Ulangan 16:1--19:21
Konteks16:1 Observe the month Abib 1 and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month 2 he 3 brought you out of Egypt by night. 16:2 You must sacrifice the Passover animal 4 (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he 5 chooses to locate his name. 16:3 You must not eat any yeast with it; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, symbolic of affliction, for you came out of Egypt hurriedly. You must do this so you will remember for the rest of your life the day you came out of the land of Egypt. 16:4 There must not be a scrap of yeast within your land 6 for seven days, nor can any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until the next morning. 7 16:5 You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of your villages 8 that the Lord your God is giving you, 16:6 but you must sacrifice it 9 in the evening in 10 the place where he 11 chooses to locate his name, at sunset, the time of day you came out of Egypt. 16:7 You must cook 12 and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses; you may return the next morning to your tents. 16:8 You must eat bread made without yeast for six days. The seventh day you are to hold an assembly for the Lord your God; you must not do any work on that day. 13
16:9 You must count seven weeks; you must begin to count them 14 from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain. 16:10 Then you are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks 15 before the Lord your God with the voluntary offering 16 that you will bring, in proportion to how he 17 has blessed you. 16:11 You shall rejoice before him 18 – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, 19 the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name. 16:12 Furthermore, remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so be careful to observe these statutes.
16:13 You must celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters 20 for seven days, at the time of the grain and grape harvest. 21 16:14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. 22 16:15 You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the Lord your God in the place he 23 chooses, for he 24 will bless you in all your productivity and in whatever you do; 25 so you will indeed rejoice! 16:16 Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him 26 empty-handed. 16:17 Every one of you must give as you are able, 27 according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants 28 for each tribe in all your villages 29 that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. 30 16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort 31 the words of the righteous. 32 16:20 You must pursue justice alone 33 so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord your God is giving you.
16:21 You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole 34 near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself. 16:22 You must not erect a sacred pillar, 35 a thing the Lord your God detests. 17:1 You must not sacrifice to him 36 a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive 37 to the Lord your God. 17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages 38 that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God 39 and breaks his covenant 17:3 by serving other gods and worshiping them – the sun, 40 moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship. 41 17:4 When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing 42 is being done in Israel, 17:5 you must bring to your city gates 43 that man or woman who has done this wicked thing – that very man or woman – and you must stone that person to death. 44 17:6 At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 17:7 The witnesses 45 must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people 46 are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you.
17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, 47 legal claim, 48 or assault 49 – matters of controversy in your villages 50 – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 51 17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. 17:10 You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. 17:11 You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you. 17:12 The person who pays no attention 52 to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict – that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel. 17:13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again.
17:14 When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” 17:15 you must select without fail 53 a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens 54 you must appoint a king – you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. 55 17:16 Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, 56 for the Lord has said you must never again return that way. 17:17 Furthermore, he must not marry many 57 wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. 17:18 When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law 58 on a scroll 59 given to him by the Levitical priests. 17:19 It must be with him constantly and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out. 17:20 Then he will not exalt himself above his fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many years ruling over his kingdom 60 in Israel.
18:1 The Levitical priests 61 – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. 62 18:2 They 63 will have no inheritance in the midst of their fellow Israelites; 64 the Lord alone is their inheritance, just as he had told them. 18:3 This shall be the priests’ fair allotment 65 from the people who offer sacrifices, whether bull or sheep – they must give to the priest the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach. 18:4 You must give them the best of your 66 grain, new wine, and olive oil, as well as the best of your wool when you shear your flocks. 18:5 For the Lord your God has chosen them and their sons from all your tribes to stand 67 and serve in his name 68 permanently. 18:6 Suppose a Levite comes by his own free will 69 from one of your villages, from any part of Israel where he is living, 70 to the place the Lord chooses 18:7 and serves in the name of the Lord his God like his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 18:8 He must eat the same share they do, despite any profits he may gain from the sale of his family’s inheritance. 71
18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. 18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, 72 anyone who practices divination, 73 an omen reader, 74 a soothsayer, 75 a sorcerer, 76 18:11 one who casts spells, 77 one who conjures up spirits, 78 a practitioner of the occult, 79 or a necromancer. 80 18:12 Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord and because of these detestable things 81 the Lord your God is about to drive them out 82 from before you. 18:13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 18:14 Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things.
