Deuteronomy Chapter 19

At a Glance

  • DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 19.
  • Deuteronomy 19 centers on justice, cities of refuge, and the sanctity of life within the land that God is about to give Israel.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Deuteronomy is a retelling of the Mosaic covenant’s core terms to a generation poised to enter Canaan.
  • - Sanctity of life and the protection of the vulnerable: ensuring that accidental deaths are handled with care rather than vengeance.

DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 19

Chapter Overview

Deuteronomy 19 centers on justice, cities of refuge, and the sanctity of life within the land that God is about to give Israel. The chapter begins by instructing Israel to set aside three cities in the middle of the land for refuge for the killer who acts unintentionally. The goal is to prevent revenge-driven bloodshed and ensure fair handling of accidental deaths. The channels for mercy and due process are established: the elders must designate the cities, prepare a way to reach them, and ensure that the slayer can flee and live (verses 1–7). The text emphasizes the motive of preserving life and preventing the escalation of vengeance, while also outlining the conditions of the refuge and the responsibilities of the community to protect these travelers.

The chapter then expands the covenantal framework: if Israel increases in size and remains faithful to Yahweh’s commandments, additional cities can be added, underscoring the virtue of obedience in producing social safety nets (verses 8–10). The justice system is further detailed with stipulations about blood guilt, peacemaking, and the handling of false accusations. The “blood guilt” motif recurs, showing that life is sacred and that the community must avoid unnecessary shedding of innocent blood. The chapter moves toward a broader ethical horizon by addressing the consequences for murder, hate, and the chilling reality of revenge. The overall purpose is to balance justice with mercy, to protect life, and to structure a society where legal processes prevent the violence that often erupts in open terrain or contested land.

Historical & Literary Context

Deuteronomy is a retelling of the Mosaic covenant’s core terms to a generation poised to enter Canaan. The concept of cities of refuge appears elsewhere in Israel’s legal tradition and reflects a broader ancient Near Eastern concern for maintaining social order and recourse against blood feud. The material in Deuteronomy 19 fits the book’s overarching aim of covenantal fidelity: the people are preparing for settled life and must govern with justice, compassion, and restraint. The genre combines law with hortatory discourse, using concrete case law to illustrate divine principles of life, property, and community welfare. In the larger narrative, this chapter sits after chapters on leadership, worship, and religious purity, reinforcing a practical, peaceful governance that supports a just society under God. The theme of restraint from vengeance resonates with other ancient wisdom traditions, yet it is uniquely anchored in the covenantal relationship with Yahweh and the land grant that invites responsible stewardship of life.

Key Themes

- Sanctity of life and the protection of the vulnerable: ensuring that accidental deaths are handled with care rather than vengeance.

- Restorative justice and due process: cities of refuge illustrate a fair method for dealing with homicide that avoids mob justice.

- Community responsibility: elders and judges have a central role in upholding justice and mercy.

- Obedience shaping social order: the possibility of adding more cities if Israel remains faithful emphasizes the link between obedience and social well-being.

- Mercy tempered by accountability: while mercy is sought, there is still a requirement to identify and punish true violators, balancing compassion and justice.

Modern Application

- Legal systems and due process: modern readers can reflect on how societies structure crimes, trials, and appeals to avoid cycles of revenge, drawing on the principle of protecting life and ensuring fair treatment.

- Restorative justice concepts: even today, the idea of refuge and forgiveness can inform contemporary debates about restorative practices, transitional justice, and reconciliation.

- Community involvement in justice: the role of local elders and judges can inspire participatory, community-based approaches to conflict resolution and public safety.

- Preventing cycles of vengeance: a social ethic of measured response to violence resonates in policies for neighborhood safety, anti-violence programs, and trauma-informed care.

- Responsibility of leadership: leaders across institutions are called to steward justice with mercy, acknowledging that faithful obedience to God’s standards yields healthier communities.

Cross-References (3–5)

- Exodus 21:12–14 (death by misadventure in ancient law)

- Numbers 35:9–34 (cities of refuge in the wilderness period)

- Proverbs 22:28 (wise leadership and just order)

- Romans 12:17–21 (do not repay evil for evil; live at peace)

Recommended Personas

- Moses (leadership in law and order; establishing procedural justice)

- Jesus (fulfillment of mercy and justice; radicalizes turning the other cheek’s social application)

- Deborah or Samuel (prophets and judges who weigh justice in Israel)

Chapter Text

1

When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;

2

Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

3

Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.

4

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

5

As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:

6

Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.

7

Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

8

And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

9

If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:

10

That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

11

But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:

12

Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

13

Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

14

Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.

15

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

16

If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;

17

Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;

18

And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

19

Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

20

And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.

21

And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

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