamefully to refuse and denye his Maister ' ; Tindale, Pent. Prologe to Exodus, 'an abjecte and a castawaye, a despised and a refused person ' ; Kxpos. 101, ' None of them, that refuseth not all that he possesseth, can be my disciple ' ; Mt 2i^ Tind. ' Then two shalbe in the feldes, the one shalbe receaved, and the other slialbe refused.'