Bamidbar 35:34

34 Therefore, make not tameh HaAretz which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell; for I Hashem dwell among the Bnei Yisroel.

Bamidbar 35:34 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 35:34

Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inherit
By the commission of such atrocious crimes, or suffering them to go unpunished, or by taking a compensation for the life of the guilty person:

wherein I dwell;
which is added to strengthen the exhortation, and as giving a reason why care should be taken not to pollute it, because the Holy God dwells there; as he did in the tabernacle erected for him, and in such a peculiar manner as he did not in other lands:

for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel;
he now dwelt among them as their God, and their King; his tent or tabernacle being pitched in the midst of the camps of Israel; and so he would continue to dwell among them when they were come to the land of Canaan, so long as they observed his laws, statutes, and ordinances; and therefore it behoved them to be careful that they did not pollute themselves and their land, and cause him to depart from them.

Bamidbar 35:34 In-Context

32 And ye shall take no kofer for him that is fled to his ir miklat that he should come again to dwell in HaAretz until the mot HaKohen.

33 So ye shall not pollute HaAretz wherein ye are; for dahm pollutes HaAretz; and kapporah cannot be made for HaAretz for the shefach dahm therein, except by the dahm of him that committed shefach dahm (shedding of blood).

34 Therefore, make not tameh HaAretz which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell; for I Hashem dwell among the Bnei Yisroel.