Josué 20

Josué 20

Guzik - The principle for capital punishment goes back to Genesis 9:6: Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man. The state’s right to use the sword of execution is also stated in the New Testament (Romans 13:3–4).i. God said also that unpunished murderers defiled the land: Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death … So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel. (Numbers 35:31, 35:33–34). How long will our nation be polluted by the stain of unpunished murders? Not too many years ago, over one year in Los Angeles County, they averaged more than five murders a day. The blood of the slain cries out before God. (Joshua 20 Commentary) Trent - “The Christian community must take seriously its responsibility to examine penal institutions and practices and seek to find the ways God would lead us to reform such practices. The innocent man should not suffer unduly and the guilty man should be given sufficient protection and hope for new opportunities as well as sufficient punishment.”(Joshua 13-24) Manslayer (murder)(07523) ratsach means to murder or slay, all 47 uses (in 40v and 18 refer to "manslayer") speaking of one human being killing another and never of a person killing an animal. Ratsach is never employed in contexts of war, capital punishment, or self-defense. The taking of a human life is the primary concept behind this word. The first use is in the commandment "Thou shalt not kill." (Ex 20:13) Ratsach refers to premeditated murder (Deut. 5:17; 1 Kgs. 21:19; Jer. 7:9), accidental killing (Nu. 35:11; Josh. 20:3), an act of revenge (Nu 35:27) and death from animal attack (Pr. 22:13). "Provocatively, Hosea refers to the lewdness of the priests that led people astray as being equal to murder (Hos. 6:9)." (Old Testament Word Study) Ratsach - 40x - killed(1), kills the manslayer(1), manslayer(18), murder(7), murdered(2), murderer(12), murderer shall be put(1), murderers(1), murders(1), put to death(1), slew(1). mExod. 20:13; Num. 35:6; Num. 35:11; Num. 35:12; Num. 35:16; Num. 35:17; Num. 35:18; Num. 35:19; Num. 35:21; Num. 35:25; Num. 35:26; Num. 35:27; Num. 35:28; Num. 35:30; Num. 35:31; Deut. 4:42; Deut. 5:17; Deut. 19:3; Deut. 19:4; Deut. 19:6; Deut. 22:26; Jos. 20:3; Jos. 20:5; Jos. 20:6; Jos. 21:13; Jos. 21:21; Jos. 21:27; Jos. 21:32; Jos. 21:38; Jdg. 20:4; 1 Ki. 21:19; 2 Ki. 6:32; Job 24:14; Ps. 62:3; Ps. 94:6; Prov. 22:13; Isa. 1:21; Jer. 7:9; Hos. 4:2; Hos. 6:9 Avenger (01350) goel/ga'al Ga'al = Blood Avenger in Dt 19:6, which describes the individual who had the duty to execute the murderer of his relative. Ga'al is used with this same sense in Nu 35:19, 21, 24, 27 35:12 (see Commentary). Apparently the idea is that the next of kin must effect the payment of life for life. As a house is repurchased or a slave redeemed by payment, so the lost life of the relative must be paid for by the equivalent life of the murderer. The kinsman is the avenger of blood. This system of execution must be distinguished from blood feuds for the blood avenger was a guiltless executioner and not to be murdered in turn. Goel/ga'al used to refer to an avenger of blood 12 times in OT - Num 35:12 Num 35:19 Num 35:21 Num 35:24 Num 35:25 Num 35:27 Deu 19:6 Deu 19:12 Josh 20:3 Josh 20:5 Josh 20:9 2Sa 14:11 GEORGE BUSH Notes Critical and Practical on the Book of Joshua - Chapter 20 The slayer that killeth any person. Heb. מכה נפש makkeh nëphesh, that smiteth (i. e. fatally) any soul. On this frequent sense of the word ‘soul,’ see Note on Gen. 12:5. Unawares and unwittingly. Heb. בשגגה bishâagâh, through ignorance, error, and mistake and without knowledge. The conditions are stated with the utmost explicitness, in words amounting almost to repetition, as is evidently proper where a matter of so much consequence as the life of a human being is concerned. In cases of wilful murder, no place whatever could afford protection. A man might be taken even from the temple, or the horns of the altar. Ex 21:14; 1 Kings 2:31, 34. C H