They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. The community's response to the blasphemy case: custody while waiting for divine instruction. The precedent case requires a divine ruling because no existing regulation has specified the penalty for blasphemy. The same pattern appears in Numbers 15:34 when the Sabbath-breaking case arises. The custody-pending-divine-ruling communicates the covenant community's dependence on divine guidance for novel legal situations.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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