18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you – from your fellow Israelites; 83 you must listen to him. 18:16 This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the Lord your God: “Please do not make us hear the voice of the Lord our 84 God any more or see this great fire any more lest we die.” 18:17 The Lord then said to me, “What they have said is good. 18:18 I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command. 18:19 I will personally hold responsible 85 anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet 86 speaks in my name.
18:20 “But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized 87 him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. 18:21 Now if you say to yourselves, 88 ‘How can we tell that a message is not from the Lord?’ 89 – 18:22 whenever a prophet speaks in my 90 name and the prediction 91 is not fulfilled, 92 then I have 93 not spoken it; 94 the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.”
19:1 When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he 95 is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses, 19:2 you must set apart for yourselves three cities 96 in the middle of your land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession. 19:3 You shall build a roadway and divide into thirds the whole extent 97 of your land that the Lord your God is providing as your inheritance; anyone who kills another person should flee to the closest of these cities. 19:4 Now this is the law pertaining to one who flees there in order to live, 98 if he has accidentally killed another 99 without hating him at the time of the accident. 100 19:5 Suppose he goes with someone else 101 to the forest to cut wood and when he raises the ax 102 to cut the tree, the ax head flies loose 103 from the handle and strikes 104 his fellow worker 105 so hard that he dies. The person responsible 106 may then flee to one of these cities to save himself. 107 19:6 Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, 108 and kill him, 109 though this is not a capital case 110 since he did not hate him at the time of the accident. 19:7 Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities. 19:8 If the Lord your God enlarges your borders as he promised your ancestors 111 and gives you all the land he pledged to them, 112 19:9 and then you are careful to observe all these commandments 113 I am giving 114 you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities 115 to these three. 19:10 You must not shed innocent blood 116 in your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, for that would make you guilty. 117 19:11 However, suppose a person hates someone else 118 and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, 119 and then flees to one of these cities. 19:12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger 120 to die. 19:13 You must not pity him, but purge out the blood of the innocent 121 from Israel, so that it may go well with you.
19:14 You must not encroach on your neighbor’s property, 122 which will have been defined 123 in the inheritance you will obtain in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 124
19:15 A single witness may not testify 125 against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established 126 only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 19:16 If a false 127 witness testifies against another person and accuses him of a crime, 128 19:17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges 129 who will be in office in those days. 19:18 The judges will thoroughly investigate the matter, and if the witness should prove to be false and to have given false testimony against the accused, 130 19:19 you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge 131 evil from among you. 19:20 The rest of the people will hear and become afraid to keep doing such evil among you. 19:21 You must not show pity; the principle will be a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, and a foot for a foot. 132
[16:1] 1 sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.
[16:1] 2 tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:1] 3 tn Heb “the
[16:2] 4 tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[16:2] 5 tn Heb “the
[16:4] 6 tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.”
[16:4] 7 tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[16:6] 9 tn Heb “the Passover.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English.
[16:6] 10 tc The MT reading אֶל (’el, “unto”) before “the place” should, following Smr, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate, be omitted in favor of ב (bet; בַּמָּקוֹם, bammaqom), “in the place.”
[16:6] 11 tn Heb “the
[16:7] 12 tn The rules that governed the Passover meal are found in Exod 12:1-51, and Deut 16:1-8. The word translated “cook” (בָּשַׁל, bashal) here is translated “boil” in other places (e.g. Exod 23:19, 1 Sam 2:13-15). This would seem to contradict Exod 12:9 where the Israelites are told not to eat the Passover sacrifice raw or boiled. However, 2 Chr 35:13 recounts the celebration of a Passover feast during the reign of Josiah, and explains that the people “cooked (בָּשַׁל, bashal) the Passover sacrifices over the open fire.” The use of בָּשַׁל (bashal) with “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) suggests that the word could be used to speak of boiling or roasting.
[16:8] 13 tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).
[16:9] 14 tn Heb “the seven weeks.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English.
[16:10] 15 tn The Hebrew phrase חַג שָׁבֻעוֹת (khag shavu’ot) is otherwise known in the OT (Exod 23:16) as קָצִיר (qatsir, “harvest”) and in the NT as πεντηχοστή (penthcosth, “Pentecost”).
[16:10] 16 tn Heb “the sufficiency of the offering of your hand.”
