Unsolved Murder
Deuteronomy 21:1-9
Deu.21.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- ימצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- חלל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- באדמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- נתן: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לרשתה: INF,qal,3,f,sg
- נפל: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בשדה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- נודע: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- הכהו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+OBJ,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Numbers 35:9-34 (structural): Legislates cities of refuge and distinguishes manslaughter from murder; structurally parallels Deut 21's concern with unknown killing, the avenger of blood, and legal protections related to homicide.
- Joshua 20:1-9 (quotation): Repeats the cities-of-refuge ordinance found in Numbers 35; echoes the legal framework for dealing with killings in the land God gives Israel, providing a direct parallel to Deut 21's treatment of homicide.
- Deut.19:4-13 (thematic): Earlier Deuteronomic material addressing bloodshed, the avenger of blood, and procedures for protecting the innocent; thematically connected as part of the same legal concern about killing and communal security.
- Numbers 35:33 (verbal): Declares that bloodshed defiles the land and must be atoned for; verbally and thematically parallels Deut 21's premise that a slain person found in the land implicates communal concern over bloodguilt and the land's purity.
- 2 Samuel 21:1-14 (thematic): Narrative account linking famine to unresolved bloodguilt and requiring action to remove guilt (atonement/return of victims' blood); thematically resonates with Deut 21's focus on removing bloodguilt to restore the community and land.
Alternative generated candidates
- When a slain person is found in the field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who struck him.
- When a man is found slain in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who struck him,
Deu.21.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויצאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- זקניך: NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- ושפטיך: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs,2ms
- ומדדו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- הערים: NOUN,f,pl,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- סביבת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- החלל: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Deut.19:1-13 (verbal): Related legislation about a slain person found in the field and the procedure for determining flight to a city of refuge; shares vocabulary and legal context about cities, slaying, and communal procedures.
- Numbers 35:9-34 (thematic): Detailed laws establishing cities of refuge and procedures for manslayers; parallels Deut.21's concern with locating the nearest city and the communal/legal response to homicide.
- Joshua 20:1-9 (structural): Narrative implementation of the cities of refuge institution; describes designation and function of refuge-cities, giving concrete form to the regulatory scheme presupposed in Deut.21:2.
- Deut.17:8-13 (thematic): Provision for bringing difficult or capital cases before the priests and judges/elders; parallels the role of elders and judges as authoritative decision‑makers in matters of life, law, and communal justice.
- Leviticus 24:17-22 (thematic): Casualty and retributive justice norms ('life for life') that frame Israelite responses to murder; provides the broader legal-ethical background for Deut.21's procedural steps involving elders and judges.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure to the cities that are round about the body.
- then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure to the cities that are around the slain.
Deu.21.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הקרבה: ADJ,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- החלל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ולקחו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- זקני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- עגלת: NOUN,f,sg,constr
- בקר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- עבד: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- משכה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- בעל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deut.21:1-9 (structural): Immediate pericope: verses 1–9 contain the full ritual (taking the heifer, elders' role, breaking the heifer's neck, and the inquiry) of the unsolved homicide; v.3 is part of this unit.
- Numbers 35:33-34 (thematic): Addresses the concept of blood-pollution of the land and the need to remove blood-guilt; provides legal-theological background for communal procedures when blood is shed in the land.
- Joshua 20:1-9 (structural): Establishes the system of cities of refuge and legal procedures for manslaughter versus murder; parallels Deut.21's concern with distinguishing and dealing with homicide and communal responsibility for bloodshed.
- Leviticus 17:11 (thematic): Proclaims that 'the life is in the blood' and links blood with atonement and cultic/political order; undergirds laws about blood-guilt and the need for rites or measures to address shed blood.
- 2 Samuel 21:1-9 (thematic): Narrative example where famine and divine judgment are traced to unresolved blood-guilt in Saul's house and the community must act (identify and punish offenders) to remove the guilt—echoes Deut.21's concern with communal resolution of homicide.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the city nearest the body— the elders of that city shall take a heifer that has not been worked and that has not drawn a yoke.
