Numbers 35:34

34 And ye shall not defile the land whereon ye dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.

Numbers 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.

Numbers 35:34 In-Context

32 Ye shall not accept a ransom his fleeing to the city of refuge, so that he should again dwell in the land, until the death of the high-priest.

33 So shall ye not pollute with murder the land in which ye dwell; for this blood pollutes the land, and the land shall not be purged from the blood shed upon it, but by the blood of him that shed it.

34 And ye shall not defile the land whereon ye dwell, on which I dwell in the midst of you; for I am the Lord dwelling in the midst of the children of Israel.