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- Title
The Unintentional Killer and the Blood-Avenger New Perspectives in the Rabbinic Exegesis of Num 35.
- Authors
Baitner, Hallel
- Abstract
Which killer is eligible for asylum? The answer to this question depends on the interpretation o f the homicide laws on Num 35 and Deut 19 and the relationship between them. The Mishna in tractate Makkot followed Deut 19 and stressed accident as the main characteristic o f the unintentional homicide. The M ishnah's interpretation, which was adopted and expanded upon in both Talmuds, also influenced the reading o f Num 35. However, some scholars have argued that the case described in Num 35:22 is not one o f accidental death but rather a deliberate violent action that caused death, yet the attacker is eligible for asylum. This reading probably stood in the background o f the homilies o f the tannaitic Midrashim for the book o f Numbers - Sifre and Sifre Zuta - and their halachic views, which differed from that o f the Mishnah on this issue. The limits o f the blood-avenger's right to kill the murderer, and its place within the judicial authority are already hard to define in the biblical text. The subordination of blood vengeance to the legal system, which started in the biblical period, is reflected in the tannaitic sources in various ways. From the homilies o f Sifre Zuta to Numbers we can reconstruct unattested exegetical attitudes and solutions for minimizing the legal role o f the blood-avenger.
- Publication
Tarbiz, 2017, Vol 84, Issue 4, pv
- ISSN
0334-3650
- Publication type
Article