Genesis 9:5-6

9:5 For your lifeblood ¹  I will surely exact punishment, ²  from ³  every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person ⁴  I will exact punishment for the life of the individual ⁵  since the man was his relative. ⁶ 

9:6 “Whoever sheds human blood, ⁷ 

by other humans ⁸ 

must his blood be shed;

for in God’s image ⁹ 

God ¹⁰  has made humankind.”

Exodus 21:12-14

Personal Injuries

21:12 ¹¹ “Whoever strikes someone ¹²  so that he dies ¹³  must surely be put to death. ¹⁴  21:13 But if he does not do it with premeditation, ¹⁵  but it happens by accident, ¹⁶  then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 21:14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly, ¹⁷  you will take him even from my altar that he may die.

Numbers 35:31

35:31 Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 19:11-12

19:11 However, suppose a person hates someone else ¹⁸  and stalks him, attacks him, kills him, ¹⁹  and then flees to one of these cities. 19:12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger ²⁰  to die.

[9:5]  ¹ tn Again the text uses apposition to clarify what kind of blood is being discussed: “your blood, [that is] for your life.” See C. L. Dewar, “The Biblical Use of the Term ‘Blood,’” JTS 4 (1953): 204-8.

[9:5]  ² tn The word “punishment” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification. The verb דָּרָשׁ (darash) means “to require, to seek, to ask for, to exact.” Here it means that God will exact punishment for the taking of a life. See R. Mawdsley, “Capital Punishment in Gen. 9:6,” CentBib 18 (1975): 20-25.

[9:5]  ³ tn Heb “from the hand of,” which means “out of the hand of” or “out of the power of” and is nearly identical in sense to the preposition מִן (min) alone.

[9:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “and from the hand of the man.” The article has a generic function, indicating the class, i.e., humankind.

[9:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “of the man.”

[9:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the hand of a man, his brother.” The point is that God will require the blood of someone who kills, since the person killed is a relative (“brother”) of the killer. The language reflects Noah’s situation (after the flood everyone would be part of Noah’s extended family), but also supports the concept of the brotherhood of humankind. According to the Genesis account the entire human race descended from Noah.

[9:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “the blood of man.”

[9:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “by man,” a generic term here for other human beings.

[9:6]  ⁹ sn See the notes on the words “humankind” and “likeness” in Gen 1:26, as well as J. Barr, “The Image of God in the Book of Genesis – A Study of Terminology,” BJRL 51 (1968/69): 11-26.

[9:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:12]  ¹¹ sn The underlying point of this section remains vital today: The people of God must treat all human life as sacred.

[21:12]  ¹² tn The construction uses a Hiphil participle in construct with the noun for “man” (or person as is understood in a law for the nation): “the one striking [of] a man.” This is a casus pendens (independent nominative absolute); it indicates the condition or action that involves further consequence (GKC 361 §116.w).

[21:12]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew word וָמֵת (vamet) is a Qal perfect with vav consecutive; it means “and he dies” and not “and killed him” (which require another stem). Gesenius notes that this form after a participle is the equivalent of a sentence representing a contingent action (GKC 333 §112.n). The word shows the result of the action in the opening participle. It is therefore a case of murder or manslaughter.

[21:12]  ¹⁴ sn See A. Phillips, “Another Look at Murder,” JJS 28 (1977): 105-26.

[21:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “if he does not lie in wait” (NASB similar).

[21:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and God brought into his hand.” The death is unintended, its circumstances outside human control.

[21:14]  ¹⁷ tn The word עָרְמָה (’ormah) is problematic. It could mean with prior intent, which would be connected with the word in Prov 8:5, 12 which means “understanding” (or “prudence” – fully aware of the way things are). It could be connected also to an Arabic word for “enemy” which would indicate this was done with malice or evil intentions (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 270). The use here seems parallel to the one in Josh 9:4, an instance involving intentionality and clever deception.

[19:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “his neighbor.”

[19:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “rises against him and strikes him fatally.”

[19:12]  ²⁰ tn The גֹאֵל הַדָּם (go’el haddam, “avenger of blood”) would ordinarily be a member of the victim’s family who, after due process of law, was invited to initiate the process of execution (cf. Num 35:16-28). See R. Hubbard, NIDOTTE 1:789-94.