6. Laws arising from the sixth commandment 19:1-22:8The sixth commandment is, "You shall not murder" (Deuteronomy 5:17). The representative laws in this chapter all protected people who were vulnerable for one reason or another. Civil law is in view. read more
Manslaughter 19:1-13God revealed the law concerning how the Israelites were to deal with manslayers earlier (cf. Numbers 35:9-34). In Israel this kind of crime was a domestic rather than a law court matter; families were to deal with it rather than the courts. The instructions given here urge application of this law and explain the need for three more cities of refuge west of the Jordan River. Moses had already designated three towns on the east side of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 4:41-43). The... read more
The Cities of Refuge. Punishment of Deceit and False Witness1-13. On the Cities of Refuge see Numbers 35:9-34 and notes there. 2. In the midst of thy land] Those on the E. side of the Jordan have already been assigned: see on Deuteronomy 4:41-43. 3. Prepare thee a way] It was the duty of the Sanhedrim, or chief council of the Jews, to maintain the roads to these cities in good repair, and to have finger-posts where necessary with the words ’Refuge, Refuge’ inscribed upon them, so as to afford... read more
Deuteronomy 19:1-13. THE CITIES OF REFUGE.(See for more on this subject, Numbers 35:9, &c.; Joshua 20:0) (1) When the Lord thy God hath cut off the nations.—We find that the three cities of refuge on the west of Jordan were appointed by Joshua after the conquest (Joshua 20:0). The first three on the east of Jordan, namely, Bezer, Ramoth-Gilead, and Golan, had already been selected by Moses (Deuteronomy 4:41, &c), but Joshua assigned them to their Levitical possessors.(3) Thou shalt... read more
THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF ISRAELITE LIFEIT has often and justly been said that the life of Israel is so entirely founded on the grace and favor of God that no distinction is made between the secular and the religious laws. Whatever their origin may have been, whether they had been part of the tribal constitution before Moses’ day or not, they were all regarded as Divinely given. They had been accepted as fit building stones for the great edifice of that national life in which God was to reveal... read more
15. Laws for Israel in the Land CHAPTER 19 1. Concerning the cities of refuge (Deuteronomy 19:1-13 ) 2. Removing a landmark (Deuteronomy 19:14 ) 3. The punishment of a false witness (Deuteronomy 19:15-21 ) Here again we have not a repetition of the previous law concerning the cities of refuge (Numbers 35:9-34 ), but an earnest admonition to be obedient to those laws. The three cities on the east of Jordan were named in chapter 4. Here the other three in the midst of the land are in... read more
CITIES OF REFUGE (vs.1-13) We have seen in Deuteronomy 4:41-43 that Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan as cities of refuge. Now Moses gives instructions to Israel that, when God should cut off the nations of the land and Israel was established there, they should separate three cities on that side of Jordan, each in a distinct area, as cities of refuge (vs.1-2). They were to divide the land into three parts on that side of Jordan, with roads that would be helpful in denoting the... read more
FURTHER CONDITIONS OF BLESSING THE JUDGE AND THE KING (Deuteronomy 17:0 ) In the preceding chapter, Deuteronomy 16:18 , provision was made for judges and other officers of the civil law. They were to hold court in the gates of the cities, the place of ingress and egress, for the cities were walled. This idea of judges sitting in the gates still lingers in the Orient and gives significance to the Mohammedan terms Ottoman Porte and Sublime Porte. Review the preceding chapter and observe the... read more
Divinely-provided Refuge Deuteronomy 19:0 When a blessing has been conferred a duty is to follow. This would seem to be the method of the divine kingdom. That kingdom does not consist wholly of blessing, sentiment, ease, and honour; the kingdom of God is a kingdom of duty and discipline, calling upon its possessors to be faithful and gracious, to obey certain commandments, and to hold the kingdom feudally, not as of right, but as from the Lord, to whom an account must be rendered. Whenever the... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 19:2
2. Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land—Goelism, or the duty of the nearest kinsmen to avenge the death of a slaughtered relative, being the customary law of that age (as it still is among the Arabs and other people of the East), Moses incorporated it in an improved form with his legislative code. For the protection of the unintentional homicide, he provided certain cities of refuge—three had been destined for this purpose on the east of Jordan (Deuteronomy 4:41;... read more