Numbers 35 28

Numbers 35:28 kjv

Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

Numbers 35:28 nkjv

because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.

Numbers 35:28 niv

The accused must stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; only after the death of the high priest may they return to their own property.

Numbers 35:28 esv

For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.

Numbers 35:28 nlt

The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property.

Numbers 35 verses

Numbers 35 28 Meaning

Numbers 35:28 states that an unintentional manslayer, after fleeing to a designated city of refuge, must remain within its boundaries until the death of the current high priest. Only upon the high priest's demise is the manslayer permitted to leave the city and return to his inherited ancestral land. This verse clarifies the duration and the condition for the manslayer's confinement and ultimate release under the Mosaic Law.

Numbers 35 28 Context

Numbers chapter 35 details specific instructions for the Levites' allocation of cities, ensuring they received portions of land for their dwelling. Following this, the chapter establishes the cities of refuge (Num 35:9-34) which were designed to protect those who accidentally caused a death. The chapter carefully distinguishes between intentional murder, which warranted execution (Num 35:16-21), and unintentional killing (manslaughter), which required the killer to flee to a city of refuge. Once within the city of refuge, the manslayer was safe from the "avenger of blood," a relative of the deceased who was legally permitted to enact retribution. Verse 28 serves as the culmination of these rules, defining the condition and ultimate pathway for the manslayer's release, emphasizing a unique theological and judicial link between the life of the nation's spiritual leader, the high priest, and the freedom of the individual manslayer. This entire system ensured a process of justice that respected life, tribal inheritance, and the land's purity, moving beyond simple revenge.

Numbers 35 28 Word analysis

• "Because" (כִּי - ki): This connective word signifies causality or explanation, linking the consequence (remaining in the city) directly to the preceding judicial determination of unintentional killing. It emphasizes the foundational reason for the stipulated period of confinement.

• "he should remain" (יֵשֵׁב - yêshev): This verb implies a mandated, enforced dwelling or abiding. It's not an optional stay but a required term of exile within a confined space. It highlights the consequence of having caused a death, even if accidental, by disrupting the manslayer's normal life and integrating them into a protected but restrictive environment.

• "in his city of refuge" (בְּעִיר מִקְלָטוֹ - be'ir miqlato):

  • "city of refuge" (עִיר מִקְלָט - ʿîr miqlāt): Literally, "city of asylum" or "receiving city." These were divinely ordained havens to provide due process and protection from extrajudicial vengeance. The establishment of such cities reveals a sophisticated legal and moral framework in ancient Israel that transcended typical blood-feud practices by valuing regulated justice and the sanctity of life, even the life of an unintentional killer.

• "until the death" (עַד מוֹת - ʿad môth): This phrase unequivocally sets the specific temporal boundary for the manslayer's confinement. It denotes a definite, non-negotiable end-point, not dependent on the manslayer's reform or the community's assessment, but on an external, sovereign event.

• "of the high priest" (הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדֹל - hakkohen haggadol):

  • "High Priest" (כֹּהֵן גָּדֹל - kohen gadol): The supreme spiritual leader of Israel, uniquely consecrated and serving as mediator between God and the nation. His most sacred duty was officiating the annual Day of Atonement rituals (Yom Kippur), bearing the sins and impurities of the people into the Holy of Holies. His unique role made him a representative figure, embodying the spiritual standing of the entire nation before God.

• "but after the death of the high priest": This repeated clause reinforces the pivotal role of the high priest's death as the sole and sovereign trigger for release. The repetition adds emphatic certainty to the condition, removing all ambiguity.

• "the manslayer" (הָרֹצֵחַ - hārotseaḥ): While the Hebrew root ratsach generally refers to "killing" or "murder," here, in context of the city of refuge laws, it specifically designates the unintentional killer. This careful legal distinction underscores that even without malice, taking a life carried significant, enduring consequences within Israelite society.

• "may return" (יָשׁוּב - yashuv): This verb signifies permission to go back or restore. It implies a full restoration of rights, status, and liberty, allowing the manslayer to rejoin mainstream society without fear of retribution, once the stipulated period of expiation concluded.

