Bible Strands
Numbers 35:23
or without looking drops a heavy stone that kills him, but he was not an enemy and did not intend to harm him,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite community in the plains of Moab, establishing legal boundaries for cities of refuge. He delineates the precise moment when a fatal accident transitions from unintentional manslaughter to a matter requiring communal judgment rather than immediate blood vengeance.
The words — The Hebrew אֶ֜בֶן ('E.ven) specifies a heavy stone, while בְּ/לֹ֣א רְא֔וֹת (be./Lo' re.'ot) literally translates to "without seeing [him]," marking the absence of visual awareness at the moment of impact.
The thread — This accidental homicide scenario is directly bounded by the preceding clause on sudden pushing or object-throwing (Numbers 35:22) and immediately precedes the command for the congregation to adjudicate the case (Numbers 35:24). The legal framework for distinguishing intent in fatal encounters is reiterated in the Deuteronomic code (Deuteronomy 19:4-5).
Why it lands — The passage demands a reader to separate observable action from internal motive, recognizing that legal liability hinges on proven hostility rather than mere physical causation. It requires the community to suspend automatic retaliation until evidence of intent is formally examined.
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
Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: