Joshua 20:5

Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrator addresses the Israelites as they prepare to occupy Canaan, outlining the procedural rules that apply after a fugitive has been granted shelter in a refuge city. The directive follows the elders' intake process and precedes the stipulations for trial and eventual release.

The words — The phrase גּוֹאֵל הַדָּם (go'el ha-dam) literally means "avenger of blood," identifying the kin-relative authorized to execute retribution. The term אַחֲרָיו (acharav) translates to "after him," denoting the pursuer's active tracking of the fugitive.

The thread — This legal boundary reappears in Numbers 35:12 and 35:25, which designate the cities as refuges and command the assembly to shield the manslayer from the avenger's hand. The same distinction between accidental killing and premeditated homicide structures the broader Mosaic homicide code.

Why it lands — The text requires readers to verify the absence of prior malice before allowing communal protection to override private vengeance. It mandates that judicial oversight, not immediate retribution, determines the fate of the accused.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.

Cross-references

Numbers 35:12 You are to have these cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands trial before the assembly.
Numbers 35:25 The assembly is to protect the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.