• "to the land of his possession" (אֶל אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזָּתוֹ - ʾel ʾerets ʾaḥuzzātô):

  • "land of his possession" (אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזָּתוֹ - ʾerets ʾaḥuzzātô): This refers to the family's ancestral land, which was intrinsically tied to the tribal inheritance, identity, and the covenant with God (Num 27, Josh 14-19). Return to this land symbolized full restoration of family, economic stability, and social standing within the Israelite community, completing the release from consequence.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "Because he should remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest": This phrase establishes a critical and non-arbitrary duration for the confinement. The High Priest's life was consecrated through unique anointing oil (Lev 8:12), which also hallowed the sanctuary and instruments. His death may have symbolized a moment of national expiation, the culmination of a period under which the "blood guilt" of the manslayer's act, though unintentional, remained ritually potent, polluting the land. His passing, in essence, removed a sacred protective covering that implicitly also held the manslayer bound, thereby freeing them from their quasi-penal servitude.

Numbers 35 28 Bonus section

The linkage between the manslayer's freedom and the high priest's death in Numbers 35:28 provides a profound layer of typical understanding concerning the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. The earthly high priest, through his anointing and his specific function in the Israelite tabernacle/temple system (particularly his annual work on the Day of Atonement), serves as a clear type or shadow of the Messiah. Just as the death of the ancient high priest released the unintentional manslayer from the spiritual/social consequence of their action, so too does the death of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest (Heb 4:14, 9:11-12), provide true and ultimate release from the bondage and penalty of sin.

Sin, in a spiritual sense, causes "death" and separation from God (Rom 6:23) and pollutes our spiritual "land" (our lives/being). Without the sacrifice of a perfect mediator, we are "trapped" in a spiritual city of refuge—under condemnation or facing the "avenger" of God's justice. Christ's sacrificial death (Heb 9:15, 28) fulfilled the law's requirement and provided a perfect, once-for-all atonement, forever "releasing" all who trust in Him from the ultimate spiritual consequences of their actions. Our return to the "land of our possession" is realized in Christ, who restores us to fellowship with God, grants us spiritual inheritance (Eph 1:3-14), and delivers us from condemnation (Rom 8:1). The High Priest's death in Numbers anticipates the sovereign act of grace and power embodied in the crucifixion of Jesus, securing ultimate freedom and restoration for believers.

Numbers 35 28 Commentary

Numbers 35:28 sets forth a unique legal provision within Israelite society for the unintentional manslayer. The requirement to stay in a city of refuge until the death of the high priest is not merely an arbitrary time limit, but a deeply symbolic and theologically profound stipulation. The high priest's role was critical: he served as the spiritual head of the nation, the one who performed the most sacred acts of atonement on behalf of all Israel. His life was considered specially consecrated and intrinsically linked to the spiritual well-being and purity of the entire covenant community and the land.

Theologically, the high priest's death could be seen as a nationwide atoning event, akin to a final, grand sacrifice, that in some mysterious way cleansed the land of lingering ritual impurity and pollution resulting from unintended bloodshed. It signifies a providential mechanism where individual freedom and communal purity are tied to the office of the ultimate mediator. This rule provided an external, divinely ordained end to the period of exile for the manslayer, ensuring a return to society was based on a sacred, communal event rather than subjective human judgment or whim. It emphasized mercy for the unintentional, while maintaining the utmost reverence for human life and the holiness of the land promised by God. This peculiar law provides a powerful foreshadowing of a future, ultimate High Priest whose death would bring true and complete freedom from sin and its spiritual consequences.

Examples:

1. Imagine an Israelite man who accidentally caused his neighbor's death by an axe slipping during tree cutting. He would immediately flee to the nearest city of refuge, like Hebron or Ramoth-Gilead. He would live within its boundaries, separated from his ancestral land and family inheritance. His liberty to return home would be instantly granted the moment news of the high priest's death reached the city, irrespective of how long he had been there.
2. If the manslayer attempted to secretly return home before the high priest died, he risked being legitimately killed by the avenger of blood (Num 35:27), illustrating the strict divine mandate governing this system.