Deuteronomy 19:5

As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood,.... A wood is a place common to men, and cutting down wood a business which any man might do; whereas a private place, where a man

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; No JFB commentary on these verses.

Deuteronomy 19:5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:Ver. 5. And live.] So he keep within his city of refuge till the death of the high priest.

Deuteronomy 19:1-13. THE CITIES OF REFUGE.(See for more on this subject, Numbers 35:9, &c.; Joshua 20) (1) When the Lord thy God hath cut off the nations.—We find that the three cities of refuge on the west of Jordan were appointed by Joshua after the conquest (Joshua 20). The first three on the east of Jordan, namely, Bezer, Ramoth-Gilead, and Golan, had already been selected by Moses (Deuteronomy 4:41, &c), but Joshua assigned them to their Levitical possessors. (3) Thou shalt prepare thee a way.—Upon this phrase Rashi remarks (from the Talmud) that “Miklot! Miklot (‘Refuge! Refuge!’) was written up at the parting of the ways.” Divide the coasts of thy land . . . into three parts.—So that no part of the country might be too far from any of the cities of refuge. (5) As when a man goeth into the wood.—An obvious instance. (6) The avenger of the blood.—Literally, the redeemer of the blood. The Hebrew, gooël stands for all the three words, “redeemer,” “avenger,” “kinsman.” (8, 9) if the Lord thy God enlarge thy coast . . . thou shalt add three cities—i.e., thou shalt add three to the six, making nine in all. There is no trace of this ever having been done in the history of Israel. The comments of Jewish writers show that nothing is known of the fact in their literature. Some of them point out that only seven nations were assigned to thehost of Joshua, and that the land occupied by these seven could not have needed more than the six cities. They lay stress upon the words “If He give thee all the land which He promised to give thy fathers” (not merely the seven nations promised to thee). They refer to the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites in particular, as three nations promised to Abraham. It would have been more to the purpose if they had referred to the Hittites. The cities of this people, as recently discovered, from Kedesh on the Orontes to Carchemish, lie to the north of the known territory of Israel. If “all the laud of the Hittites” (Joshua 1:4) had been conquered, the three additional cities might have been required. But though this land seems to have been tributary to Solomon, it was not so occupied by Israel as to necessitate the appointment of three additional cities of refuge. And Solomon’s empire lasted only for his own reign. But without going back to these details, they also take the promise as prophetical; holding that when the Lord has “circumcised their heart” (Deuteronomy 30:6), “to love the Lord,” and given them “one heart and one way to fear Him for ever, and shall make an everlasting covenant with them, and put His fear in their hearts ( Jeremiah 32:39-40) that they shall not depart from Him,” then the promises will be fulfilled. All the land will be given to them, and they will need these other cities. One writer adds, “Blessed is he that waiteth, and shall attain to it,” from Daniel 12:12.

5. as when a man goeth] Heb. and who goeth, continuing the construction of the previous clause; but EVV.’s rendering is possible by a slight emendation of the Heb. forest] As in most instances in which forest is used by EVV., the term misleads. Heb. ya‘ar was one antithesis to fertile or cultivated land (Isaiah 29:7) and, as evident from the conditions of Palestine today as well as those reflected in the O.T. (HGHL, 80 f., Jerus. i. 78, 305), must usually have meant copse or jungle or, at the most, woodland. The Ar. wa‘ar is ‘rocky ground,’ whether with or without bush. and his hand fetcheth a stroke] Heb. is driven, or lets drive, with the axe. helve] R.V. marg., tree; which offers the alternative meaning, that the edge of the axe slipped aside from the tree which it struck. But Heb. ’çṣ ?, which = both tree (as in the previous clause) and piece of wood, means here the latter, and the vb is to be translated slippeth off from (Exodus 3:5, Joshua 5:15 of the sandal from the foot; cp. Deuteronomy 7:1; Deuteronomy 7:22; Deuteronomy 28:40). LXX falleth off (probably reading naphal for nashal, cp. 2 Kings 6:5). ‘One sees exactly how the law grows out of the actual relations of everyday life’ (Berth.). he shall flee unto one of these cities and live] Joshua 20:4 (a deuteron. addition to P’s law) says that he shall first, at the gate, state his case to the elders.

IN TO CITIES OF REFUGE, Deuteronomy 19:1-13.Comp. Exodus 21:13, and Numbers 35:9-34; Deuteronomy 4:41. Six cities were to be designated. Moses had already named the three east of the Jordan. Deuteronomy 4:41-43.