Deuteronomy 19:11-12

19:11 However, suppose a person hates someone else 1  and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, 2  and then flees to one of these cities. 19:12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger 3  to die.

Deuteronomy 33:12

Blessing on Benjamin

33:12 Of Benjamin he said:

The beloved of the Lord will live safely by him;

he protects him all the time,

and the Lord 4  places him on his chest. 5 

1 tn Heb “his neighbor.”

2 tn Heb “rises against him and strikes him fatally.”

3 tn The גֹאֵל הַדָּם (go’el haddam, “avenger of blood”) would ordinarily be a member of the victim’s family who, after due process of law, was invited to initiate the process of execution (cf. Num 35:16-28). See R. Hubbard, NIDOTTE 1:789-94.

4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

5 tn Heb “between his shoulders.” This suggests the scene in John 13:23 with Jesus and the Beloved Disciple.