Numbers 35:22

22 "If, however, he impulsively pushes someone and there is no history of hard feelings, or he impetuously picks up something and throws it,

Numbers 35:22 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 35:22

But if he thrust him suddenly, without enmity
Push him from a precipice, before he is aware, without any malicious design against his life, but merely through accident:

or have cast upon him anything;
from the top of a house, or from a building he is pulling down, or pushes a bowing wall upon him, not knowing that he is passing by it:

and without lying of wait:
or having contrived to do it, just as he goes along, or in any other similar way.

Numbers 35:22 In-Context

20 "And if out of sheer hatred a man pushes another or from ambush throws something at him and he dies,

21 or angrily hits him with his fist and kills him, that's murder - he must be put to death. The avenger has a right to kill him when he gets him.

22 "If, however, he impulsively pushes someone and there is no history of hard feelings, or he impetuously picks up something and throws it,

23 or he accidentally drops a stone tool - a maul or hammer, say - and it hits and kills someone he didn't even know was there, and there's no suspicion that there was bad blood between them,

24 the community is to judge between the killer and the avenger following these guidelines.