Joshua 20

 

וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לֵאמֹר׃   20:1

Josh. 20:1    And the Lord spoke to Joshua saying,

דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר תְּנוּ לָכֶם אֶת־עָרֵי הַמִּקְלָט אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁה׃   20:2

Josh. 20:2    “Speak to the children of Israel saying, ‘Appoint for yourselves the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses,

לָנוּס שָׁמָּה רוֹצֵחַ מַכֵּה־נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה בִּבְלִי־דָעַת וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לְמִקְלָט מִגֹּאֵל הַדָּם׃   20:3

Josh. 20:3    the manslayer who kills a person in error without intention to flee there; and they shall be for you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.’”

וְנָס אֶל־אַחַת מֵהֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְעָמַד פֶּתַח שַׁעַר הָעִיר וְדִבֶּר בְּאָזְנֵי זִקְנֵי־הָעִיר הַהִיא אֶת־דְּבָרָיו   20:4

וְאָסְפוּ אֹתוֹ הָעִירָה אֲלֵיהֶם וְנָתְנוּ־לוֹ מָקוֹם וְיָשַׁב עִמָּם׃

Josh. 20:4    “And he shall flee to one of these cities and stand at the entrance of the city and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, and they shall receive him to the city to them, and give a place to him, that he may dwell with them.”

וְכִי יִרְדֹּף גֹּאֵל הַדָּם אַחֲרָיו וְלֹא־יַסְגִּרוּ אֶת־הָרֹצֵחַ בְּיָדוֹ כִּי בִבְלִי־דַעַת הִכָּה אֶת־רֵעֵהוּ וְלֹא־שֹׂנֵא   20:5

הוּא לוֹ מִתְּמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם׃

Josh. 20:5    “And when the avenger of blood pursues after him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he slew his neighbor without intention and he had no hatred for him before the time.”

וְיָשַׁב בָּעִיר הַהִיא עַד־עָמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה לַמִּשְׁפָּט עַד־מוֹת הַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם   20:6

אָז יָשׁוּב הָרוֹצֵחַ וּבָא אֶל־עִירוֹ וְאֶל־בֵּיתוֹ אֶל־הָעִיר אֲשֶׁר־נָס מִשָּׁם׃

Josh. 20:6    “And he shall dwell in that city until his appearance before the congregation for judgment.  When the death is of who shall be the high priest in those days, then may the manslayer return and come in to his city and to his house, to the city that he fled from there.”

וַיַּקְדִּשׁוּ אֶת־קֶדֶשׁ בַּגָּלִיל בְּהַר נַפְתָּלִי וְאֶת־שְׁכֶם בְּהַר אֶפְרָיִם וְאֶת־קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע הִיא חֶבְרוֹן   20:7

בְּהַר יְהוּדָה׃

Josh. 20:7    And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba -- the same is Hebron -- in the hill country of Judah.

                                                                                    [Return to Josh. 24:1]              [Return to Hose. 6:9]

וּמֵעֵבֶר לְיַרְדֵּן יְרִיחוֹ מִזְרָחָה נָתְנוּ אֶת־בֶּצֶר בַּמִּדְבָּר בַּמִּישֹׁר מִמַּטֵּה רְאוּבֵן וְאֶת־רָאמֹת בַּגִּלְעָד   20:8

מִמַּטֵּה־גָד וְאֶת־(גלון) [גּוֹלָן] בַּבָּשָׁן מִמַּטֵּה מְנַשֶּׁה׃

Josh. 20:8    And from the side of the Jordan at Jericho to the east, they appointed Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.

There’s an apparent error in the fourth word of the second line.  The presumed correct spelling of the named city of refuge moves the vav and appears in the brackets.                        [Return to Josh. 21:27]

אֵלֶּה הָיוּ עָרֵי הַמּוּעָדָה לְכֹל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתוֹכָם לָנוּס שָׁמָּה כָּל־מַכֵּה־נֶפֶשׁ בִּשְׁגָגָה   20:9

וְלֹא יָמוּת בְּיַד גֹּאֵל הַדָּם עַד־עָמְדוֹ לִפְנֵי הָעֵדָה׃

Josh. 20:9    These were the cities of appointment for all the children of Israel and for the stranger in their midst, anyone who kills a person in error and does not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, to flee there until his appearance before the congregation.

 

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