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After all the years of wandering, the Jews are beginning to see a homeland in the offing. Leaders from each tribe (excluding Reuben, Gad, and part of Menasseh) are appointed as representatives to apportion the Land. Even though other parts of the Torah state that the Levites are not to receive holdings of their own, forty-eight cities are assigned to them and there are specific instructions regarding the size of the cities and the size of the surrounding pastureland. Six of the forty-eight cities are to be designated as cities of asylum which will provide protection for unintentional murderers.
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| Thoughts to Consider and Discuss |
1. In 35:2, the Israelites are commanded to set aside cities for the Levites from each tribe's inheritance. Why doesn't Moses simply give the cities to the Levites directly?
2. Why are there specific measurements outlined for the Levite cities?
3. See Joshua 21 for the fulfillment of these commandments.
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"By the dictates of the kanun [blood revenge], a murder is the ultimate affront to a family's honor, the family existing in a limbo state of disgrace, essentially 'owned' by the killer until they 'take their blood back' - and the most respectable way to do that is to kill the killer. Of course, once this is done, it means the other family is in disgrace and needs to take its blood back. If it sounds like a recipe for slaughter, it gets worse...In the original edicts, for example, only the actual murderer was targeted in a 'blood', or a kanun-sanctioned vendetta, but those parameters gradually expanded over time to include all his male relatives."
Scott Anderson, The Curse of Blood and Vengeance, NY Times Magazine, December 26, 1999
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 | | Points to Ponder | |
In modern day Albania, blood feuds are part of daily life. Could the establishment of "sanctuary cities" have been an attempt to prevent blood feuds from becoming entrenched in Israelite culture?
Should it be the responsibility of the victim's family or of the State to punish the murderer? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative?
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