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Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 19 Summary

An Eye for an Eye

  • Are we there yet? Nope. Moses has plenty more to say.
  • Set apart cities for people who are guilty of involuntary manslaughter. After all, a family member will want to avenge the victim, so the writers needed to devise a system to ensure that revenge killings didn't happen.
  • Once again, we're watching community-based regulations in action. This rule predicts the reactions of the offended family members, so it sets up a means of fixing the problem while keeping the offender safe.
  • Premeditated murder will be punished. A murderer who flees to a city of refuge will be handed over to the avenger of blood. Avenger of blood? Sounds like a superhero.
  • On a slightly lighter note, don't mess with property lines. Good advice.
  • Two witnesses are needed for a conviction. And get this—if a witness is lying, whatever he wanted done to the person he accused will be done to him: "eye for an eye, tooth for tooth."
  • Yowza. What do you think about this strategy?