[16:10] 17 tn Heb “the
[16:11] 18 tn Heb “the
[16:13] 20 tn The Hebrew phrase חַג הַסֻּכֹּת (khag hassukot, “festival of huts” or “festival of shelters”) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is now preferable to the traditional “tabernacles” (KJV, ASV, NIV) in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. Clearer is the English term “shelters” (so NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but this does not reflect the temporary nature of the living arrangement. This feast was a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt, suggesting that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.
[16:13] 21 tn Heb “when you gather in your threshing-floor and winepress.”
[16:14] 22 tn Heb “in your gates.”
[16:15] 23 tn Heb “the
[16:15] 24 tn Heb “the
[16:15] 25 tn Heb “in all the work of your hands” (so NASB, NIV); NAB, NRSV “in all your undertakings.”
[16:16] 26 tn Heb “the
[16:17] 27 tn Heb “a man must give according to the gift of his hand.” This has been translated as second person for stylistic reasons, in keeping with the second half of the verse, which is second person rather than third.
[16:18] 28 tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice.
[16:18] 30 tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”
[16:19] 31 tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.”
[16:19] 32 tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.”
[16:20] 33 tn Heb “justice, justice.” The repetition is emphatic; one might translate as “pure justice” or “unadulterated justice” (cf. NLT “true justice”).
[16:21] 34 tn Heb “an Asherah, any tree.”
[16:21] sn Sacred Asherah pole. This refers to a tree (or wooden pole) dedicated to the worship of Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. See also Deut 7:5.
[16:22] 35 sn Sacred pillar. This refers to the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.
[17:1] 36 tn Heb “to the
[17:1] 37 tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
[17:2] 39 tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the
[17:3] 40 tc The MT reads “and to the sun,” thus including the sun, the moon, and other heavenly spheres among the gods. However, Theodotion and Lucian read “or to the sun,” suggesting perhaps that the sun and the other heavenly bodies are not in the category of actual deities.
[17:3] 41 tn Heb “which I have not commanded you.” The words “to worship” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[17:4] 42 tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.
[17:5] 44 tn Heb “stone them with stones so that they die” (KJV similar); NCV “throw stones at that person until he dies.”
[17:7] 45 tn Heb “the hand of the witnesses.” This means the two or three witnesses are to throw the first stones (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[17:7] 46 tn Heb “the hand of all the people.”
[17:8] 47 tn Heb “between blood and blood.”
[17:8] 48 tn Heb “between claim and claim.”
[17:8] 49 tn Heb “between blow and blow.”
[17:8] 51 tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.
[17:12] 52 tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).
[17:15] 53 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”
[17:15] 54 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.
[17:15] 55 tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”
[17:16] 56 tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).
[17:17] 57 tn Heb “must not multiply” (cf. KJV, NASB); NLT “must not take many.”
[17:18] 58 tn Or “instruction.” The LXX reads here τὸ δευτερονόμιον τοῦτο (to deuteronomion touto, “this second law”). From this Greek phrase the present name of the book, “Deuteronomy” or “second law” (i.e., the second giving of the law), is derived. However, the MT’s expression מִשְׁנֶה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (mishneh hattorah hazzo’t) is better rendered “copy of this law.” Here the term תּוֹרָה (torah) probably refers only to the book of Deuteronomy and not to the whole Pentateuch.
[17:18] 59 tn The Hebrew term סֵפֶר (sefer) means a “writing” or “document” and could be translated “book” (so KJV, ASV, TEV). However, since “book” carries the connotation of a modern bound book with pages (an obvious anachronism) it is preferable to render the Hebrew term “scroll” here and elsewhere.
[17:20] 60 tc Heb “upon his kingship.” Smr supplies כִּסֵא (kise’, “throne”) so as to read “upon the throne of his kingship.” This overliteralizes what is a clearly understood figure of speech.
[18:1] 61 tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.
[18:1] 62 sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the
[18:2] 63 tn Heb “he” (and throughout the verse).
[18:2] 64 tn Heb “brothers,” but not referring to actual siblings. Cf. NASB “their countrymen”; NRSV “the other members of the community.”
[18:3] 65 tn Heb “judgment”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “the priest’s due.”
[18:4] 66 tn Heb “the firstfruits of your…” (so NIV).
[18:5] 67 tc Smr and some Greek texts add “before the
[18:5] 68 tn Heb “the name of the
[18:6] 69 tn Heb “according to all the desire of his soul.”
