EXPOSITION. cities wae to prevent the shedding of CHAPTER XIX. innocent blood, which would be the case LAW9 CONOEIININO CITIES 01!' REFUGE, were the unintentional mo.nslayer killed in LANDMAIIKS NOT TO llE REMOVED. LAWS revenge by one of the relatives of the man he had slain; in this case the guilt of blood- OONOEIININO WITNESSES, shed would rest upon the nation if they Vera. 1-13.-Moses had before this neglected to provide for the escape of tho enunciated the law concerning cities of mo.nsle.yer. refuge for mauelayere, an,! had already Vers. 11-13.-These cities, however, pointed out tho cities on the east of the were not to he places of refuge for murderers, for those who from hatred o.ncl with wicked Jordan thnt were to be set apart for this intent had slain others; if such fled to one (Numb. xxxv. 11, etc.; eh. iv. 41, etc.). He of these citir.s, they were not to he sufferer! here repeats the law with special reference to remain there; the elders of their own to the appointment of such cities "in the city were to require them to be delivered midst of the land," on the west of the up, that the e.venl(er might put them to death (Numb. xxxv. 16-33, etc.). In the Jordan, in Canaan itself; and he supple- earlier legi.le.tion, it is rnacted that the ments the instructions formerly given with congregation shall judge in such matters, directions as to the maintenance of roa,ls and that by their decision it shouhl ho to lhc cities ofrefuge, and as to the division determinecl in any case whether the person of the land, so that there should be a dty who had slain another was to be allowed to of refuge in every third of the land. remain in a c·ity of refuge or be delivered over to the avenger of blood. With this the Ver. 3.-,--Thou she.It prepare thee a. way. ordinance here is not inconsistent; the In the East, the roads were for the most elders were not to act as judges, but merely pa.rt mere tracks me.de by the feet of as magistrates, to apprehend Lhe man and animals used o,s beasts of burden or for bring him to trial. tmvelling; and this continues to be the case in Palestine and many other parts of Ver. 14.-To the ordinance concerning the East even at the present day. That cities of refuge Moses appends one prohibit- roads, however, properly so called, were not ing the removing of fandmar ks ; if these unknown to the Hebrews, even in early had been placed by a man's ancestors to times, is evident, not only from thia passa,ge, mark the boundaries of possessions, they but also from Lev. xxvi. 22; Numb. xx. 17; :ui. 22; eh. ii. 27; 1 Sam. vi. 12. The were not to be surreptitiously altered. design of the injunction here was that e,·ery Landmarks were held sacred, and a curse facility should be afforded to the fugitive to is pronounced against those who remove escape to the place of refuge. In later them (eh. xxvii. 7; cf. Job x:xiv. 2; Prov. times, it was enacted that the roads leading nii. 2S; :uiii. 10: Hos. v. 10). Among to these cities should be repaired every year other nations also landmarks were regarded in the month Adar, and every obstrnction removed. as sacred ( cf. Plato, 'De Legibus,' viii. p. Vera. 4-7.-(Cf. Numb. xxxv. 11, etc.) 842; Dionys. Halic. ii. 17; Plutarch, Vera. 8, 9.-In case their land shouhl be 'Nume.,' 16; Ovid, 'Fast.; ii. 639)'. extended, in case they should come to pos- Ver. 14.-They of old time; i.e. those of a sess the whole territory promised by God former age (c•i;:;i-:"), earlier ones, ancestors, to the patriarchs, so tlrnt tl,eir domain predecessors). The word does not necessarily should reach from the Nile to the Euphrates imply that the age described as "former" (Gen. xv. 18)-au event which should be was remornd at f' great distance in the realized only if they shonld continue stead- past; it might designate men of the im- fust in their obedience to a.II that God had mediately preceding age. The LXX. he.ve enjoined upon them, and an ~vent which in here ol 1raT<per, and the Vulgu.te priares. point of fact never was realized, for eyen That the law here given was uttered whilst under David and Solomon tliere were ex- Israel we.s yut out:si<le of Ce.nae.n, is evident tensive territories within tlieso limits which from what follows in this verse. were not incorporated with the kingdom of Vers. 15-21.-To secure age.inst injury Israel-in that case they were to add other tliree cities of refuge to tlioso already ap• to life or property through inadequate or pointed. folse attestation, it is ene.oted that more Ver. l0.-Tbe design of appointing these than one witness mqst appee.r before any- THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. [en. xrx. 1-21,
thing can be established; and that, should from Jehovnh, bas properly the general a witness be found on trial to hnvo testified sense of a deflection from n prescribecl falsPly np1inst his neighbour, ho wns to be course (from "11.:-, to go oft', to go nsido), nnd ptmished by haying done to him what he so may describe any d~parturo from whnt is constituted right. thought to hRve done to his neighbour Ver. 17.-:Both the men, i.e. both parties (cf. eh. XYii. 6; Numb. xxH. 30). n t the bar, shall stand before the Lord; i. e. , er. 15. -The rule in eh. XYii. 6, rcgard- shall come to the sanctuary whore Jehovah rng accusRtions of idolntry, is here extended had his dwelling-place in t.ho mi<lst of hie 1o nccusations of evcrv kind before a court people, and where the supremo judges, who of j 11shce; a sing:le ,,·itness wns not to be were his delegates and representatives, ndmitted ns suflicicnt to convict a man of held their court (oh. xvii. 9). am· offence, either civil or criminal. Ver. 19.-Thought. Tho vrrb hero usod \"er 16.-To testify against him that (OJ?)) means generally to meditate, to have which is wrong; literally, to testify against in mind, to purpose; but it frequently h11s 1,im defection, i.e. from the Lnw of God. the subaudition of meditating cvH (of. The speaker bas apparently in view hero Ps. xxxi. 37; xxxvii. 12; Prov. xxx. 32, a 1l such defections from !he Law ns etc.). ,rnuld ent1til punishment on the convicted Ver. 20.-(Cf. eh. xiii. 12.) ntTendcr. In eh. xiii. 5 [6], indeed, tha crime Ver. 21._:The lex talionis was in this described here as "that which is wrong" case to be observed (cf. Exod. xxi. 23; Lev. (mnrgin, "falling away") is specially the xxiv. 20). Practically, however, n pecuniary crime of apostacy to idolatry; but the word compensation might be accepted for the (;;;<;), though uswilly expressing apostacy offence (cf. Josephus,' AnUq.,' iv. 8, 35),