Study Desk

These cities are to be a refuge for you from the dead person's next-of-kin, who might otherwise avenge his kinsman's death by slaying the killer prior to his standing trial before the community.

In regard to the cities you are to give, there are to be six cities of refuge for you.

These six cities will serve as refuge for the people of Isra'el, as well as for the foreigner and resident alien with them; so that anyone who kills someone by mistake may flee there.

These things shall constitute your standard for judgment through all your generations, wherever you live.

Likewise, you are not to accept for someone who has fled to his city of refuge a ransom that would allow him to return to his land before the death of the cohen.

In this way you will not defile the land in which you are living. For blood defiles the land, and in this land no atonement can be made for the blood shed in it except the blood of him who shed it.

No, you are not to defile the land in which you live and in which I live; for I, Adonai , live among the people of Isra'el.'"

In this way no inheritance of the people of Isra'el will move from one tribe to another; for each of the people of Isra'el is to hold on to the land for inheritance belonging to his father's tribe.

Thus no inheritance will move from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Isra'el will hold on to its own inheritance."

These are the mitzvot and rulings which Adonai gave through Moshe to the people of Isra'el in the plains of Mo'av by the Yarden, across from Yericho. Haftarah Masa‘ei: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 2:4–28; 3:4 (A); 2:4–28; 4:1–2 (S) B'rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Mattot: Ya‘akov (James) 4:1–12 Hazak, hazak, v'nit'chazek! Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!

"At that time I told you, ‘You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone.

Pick for yourselves from each of your tribes men who are wise, understanding and knowledgeable; and I will make them heads over you.'

"You answered me, ‘What you have said would be a good thing for us to do.'

You are not to show favoritism when judging, but give equal attention to the small and to the great. No matter how a person presents himself, don't be afraid of him; because the decision is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me and I will hear it.'

(iii) "You approached me, every one of you, and said, ‘Let's send men ahead of us to explore the country for us and bring back word concerning what route we should use in going up and what the cities we will encounter are like.'

What sort of place is it that we're heading for? Our brothers made our courage fail when they said, "The people are bigger and taller than we are; the cities are great and fortified up to the sky; and finally, we have seen ‘Anakim there."'

Adonai your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight on your behalf, just as he accomplished all those things for you in Egypt before your eyes,

even though he went ahead of you, seeking out places for you to pitch your tents and showing you which way to go, by fire at night and by a cloud during the day.'

But as for yourselves, turn around and head into the desert by the road to the Sea of Suf.'

"Then we turned and began traveling into the desert along the road to the Sea of Suf, as Adonai had said to me; and we skirted Mount Se‘ir for a long time.