Genesis 9:6

9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, ¹ 

by other humans ² 

must his blood be shed;

for in God’s image ³ 

God ⁴  has made humankind.”

Numbers 35:33

35:33 “You must not pollute the land where you live, for blood defiles the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed there, except by the blood of the person who shed it.

Numbers 35:1

The Levitical Cities

35:1 ⁵ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Moabite plains by the Jordan near Jericho. ⁶  He said:

1 Kings 2:32

2:32 May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; ⁷  behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he ⁸  – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.

¹ tn Heb “the blood of man.”

² tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.

³ sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn This section has two main parts, the Levitical cities (vv. 1-8) and the Cities of Refuge (vv. 9-34).

⁶ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

⁹ tn Heb “The Lord will cause his blood to return upon his head.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “because he struck down two men more innocent and better than he and he killed them with the sword, and my father David did not know.”