Numbers 35:16

16 ¹"But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.

Numbers 35:16 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 35:16

And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he
die
As with an hatchet, hammer, sword, knife, &c.

he is a murderer;
the instrument used by him, and with which he smote, shows that he had a bad design, and intended to kill, or he would never have smitten a man with such an instrument:

the murderer shall surely be put to death;
be condemned to death, and be executed, by the order of the civil magistrate, according to the law in ( Genesis 9:6 ) and not be allowed the benefit of a city of refuge.

Numbers 35:16 In-Context

14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities in the land of Canaan, to be cities of refuge.

15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there.

16 "But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.

17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.

18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 21:12, 14; Leviticus 24:17; Deuteronomy 19:11, 12