man´slā - ẽr ( מרצּח , meraccēaḥ , from רצח , rācacḥ ( Numbers 35:6 , Numbers 35:12 ); ἀνδροφόνος , androphónos (1 Timothy 1:9 )): A term employed with reference to both premeditated and accidental or justifiable killing. In the latter case, an asylum was granted (Numbers 35:6 , Numbers 35:12 ) until the death of the high priest, after which the slayer was allowed to "return into the land of his possession" (Numbers 35:28 ). The cases in which the manslayer was to be held clearly immune from the punishment imposed on willful killing were: (1) death by a blow in a sudden quarrel (Numbers 35:22 ); (2) death by anything thrown at random (Numbers 35:22 , Numbers 35:23 ); (3) death by the blade of an axe flying from the handle (Deuteronomy 19:5 ). Among the cases in which one would be held responsible for the death of another, is to be counted the neglectful act of building a house without a parapet (Deuteronomy 22:8 ).
Manslaughter , as a modern legal term, is employed to distinguish unpremeditated killing from coldblooded murder, but formerly (2 Esdras 1:26) it was used in a more general sense. See MURDER .
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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