“That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:”
That the slayer that kills his neighbor unintentionally, and hated him not in time past, might flee there, and live; namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites -- the three Transjordanian cities of refuge (Bezer, Ramoth, Golan) provide asylum for those who kill accidentally. The distinction 'hated him not in time past' shows that the law differentiates between murder (with malice) and involuntary manslaughter. Justice requires that the innocent not be executed for accidental killing.
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