Exodus 21:13 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 21:12-21

Here is, I. A law concerning murder. He had lately said, Thou shalt not kill; here he provides, 1. For the punishing of wilful murder (Exod. 21:12): He that smiteth a man, whether upon a sudden passion or in malice prepense, so that he die, the government must take care that the murderer be put to death, according to that ancient law (Gen. 9:6), Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. God, who by his providence gives and maintains life, thus by his law protects it; so that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:13

And if a man lie not in wait ,.... For the life of another to take it away; or does not do it willingly, as the Septuagint version, does not seek after it, nor design it: but God delivers him into his hand ; it being suffered and ordered by the providence of God, without whose knowledge and will nothing comes to pass, even what may seem to be a contingent thing, or matter of chance, to us; or it is so brought about in providence, that one man falls into the hands of another, and his life... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 21:13

I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee - From the earliest times the nearest akin had a right to revenge the murder of his relation, and as this right was universally acknowledged, no law was ever made on the subject; but as this might be abused, and a person who had killed another accidentally, having had no previous malice against him, might be put to death by the avenger of blood, as the nearest kinsman was termed, therefore God provided the cities of refuge to which the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:2-35

The slave laws. Slave laws belong to all communities, and not to some only, slavery being really a universal and not a partial institution. In the most civilised communities of modern Europe, there are two large classes of slaves—lunatics and criminals. The law openly condemns these last to penal servitude, which may be for life; and this "servitude," as Lord Chief Justice Coleridge has repeatedly pointed out, is simply a form of slavery. Ancient communities differed from modern— 1 .... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:12-14

Homicide . Exodus 21:12 reiterates the Sixth Commandment, and adds to it a temporal penalty—"he shall surely be put to death." The substance of this law had already been given to Noah in the words, "Whoso sheddeth man' s blood, by man shall his blood be shed " ( Genesis 9:6 ). Real murder, with deliberate intent, was under no circumstances to be pardoned. The murderer was even to be torn from the altar, if he took refuge there, and relentlessly punished ( Exodus 21:14 ). See the case... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:12-17

Capital offences. As we look through the penalties specified for wrong-doing in chaps, 21; 22; we notice that they are divisible into two great classes. Some offences are punished by death, and others by some sort of compensation for the injury done. The graduated terms of imprisonment with which we are familiar, were not of course possible to the Israelites, and if possible, perhaps would not have seemed desirable. We notice that in this chapter five capital offences are specified; there... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:12-18

Murder and related capital offences. It is characteristic of the law of Moses that its first care, in the practical ordering of the Hebrew theocracy, is for the rights of the slave. These are dealt with in the opening paragraphs. The next laws relate to murder, to man-stealing, and to smiting and cursing of parents. I. MURDER ( Exodus 21:12-15 ). The same spirit of justice which attaches severe penalties to proved crimes, leads to the drawing of a sound line of distinction between... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:13

God deliver him into his hand . This does not seem to mean more than, "if he chance upon him without seeking him." God' s providence does in fact bring about the meetings which men call accidental. I will appoint thee a place . When we first hear of the actual appointment, the number of the places was six—three on either side of Jordan. (See Joshua 20:7 , Joshua 20:8 ; and compare Numbers 35:10-15 , and Deuteronomy 19:2 .) Thus there was always a city of refuge at a reasonable... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 21:13-14

There was no place of safety for the guilty murderer, not even the altar of Yahweh. Thus all superstitious notions connected with the right of sanctuary were excluded. Adonijah and Joab 1 Kings 1:50; 1 Kings 2:28 appear to have vainly trusted that the common feeling would protect them, if they took hold of the horns of the altar on which atonement with blood was made Leviticus 4:7. But for one who killed a man “at unawares,” that is, without intending to do it, the law afterward appointed... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 21:12-13

Exodus 21:12-13. He that smiteth a man Knowingly and wilfully, as appears from the next verse; shall be surely put to death Neither the friends of the person slain nor the magistrate shall give him a pardon, or accept a ransom for him, Numbers 35:31. If God deliver him into his hand As the Scriptures teach us to acknowledge God in every thing that falls out, so when a man is killed by what we call accident, without any intention of the agent, he is said to have been delivered into his... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 21:12-21

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:13

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 21:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:2-35

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:12-14

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:12-17

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:12-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:13

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 21:13-14

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 21:12-13

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