Bible Strands
Numbers 35:20
Likewise, if anyone maliciously pushes another or intentionally throws an object at him and kills him,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites and Levitical priests while establishing the boundaries and legal functions of the cities of refuge. The verse occurs within a homicide statute that distinguishes intentional killing from accidental manslaughter.
The words — The Hebrew בְּשִׂנְאָה (be-sin'ah) translates literally to "in hatred," and בִּצְדִיָּה (bi-tzdiyah) means "with lying in wait" or "with ambush." These terms specify the mental state and tactical method that convert a fatal act into deliberate murder.
The thread — The same legal threshold for premeditated homicide runs through Exodus 21:14 and Deuteronomy 19:11, where declared hostility or concealed ambush triggers the death penalty. Genesis 4:8 appears in the cross-reference list but describes a spontaneous field attack without employing the formal legal markers of ambush or sustained hostility used in the other texts.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to evaluate the method and documented intent behind a killing rather than judging solely by the result. It establishes that legal responsibility for murder depends on verifiable malice or premeditation, not on the mere fact of death.
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
But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die;
Cross-references
- Exodus 21:14 But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
- Deuteronomy 19:11 If, however, a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait, attacks him and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
- Genesis 4:8 Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
- 2 Samuel 3:27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
- 2 Samuel 20:10 Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.
- Genesis 4:5 but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell.
- 1 Samuel 18:10 The next day a spirit of distress sent from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied inside the house while David played the harp as usual. Now Saul was holding a spear,
- 1 Samuel 18:25 Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king desires no other dowry but a hundred Philistine foreskins as revenge on his enemies.’” But Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 19:9 But as Saul was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, a spirit of distress from the LORD came upon him. While David was playing the harp,
- 1 Samuel 20:1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? How have I sinned against your father, that he wants to take my life?”