- And the city nearest the slain shall take a heifer of the herd—one that has not been worked and on which a yoke has never been placed—
Deu.21.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והורדו: VERB,hif,perf,3,mp
- זקני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- העגלה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- נחל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- איתן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- יעבד: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יזרע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וערפו: VERB,piel,perf,3,mp
- שם: ADV
- את: PRT,acc
- העגלה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- בנחל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,const
Parallels
- Deut.21:1-9 (structural): Immediate context: the full 'eglah arufah' procedure (elders of the nearest city lead the heifer to the uncultivated valley and break its neck) — the ritual and formula surrounding v.4 are spelled out here.
- Num.35:9-34 (thematic): Broader legal treatment of homicide, the avenger of blood, and community responsibility (cities of refuge, distinction between murder and manslaughter) — addresses the same social/ritual concerns about bloodguilt and protection.
- Josh.20:1-9 (quotation): Joshua's enactment of the cities of refuge as commanded in the laws of Numbers/Deuteronomy — a direct implementation of related homicide provisions and communal legal institutions.
- 2 Sam.21:1-9 (thematic): A narrative resolution of national bloodguilt (Saul's offenses lead to famine; the handing over of descendants to the Gibeonites) — parallels themes of communal culpability, atonement for blood, and formal procedures to address unresolved bloodshed.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a ravine, a valley not tilled and on which no seed is sown, and there they shall break the heifer’s neck in the ravine.
- and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, a place that has not been plowed or sown, and shall break its neck there in the valley.
Deu.21.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונגשו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- לוי: PROPN,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- בם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- בחר: VERB,qal,perf,3,ms
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- לשרתו: VERB,qal,inf,3,m,sg
- ולברך: VERB,qal,inf
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- פיהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כל: DET
- ריב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- נגע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 18:5 (verbal): Nearly identical language: God has 'chosen' Levites/priests 'to stand and minister in the name of the LORD' (to serve and bless in God’s name).
- Deuteronomy 10:8 (verbal): Speaks of the LORD setting apart the tribe of Levi 'to minister to him and to bless in his name,' echoing the appointment and blessing-role of the Levites/priests.
- Numbers 3:6 (thematic): Commands bringing the tribe of Levi to Aaron so they 'may serve him'—paralleling the Levites’ consecration for priestly service and ministry.
- Deuteronomy 17:8–11 (structural): Gives the legal/judicial role of the Levitical priests/judges as the place to bring difficult cases—parallel to Deut 21:5’s statement that disputes and penalties are decided 'by their mouth.'
- Malachi 2:7 (thematic): Describes the priest’s lips as keepers of knowledge and the people seeking instruction from his mouth—reflecting the priestly function of teaching, blessing, and deciding matters spoken of in Deut 21:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near; for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their decision shall every dispute and every violent matter be resolved.
- Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near; for them the LORD your God has chosen to minister and to pronounce blessing in the name of the LORD, and by their word every controversy and every stroke shall be decided.
Deu.21.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- זקני: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- העיר: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- הקרבים: ADJ,m,pl,def
- אל: NEG
- החלל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ירחצו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ידיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,m,pl
- על: PREP
- העגלה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- הערופה: ADJ,ptcp,.,f,sg,def
- בנחל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,const
Parallels
- Deut.21:1-9 (structural): The immediate legal context (the egla arufa ritual) — the full procedure for dealing with an unsolved homicide, of which v.6 (the elders washing) is a part.
- Deut.21:4 (verbal): Within the same pericope; elders declare their hands have not shed the blood and perform the washing as a public sign of innocence.
- Matthew 27:24 (thematic): Pontius Pilate’s public hand‑washing to disavow responsibility for Jesus’ blood parallels leaders’ ritual handwashing to claim innocence regarding bloodguilt.
- Psalm 26:6 (thematic): The psalmist’s 'I wash my hands in innocence' uses hand‑washing as a ritual/verbal sign of innocence before God, echoing the motif of cleansing hands in cases of blood.
- Exodus 30:18‑21 (structural): Prescribed washing of hands and feet for priests before ministering — another instance of ritual washing as a legal/ceremonial requirement linked to purity and responsibility.
Alternative generated candidates
- Then all the elders of that city who are nearest to the slain shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the ravine.
- And all the elders of that city who are nearest to the slain shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
Deu.21.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וענו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואמרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ידינו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+1cp
- לא: PART_NEG
- שפכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ועינינו: NOUN,f,pl,abs+1cp
- לא: PART_NEG
- ראו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
Parallels
- Deut.21:6 (structural): Immediate context of the same ritual — the elders wash their hands and pronounce the formula of denial ('Our hands have not shed this blood; our eyes have not seen it').
