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I. Introduction
According to the legislation in Numbers 35:9–34, someone who had killed an innocent person intentionally was to be killed by an avenger of blood (35:16–21). A ransom could not be given to prevent the killing of the intentional killer (35:31). Someone who had killed an innocent person inadvertently ([-]), however, would have his case heard by an assembly. If the assembly determined that the killing had, indeed, been inadvertent, the killer was allowed to take up residence in a city of refuge where he would be shielded from being killed by an avenger (35:9–15, 22–25).1 After the death of the high priest, the inadvertent killer could leave the city and return home safely (35:25, 28, 32). A ransom could not be given to allow him to return home prior to the death of the high priest (35:32). If the inadvertent killer left the city prior to the death of the high priest, the avenger could kill him without being guilty of murder (35:26–27). In sum, Num 35:9–34 contains the following three cases and protocols (hereafter, Case I will be referred to as the intentional killer, Case II as the killable inadvertent killer, and Case III as the releasable inadvertent killer):
The stipulation that an inadvertent killer could leave a city of refuge and return home safely after the death of the high priest is also mentioned in Josh 20:6. The other asylum texts (Exod 21:12–14; Deut 4:41–43; 19:1–13) do not mention how long an inadvertent killer was to stay in the place of asylum.
No explanation is given in Num 35:9–34 or Josh 20 as to why an inadvertent killer could leave a city of refuge and return home safely after the death of the high priest. This paper will present and critique the scholarly explanations which have been proposed, and then propose another explanation.
II. Previous Explanations
This section will present and critique the six most common and substantial explanations for why an inadvertent killer could leave a city of refuge and return home safely after the death of the high priest. The analysis of each explanation will begin with a full description of how the explanation works. Not everyone who puts forward a particular explanation mentions every element found in...