[18:6] 70 tn Or “sojourning.” The verb used here refers to living temporarily in a place, not settling down.
[18:8] 71 tn Presumably this would not refer to a land inheritance, since that was forbidden to the descendants of Levi (v. 1). More likely it referred to some family possessions (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, CEV) or other private property (cf. NLT “a private source of income”), or even support sent by relatives (cf. TEV “whatever his family sends him”).
[18:10] 72 tn Heb “who passes his son or his daughter through the fire.” The expression “pass…through the fire” is probably a euphemism for human sacrifice (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, NLT). See also Deut 12:31.
[18:10] 73 tn Heb “a diviner of divination” (קֹסֵם קְסָמִים, qosem qÿsamim). This was a means employed to determine the future or the outcome of events by observation of various omens and signs (cf. Num 22:7; 23:23; Josh 13:22; 1 Sam 6:2; 15:23; 28:8; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 3:945-51.
[18:10] 74 tn Heb “one who causes to appear” (מְעוֹנֵן, mÿ’onen). Such a practitioner was thought to be able to conjure up spirits or apparitions (cf. Lev 19:26; Judg 9:37; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 2:6; 57:3; Jer 27:9; Mic 5:11).
[18:10] 75 tn Heb “a seeker of omens” (מְנַחֵשׁ, mÿnakhesh). This is a subset of divination, one illustrated by the use of a “divining cup” in the story of Joseph (Gen 44:5).
[18:10] 76 tn Heb “a doer of sorcery” (מְכַשֵּׁף, mikhashef). This has to do with magic or the casting of spells in order to manipulate the gods or the powers of nature (cf. Lev 19:26-31; 2 Kgs 17:15b-17; 21:1-7; Isa 57:3, 5; etc.). See M. Horsnell, NIDOTTE 2:735-38.
[18:11] 77 tn Heb “a binder of binding” (חֹבֵר חָבֶר, khover khaver). The connotation is that of immobilizing (“binding”) someone or something by the use of magical words (cf. Ps 58:6; Isa 47:9, 12).
[18:11] 78 tn Heb “asker of a [dead] spirit” (שֹׁאֵל אוֹב, sho’el ’ov). This is a form of necromancy (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6; 1 Sam 28:8, 9; Isa 8:19; 19:3; 29:4).
[18:11] 79 tn Heb “a knowing [or “familiar”] [spirit]” (יִדְּעֹנִי, yiddÿ’oniy), i.e., one who is expert in mantic arts (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; 1 Sam 28:3, 9; 2 Kgs 21:6; Isa 8:19; 19:3).
[18:11] 80 tn Heb “a seeker of the dead.” This is much the same as “one who conjures up spirits” (cf. 1 Sam 28:6-7).
[18:12] 81 tn Heb “these abhorrent things.” The repetition is emphatic. For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, the same term used earlier in the verse has been translated “detestable” here.
[18:12] 82 tn The translation understands the Hebrew participial form as having an imminent future sense here.
[18:15] 83 tc The MT expands here on the usual formula by adding “from among you” (cf. Deut 17:15; 18:18; Smr; a number of Greek texts). The expansion seems to be for the purpose of emphasis, i.e., the prophet to come must be not just from Israel but an Israelite by blood.
[18:15] tn “from your brothers,” but not referring to actual siblings. Cf. NAB “from among your own kinsmen”; NASB “from your countrymen”; NRSV “from among your own people.” A similar phrase occurs in v. 17.
[18:16] 84 tn The Hebrew text uses the collective singular in this verse: “my God…lest I die.”
[18:19] 85 tn Heb “will seek from him”; NAB “I myself will make him answer for it”; NRSV “will hold accountable.”
[18:19] 86 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the prophet mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[18:20] 87 tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[18:21] 88 tn Heb “in your heart.”
[18:21] 89 tn Heb “know the word which the Lord has not spoken.” The issue here is not understanding the meaning of the message, but distinguishing a genuine prophetic word from a false one.
[18:22] 90 tn Heb “the
[18:22] 91 tn Heb “the word,” but a predictive word is in view here. Cf. NAB “his oracle.”
[18:22] 92 tn Heb “does not happen or come to pass.”
[18:22] 93 tn Heb “the
[18:22] 94 tn Heb “that is the word which the Lord has not spoken.”
[19:1] 95 tn Heb “the
[19:2] 96 sn These three cities, later designated by Joshua, were Kedesh of Galilee, Shechem, and Hebron (Josh 20:7-9).
