Monday, November 9, 2009

NUMBERS: Chapter 35

Chapter 35
Summary:God speaks to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River, near Jericho. He tells Moses to command the people of Israel to give some cities and suburbs to the Levites for their inheritance. The cities are to be for their homes, and the suburbs are for their goods and livestock. The suburbs are to extend one thousand cubits (approximately 1,500 feet) outwards and around from the city walls. The city is to be measured at two thousand cubits on each side (north, south, east, and west), with the city lying in the center.

Among the cities that are to be given to the Levites, there are to be six cities for refuge - where a person who has accidentally killed another person may flee to. In addition to these six cities, another forty two are to be given to the Levites as well, for a total of 48 cities along with suburbs for each. These cities are to be given to the Levites by the people of Israel; larger tribes are to give several cities, while smaller tribes are to give fewer.

God continues on, telling Moses that when the people arrive in the "promised land" there are to designate cities to become "cities of refuge" for anyone to flee to who has accidentally killed another person. They are to be cities of refuge for the accused against any avengers, so that the accused is not killed until he stands before the congregation in judgment. Three of these "cities of refuge" are to be located outside of the land of Canaan, east of the Jordan River, while three are to remain within the land of Canaan. These six cities are to be a refuge for both the Israelites as well as the foreigners and visitors to the land.

If a person has been struck and killed by an instrument made of iron, then the person who struck him is to be automatically considered a murderer and is to be put to death. If a person has been struck and killed by a thrown stone, then the person who struck him is to be automatically considered a murderer and is to be put to death. If a person has been struck and killed by a "hand weapon" made of wood, then the person who struck him is to be automatically considered a murderer and is to be put to death.

The victim's next of kin, a "revenger of blood", shall slay the "murderer" when he meets him.

If a person attacks another out of hatred, thrusting something at him, ambushing him, or striking him with his hand that he should die, the person that caused the death shall be put to death himself, for he is a murderer. The "revenger of blood" shall slay the murderer when he meets him.

But if the person was struck without enmity, without intending to hit anyone, or a stone being thrown where the person was not seen, nor was an enemy, nor was any harm intended, then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the "revenger of blood".

If the slayer is deemed innocent by the congregation, then the slayer is to remain within the city of refuge where he will live until the death of the high priest.

However, if the slayer leaves the "city of refuge" at any time and is found and killed by the "revenger of blood" outside of the "city of refuge", then the "revenger of blood" shall not be considered guilty of murder - because the slayer should have remained within the "city of refuge" until the death of the high priest. After the death of the high priest however, the slayer is to return to his homeland.

These statutes are to be permanent throughout generations in the land.

Whomever kills another person is a murderer and shall be put to death - so long as there are witnesses. No one is to be put to death if there is only one witness to testify against them.

No ransom or reward is to be taken to spare the life of a murderer, he is to be put to death. Likewise, no ransom or reward is to be taken to allow a slayer who has fled to a "city of refuge" to be allowed return to his home prior to the death of the high priest.

The land is not to be polluted with murder, for murder pollutes the land. The land cannot be "cleansed" of murder except by the execution of the murderer.

God says the "promised land" is not to be defiled in this way, because this is the land God dwells in.
Thoughts:Since the Levites aren't allowed to "inherit" any land in the "promised land" like the rest of the tribes of Israel, God declares that the other tribes will have to give some of their cities to them - 48 cities to be exact. 42 of these cities, as well as 1,000 cubits of surrounding land are to be used for the Levites homes, goods, and livestock, while the other six are to be used as "cities of refuge".

These "cities of refuge" are basically to be used as an asylum for people who are accused of murder to flee from the victim's family seeking revenge. Three of these cities are to be located outside of the city of Canaan, and three are to be located within the city; and they are to be used for both the people of Israel, as well as any foreigner or visitor to the land suspected of murder.

God then goes over some broad generalizations about what types of deaths are to be automatically considered "murder" - being struck and killed by an instrument made of either iron or wood, or being hit by a thrown stone. In these cases it's okay to presume the murderer's guilt, and they are to be executed by the "revenger of blood" - the victim's next of kin - upon the two meeting.

When we read such ridiculously flawed biblical laws, it becomes blatantly obvious that there is simply no way an all-wise, all-knowing, super deity came up with these very poor laws. Either we have to concede that these laws were made by primitive men, or that God is pretty dumb. The apologist spin is usually that "we have to understand these laws in the context of the times", but even giving concession to the primitive nature of the times, these are still very bad laws.

God states that whomever kills another person is a murderer, so long as there is a witness to testify against him. So by this logic, if one of your relatives was killed by an accident, and you or someone else provided false testimony to accuse them of murder, you could basically kill innocent people. A witness could give false testimony unintentionally even with good intentions, as witnesses can be severely flawed in determining what they actually saw versus what they think they saw - just read some of the reports of eye witnesses to the Kennedy assassination, where there are still people who insist they heard gunshots from multiple locations.

Worse still, this law continues and says that if the accused leaves his sanctuary at the "city of refuge" and is spotted by his "revenger of blood", then it's okay for the "revenger" to kill him because he's supposed to be hiding in the asylum.

God states that someone who has accidentally killed another has to stay in this "city of refuge" until the high priest has died, and then the accused has to return to his home - where presumably, it might be okay for his "revenger" to finally murder him.

Again, these have got to be the worst laws regarding "murder" and "manslaughter" I have ever heard - even a class of first graders could come up with better laws than these.

God concludes the chapter stating his motivation for favoring capital punishment. God states that the "promised land" is not to be polluted with murder, simply because murder "pollutes the land", and God chooses to live amongst the people and refuses to live in a "polluted land". The only way to "clean" the land of murder is to execute the murderer. However, with laws these terrible, probably a lot of innocent people went to their deaths on flimsy evidence and witnesses, thereby making a lot of "revengers of blood" unpunished murderers in their own respect.

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