Deuteronomy19

Deuteronomy 19 establishes laws for justice in the promised land, primarily concerning cities of refuge. These cities are designated to protect individuals who accidentally kill their neighbour from the avenger of blood, while ensuring that premeditated murderers face execution. The chapter also prohibits moving ancient property landmarks and mandates that legal matters be established by two or three witnesses. Furthermore, it prescribes that false witnesses receive the same penalty they intended for the accused, upholding the principle of proportionate justice.

The Law of Cities of Refuge

1
"When ADONAI your God cuts off the nations whose land ADONAI your God is giving you, and you take their place and settle in their cities and houses, ​
2
you are to set aside three cities for yourselves in your land that ADONAI your God is giving you to possess. ​
3
Divide the territory of your land, which ADONAI your God is having you inherit, into three parts; and prepare the roads, so that any killer can flee to these cities. ​
4
The killer who will live if he flees there is someone who has killed his fellow member of the community by mistake, who did not hate him in the past.
5
An example would be if a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood and takes a stroke with the axe to fell a tree, but the head of the axe flies off the handle, hits his neighbor and kills him. Then he is to flee to one of these cities and live there. ​
6
Otherwise the next-of-kin avenger, in the heat of his anger, may pursue the killer, overtake him because the distance [to the city of refuge] is long, and strike him dead - even though he didn't deserve to die, inasmuch as he hadn't hated him in the past. ​
7
This is why I am ordering you to set aside for yourselves three cities.
8
"If ADONAI your God expands your territory, as he swore to your ancestors that he would, and gives you all the land he promised to give to your ancestors - ​
9
provided you keep and observe all these mitzvot I am giving you today, loving ADONAI your God and always following his ways - then you are to add three more cities for yourselves, besides these three; ​
10
so that innocent blood will not be shed in the land ADONAI your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus blood guilt be on you. ​
11
"However, if someone hates his fellow member of the community, lies in wait for him, attacks him, strikes him a death blow, and then flees into one of these cities;
12
then the leaders of his own town are to send and bring him back from there and hand him over to the next-of-kin avenger, to be put to death.
13
You are not to pity him. Rather, you must put an end to the shedding of innocent blood in Isra'el. Then things will go well with you. ​

Protecting Property Boundaries

14
"You are not to move your neighbor's boundary marker from the place where people put it long ago, in the inheritance soon to be yours in the land ADONAI your God is giving you to possess. ​

Judicial Fairness and Witnesses

15
"One witness alone will not be sufficient to convict a person of any offense or sin of any kind; the matter will be established only if there are two or three witnesses testifying against him. ​
16
"If a malicious witness comes forward and gives false testimony against someone,
17
then both the men involved in the controversy are to stand before ADONAI, before the cohanim and the judges in office at the time. ​
18
The judges are to investigate carefully. If they find that the witness is lying and has given false testimony against his brother, ​
19
you are to do to him what he intended to do to his brother. In this way, you will put an end to such wickedness among you. ​
20
Those who remain will hear about it, be afraid and no longer commit such wickedness among you.
21
Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. ​

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 19

Verse 1

This law is contingent upon Israel successfully conquering and settling the land. The establishment of these cities is foundational to maintaining justice and holiness in the new territory.

Verse 2

Moses had previously established three Cities of Refuge east of the Jordan (Deut. 4:41-43). The three cities referenced here were to be chosen west of the Jordan, making a total of six (Joshua 20:7).

Verse 3

The command to 'prepare thee a way' suggests that the roads leading to the Cities of Refuge were to be maintained and clearly marked, ensuring the fleeing person could reach safety quickly before the avenger overtook them.

Verse 5

This detailed hypothetical scenario (the slipping axe head) emphasizes the crucial legal distinction between premeditated murder and accidental death (manslaughter).

Verse 6

The 'avenger of the blood' (Hebrew: *go’el haddam*) was typically the closest male relative of the deceased, tasked with ensuring retribution. The cities protected the innocent from this culturally mandated familial vengeance.

Verse 8

The provision to add three more cities demonstrates God’s commitment to ensuring that the availability of justice keeps pace with the nation’s territorial expansion.

Verse 9

This provision for expanded justice is conditional upon Israel’s faithful obedience to the covenant and commandments of God.

Verse 10

Shedding innocent blood pollutes the land and brings guilt upon the community. The refuge system is a means of cleansing the land and upholding the sanctity of human life.

Verse 13

The mandate not to pity the murderer underscores that justice must be applied firmly in capital cases to remove evil from the community and ensure national well-being.

Verse 14

Removing a neighbor’s landmark (property marker) was a serious offense, equivalent to theft, as it illegally reduced a family’s divinely granted inheritance. This law protects the stability of land tenure.

Verse 15

The requirement of two or three witnesses prevents conviction based on unreliable testimony or personal animosity, establishing a bedrock principle of fairness in biblical and subsequent legal systems.

Verse 17

To stand 'before the LORD' means to appear before the designated earthly representatives of God's authority (the priests and judges), signifying that the court was conducting divine justice.

Verse 18

The judges were required to make 'diligent inquisition' (thorough investigation) to ensure that the verdict was based on truth rather than mere accusation.

Verse 19

The punishment for a false witness was to suffer the penalty intended for the accused. This severe application of *lex talionis* served as a powerful deterrent against perjury and protected the judicial integrity.

Verse 21

This principle ('life for life, eye for eye') is not a mandate for personal vengeance, but a limiting legal standard (*lex talionis*) ensuring that judicial punishment is proportionate—no more and no less than the offense committed.

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