What is the meaning of Numbers 35:20? Likewise - This word ties verse 20 back to verse 19, where God distinguishes between accidental manslaughter and deliberate murder. - The context (Numbers 35:16–18) has already listed weapons—iron, stone, wooden—showing that method matters less than motive. - By saying “likewise,” the Lord is adding another scenario that falls under the same verdict of intentional killing, just as Exodus 21:14 declares, “If a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him from My altar that he may die.” If anyone maliciously pushes another - “Maliciously” points to a heart filled with ill will, reflecting 1 John 3:15: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer.” - A shove can look harmless, but God weighs motives (Proverbs 16:2). - Deuteronomy 19:11–12 pictures a man who “hates his neighbor” and lies in wait; such hatred removes any claim to self-defense or accident. - The verse protects life by warning that premeditated hostility—even without a weapon—makes a person liable to the avenger of blood (Numbers 35:21). Or intentionally throws an object at him - Intention is spotlighted again; the killer chooses a projectile and aims to harm, like Saul hurling his spear at David (1 Samuel 18:11). - God’s law does not allow loopholes: whether contact is direct (a push) or indirect (a thrown object), deliberate harm is judged the same. - This upholds Genesis 9:6—“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed”—underscoring that life is sacred regardless of the weapon. And kills him - The fatal outcome seals the crime as murder, triggering capital justice (Numbers 35:31; Romans 13:4). - Unlike modern legal systems that may argue degrees of murder, Scripture treats the combination of intent plus death as fully culpable. - Mercy is still valued—cities of refuge exist—but only for the unintentional killer (Numbers 35:22–25). The intentional murderer forfeits that protection (Deuteronomy 19:13). summary Numbers 35:20 draws a clear line: when a person’s hostile intent leads to another’s death—by shove or by thrown object—God calls it murder, not accident. The verse reinforces the sanctity of life, the seriousness of motive, and the certainty of justice for deliberate violence. |
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