- Matt.27:24 (verbal): Pilate washes his hands to disclaim responsibility for Jesus' blood — a deliberate hand‑washing gesture used to signify innocence or disavowal of guilt, parallel in form and function to the elders' washing.
- Josh.7:19-21 (thematic): A communal crisis of bloodguilt and individual claims about responsibility — contrasts concealment/confession of sin with the community's statement about innocence and the consequences of hidden wrongdoing.
- Num.35:33-34 (thematic): The idea that bloodshed pollutes the land and creates corporate responsibility; legal/ritual measures are required to deal with bloodguilt and restore purity to the community.
- Ps.106:38 (thematic): Condemnation of shedding innocent blood and its communal consequences — connects to the concern in Deut.21 for addressing unavenged blood within the community and ritual means of resolving it.
Alternative generated candidates
- And they shall answer and say, “Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see it.”
- And they shall answer and say: 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.'
Deu.21.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לעמך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,cs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- פדית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תתן: VERB,qal,imprf,2,_,sg
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נקי: ADJ,m,sg
- בקרב: PREP
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונכפר: CONJ+VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
Parallels
- Numbers 35:33-34 (thematic): Both texts treat shed blood as defiling the land and require a remedy to remove guilt from the community; Deut.'s ritual aims to purge bloodguilt within Israel as Numbers warns against blood defiling the land.
- Psalm 26:6 (verbal): Uses the image of washing hands to assert innocence ('I wash my hands in innocence'), paralleling the elders' hand‑washing/declaring of non‑guilt in Deut 21:1–9.
- Matthew 27:24 (allusion): Pilate washes his hands and declares himself innocent of Jesus' blood—an echo of the ritual gesture in Deut whereby leaders wash and disclaim responsibility for an unsolved killing.
- 2 Samuel 21:1–14 (thematic): A communal calamity (famine) is attributed to unsettled bloodguilt from Saul's house, and David provides a corrective/atonement—paralleling Deut.'s concern with communal responsibility and rites to remove bloodguilt.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall atone for the people of Israel whom the LORD your God has redeemed; do not permit innocent blood to remain among your people.
- 'Atone, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed; do not let innocent blood remain among your people Israel—let the blood be atoned for them.'
Deu.21.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואתה: CONJ+PRON,2,m,sg
- תבער: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs,def
- הנקי: ADJ,m,sg,def
- מקרבך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- כי: CONJ
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- הישר: ADJ,m,sg,def
- בעיני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Numbers 35:33-34 (verbal): Both texts prohibit defiling the land with bloodshed and command that the land be purified—same legal concern about removing innocent blood from the community/land.
- Deuteronomy 19:10-13 (thematic): Like Deut 21:9, these laws aim to prevent and redress the shedding of innocent blood (cities of refuge, punishment for murder), reflecting the communal duty to remove guilt for bloodshed.
- Ezekiel 36:18-20 (allusion): Ezekiel depicts the land defiled by the people's bloodshed and God’s act of cleansing/removing guilt—echoing Deut’s language and theological concern about purging innocent blood from the land.
- Psalm 106:38 (thematic): The psalm condemns the shedding of innocent blood and describes its defiling effect on the land and people, paralleling Deut 21:9’s emphasis on purging innocent blood to restore right standing before God.
Alternative generated candidates
- You shall purge the innocent blood from your midst; thus you will do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
- So you shall purge the innocent blood from your midst; and doing so you will do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
When a body is found in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess—lying in a field, and it is not known who struck him—
then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure to the towns that are around the body. And it shall be that the town nearest the body—the elders of that town shall take a heifer, a young cow that has never been worked and on which a yoke has never been placed.
They shall bring the heifer down to a running stream in a valley that has not been plowed nor sown, and there they shall break its neck in the valley.
Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near— for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessing in the name of the LORD— and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. And all the elders of that town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
They shall answer and say, “Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see it.”
It shall be an atonement for your people Israel, whom the LORD redeems; you shall not permit innocent blood among your people Israel, and the blood shall be atoned for them. So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from among you. Thus you will do what is right in the sight of the LORD.