Study Desk

You will not take a ransom payment for the one that flees to the city of his refuge, so that he may return to live in the land before the death of the priest.

So you will not pollute the land in which you are; because blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is poured out on it except with the blood of the one who poured it out.

Every daughter who possesses an inheritance from the tribes of the Israelites will marry one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his ancestors.

Just as Yahweh commanded to Moses, so the daughters of Zelophehad did:

And so I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and then I appointed them as leaders over you as commanders of groups of thousands and commanders of groups of hundreds and commanders of groups of fifties and commanders of groups of tens as officials for your tribes.

And so I instructed you at that time concerning all of the things that you should do.

"Then we set out from Horeb, and we went through the whole of that great and terrible desert that you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites as Yahweh our God had commanded us, and so we came up to Kadesh Barnea.

The plan was good in my opinion, and so I took from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.

"And so I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, and do not fear them.

"You replied and said to me, ‘We have sinned against Yahweh, and now we will go up and fight according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us'; and so each man fastened on his battle gear, and you regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country.

So Yahweh said to me, ‘Say to them, "You shall not go up, and you shall not fight because I am not in your midst; you will be defeated before your enemies."'

So I spoke to you, but you did not listen; you rebelled against the command of Yahweh; you behaved presumptuously, and you went up into the hill country.

The Amorites living in the hill country went out to oppose you and chased you as a swarm of wild honey bees do; and so they beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah.

So you returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh did not listen to your voice and did not pay any attention to you.

and instruct the people, saying, "You are about to cross through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who are living in Seir; they will be afraid of you, and so be very careful.

You shall buy food from them so that you may eat; and also you shall purchase water from them with money so that you may drink.

And so we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, past the road of the Arabah, from Elath and Ezion Geber, and we turned and traveled along the route of the desert of Moab.

So now arise and cross over the wadi of Zered yourselves; and so we crossed the wadi of Zered.

This day I will begin to place the dread of you and the fear of you before the peoples under all the heavens. They will hear the report about you, and so they will shake and tremble because of you.'

"So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon; I sent terms of peace, saying,