Chapter XXXV
Ver. 1-5. Eight akd Forty CrTiF..s Oiven to the LtcV1TE.S. a. Give onto the Invites of tl»c inlieritane« of their possessions . . . cities to dwell in—As the Levites were to have no territorial domain allocated to them like
Moses' Speech at the End DEUTERONOMY I. of the Fortieth Tear.
of Gilead—Being the tribal governors In Manasseh, they consulted Moses on a case that afl'ected the public honour and interests of their tribe. It related once more to the daughters of Zelophehad. formerly they had applied, at their own instance, to oe recognized, for want of heirs male in their family, as entitled to inherit their father's property ; now the application was made on behalf of the tribe to which they belonged—that steps might be taken to prevent the alienation of their patrimony by their alliance with husbands of another tribe. The unrestricted marriages of daughters in such circumstances threatened seriously to aflect the tenure of land in Israel, as their inheritance would go to their children, who, by the father's side, would belong to another tribe, and thus lead, through a compiicawCn interests and the confusion of families, to an "vU for wnica even the jubilee could not aflord a remedy. (See on Leviticus 2.5. 13.) 5-12. Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the liord—The plea appeared just and reasonable; and, aceordinslv an enactment was made by which the daughters of Zelophehad, while left to the free choice of their husbands, were restricted to marry not only within their own tribe, but within thefamily of their father's tribe —i. e.,one of their cousins. This restriction, however, was imposed only on those who were heiresses. The law was not applicable to daughters iu difi'orenl civoumslances (1 Chronicles 23.22) — for they might marry into another tribe ; but if they did so, they were liable to forfeit their patrimonial inheritance, whieli, on the death of their father or brothers, went to the nearest of the family kinsmen. Here was an instance of piogreiisive legislation (see also Exodus ch. 18. 27) in Israel, the enactments made being suggested by circumstances ; but it is deserving of special notice that those additions to, or modifications of, the law were confined to civil allairs ; while the slightest change was inadmissible In the laws relating to worship or tlie maintenance of religion. 13. Tlicse coumtandments are . . . and the juilgments whieli tlie Lord commanded by tlie hand of DIoses unto tlie children of Israel in the plains of Moab—The Israelitisli encampment was on an extensive plateau, north of the Arnon, and which, though wrested from the Moaliites by Sihon and Og, still retained the name of its original possessors. The particular site, as indicated by tlie words "Jordan near Jericho," is now called Kl-Koura—a large plain lying not far from Nebo, between the Arnon and a small tributary stream, the Wale. [Buuckhardt.] It was a desert plain on the eastern bank, and marked only by groves of the wild, thorny acacia tree.
the native Israelites only, t)ut of all resident strangers. 16-21. If he smite klm witli an ^istmment of Iron so that Ue die, &e.—Various cases are bere enumerated, in vhich the Goel or a\fcnger was at liberty to take tne life
or ine murderer, ana every one ol tnem proves a premeoitated purpose. il'i-^S. But if lie tbrust him suddenly, witliout enmity, or Uave cast upon liim any tiling witliout laying of wait, &c.--'Under the excitement of a sudden provocation, or violent passion, an injury might be inflicted issuing in death ; and for a person who had thus undesignedly committed slaughter, the Levitical
cities ofl"ered the benefit ol fun protection. Once having reached the nearest, :cr on'^ or other of tHem was Within a day's journey aii narts of the iaua. h'^ was secure. But he had to ' obide iu it." His oonfinement within its walls was a w)«e and salutary rule, designed to show the sanctity of human blood m God's siahl, as weil as to protect the manslayer himself, whose presence and intercourse in society might have provoked the nassions
of deceased's relatives. But the period of his release from
this confinement was not until the death of the high
priest. " That was a season of public affliction, when private sorrows were sunk or overlooked under a sense of the national calamity, and when the death of so eminent) a servant of God naturally led all to serious consideration about their own mortality. The moment, however, that the refugee broke through the restraints of his confinement, and ventured beyond the precincts of the asylum, he forfeited the privilege, and, if he was discovered by his pursuer, might be slain with impunity. 39-34. These things shall he for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations—The law of the blood avenger, as thus established by Divine authority, was a vast improvement on the ancient practice of Goelism. By the appointment of cities of refuge, the manslayer was saved, in the mean time, from the blind and impetuous
fury of vindictive relatives; but he might be tried by the
local court, and, if proved guilty on suflftcient evidence, condemned and punished as a murderer, without the pos-
sibility of deliverance by any pecuniary satisfaction. The enactment of Moses, which was an adaptation to the character and usages of the Hebrew people, secured the
douljle a<lvantage of promoting the ends both of human-
ity and of justice. *