[19:4] 98 tn Heb “and this is the word pertaining to the one who kills who flees there and lives.”
[19:4] 99 tn Heb “who strikes his neighbor without knowledge.”
[19:4] 100 tn Heb “yesterday and a third (day)” (likewise in v. 6). The point is that there was no animosity between the two parties at the time of the accident and therefore no motive for the killing. Cf. NAB “had previously borne no malice”; NRSV “had not been at enmity before.”
[19:5] 101 tn Heb “his neighbor” (so NAB, NIV); NASB “his friend.”
[19:5] 102 tn Heb “and he raises his hand with the iron.”
[19:5] 103 tn Heb “the iron slips off.”
[19:5] 105 tn Heb “his neighbor.”
[19:5] 106 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the person responsible for his friend’s death) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[19:6] 108 tn Heb “and overtake him, for the road is long.”
[19:6] 109 tn Heb “smite with respect to life,” that is, fatally.
[19:6] 110 tn Heb “no judgment of death.”
[19:8] 112 tn Heb “he said to give to your ancestors.” The pronoun has been used in the translation instead for stylistic reasons.
[19:9] 113 tn Heb “all this commandment.” This refers here to the entire covenant agreement of the Book of Deuteronomy as encapsulated in the Shema (Deut 6:4-5).
[19:9] 114 tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today.”
[19:9] 115 sn You will add three more cities. Since these are alluded to nowhere else and thus were probably never added, this must be a provision for other cities of refuge should they be needed (cf. v. 8). See P. C. Craigie, Deuteronomy (NICOT), 267.
[19:10] 116 tn Heb “innocent blood must not be shed.” The Hebrew phrase דָּם נָקִי (dam naqiy) means the blood of a person to whom no culpability or responsibility adheres because what he did was without malice aforethought (HALOT 224 s.v דָּם 4.b).
[19:10] 117 tn Heb “and blood will be upon you” (cf. KJV, ASV); NRSV “thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.”
[19:11] 118 tn Heb “his neighbor.”
[19:11] 119 tn Heb “rises against him and strikes him fatally.”
[19:12] 120 tn The גֹאֵל הַדָּם (go’el haddam, “avenger of blood”) would ordinarily be a member of the victim’s family who, after due process of law, was invited to initiate the process of execution (cf. Num 35:16-28). See R. Hubbard, NIDOTTE 1:789-94.
[19:13] 121 sn Purge out the blood of the innocent. Because of the corporate nature of Israel’s community life, the whole community shared in the guilt of unavenged murder unless and until vengeance occurred. Only this would restore spiritual and moral equilibrium (Num 35:33).
[19:14] 122 tn Heb “border.” Cf. NRSV “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker.”
[19:14] 123 tn Heb “which they set off from the beginning.”
[19:14] 124 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.” This phrase has been left untranslated to avoid redundancy.
[19:15] 125 tn Heb “rise up” (likewise in v. 16).
[19:15] 126 tn Heb “may stand.”
[19:16] 127 tn Heb “violent” (חָמָס, khamas). This is a witness whose motivation from the beginning is to do harm to the accused and who, therefore, resorts to calumny and deceit. See I. Swart and C. VanDam, NIDOTTE 2:177-80.
[19:16] 128 tn Or “rebellion.” Rebellion against God’s law is in view (cf. NAB “of a defection from the law”).
[19:17] 129 tn The appositional construction (“before the
[19:18] 130 tn Heb “his brother” (also in the following verse).
[19:19] 131 tn Heb “you will burn out” (בִּעַרְתָּ, bi’arta). Like a cancer, unavenged sin would infect the whole community. It must, therefore, be excised by the purging out of its perpetrators who, presumably, remained unrepentant (cf. Deut 13:6; 17:7, 12; 21:21; 22:21-22, 24; 24:7).
[19:21] 132 sn This kind of justice is commonly called lex talionis or “measure for measure” (cf. Exod 21:23-25; Lev 24:19-20). It is likely that it is the principle that is important and not always a strict application. That is, the punishment should fit the crime and it may do so by the payment of fines or other suitable and equitable compensation (cf. Exod 22:21; Num 35:31). See T. S. Frymer-Kensky, “Tit for Tat: The Principle of Equal Retribution in Near Eastern and Biblical Law,” BA 43 (1980): 230-34.
