John Gill Commentary Deuteronomy 19

When the Lord your God has cut off the nations whose land the
Lord your God gives you
The seven nations of the land of Canaan, whose destruction was of the Lord for their sins, and whose land was a gift of him that had a right to dispose of it to the children of Israel; see (Deuteronomy 12:29)

and you succeed them, and dwell in their cities, and in their
houses ;
should possess their land in their stead, by virtue of the gift of it to them by the Lord, and inhabit their cities and houses built by them.

You shall separate three cities for you in the midst of your land From the cities they took possession of and dwelt in; and indeed from the cities of the Levites, which were given to them to inhabit; three were before ordered to be separated from those inhabited by the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, (Deuteronomy 4:41–43) but these were to be in the midst of the land of Canaan; see (Joshua 20:7Joshua 20:8) ,

which the Lord your God gives you to possess it : which as it is often mentioned when this land is spoken of, so it carries in it a reason here why this order of the Lord's should be readily complied with, the whole land and all the cities of it being the gift of his to them.

You shall prepare yourself a way
A road, a highway to those cities: on the first of Adar, or February, the magistrates used to meet, and proclaimed, or ordered to be proclaimed, that the ways be repaired ^F18 , particularly those leading to the cities of refuge; which was done by making them smooth and plain, so that there was not a hill or dale to be seen; and by building bridges over rivers and brooks, that he might escape who had killed anyone through mistake, and not be hindered, lest the avenger of blood should overtake him and kill him ^F19 .

Therefore every obstruction was removed out of the way, that there might be a clear course for him; and at the parting of ways, or where two or more ways met, that he might not be at a loss one moment which way to take, "refuge" was written, as Jarchi and other writers observe, upon posts or pillars erected for that purpose: (See Gill on Numbers 35:6),

and divide the coasts of your land, which the Lord your God gives you
to inherit, in three parts ;
in each of which was to be a city of refuge, and those at an equal distance: so Jarchi observes, that this was done that there might be from the beginning of the border (of the land) unto the first city of the cities of refuge, according to the measure of a journey, that there is from that to the second, and so from the second to the third, and so from the third to the other border of the land of Israel: of the situation of these cities, so as to answer to those on the other side Jordan, (See Gill on Numbers 35:14),

that every slayer may flee thither ;
to that which is nearest and most convenient for him, that is, who had slain a man unawares, as follows.

FOOTNOTES:

• F18: Misn. Shekalim, c. 1. sect. 1.
• F19: Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.

And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither,
that he may live
It was not any slayer that might have protection in these cities, but such who were thus and thus circumstanced, or whose case was as follows:

whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly ;
without intention, as the Targum of Jonathan, did not design it, but was done by him unawares:

whom he hated not in time past ;
had never shown by words or deeds that he had any hatred of him or enmity to him three days ago; so that if there were no marks of hatred, or proofs of it three days before this happened, it was reckoned an accidental thing, and not done on purpose, as this phrase is usually interpreted; see (Exodus 21:29) .

As when a man goes into the wood with his neighbour to cut
wood
A wood is a place common to men, and cutting down wood a business which any man might do; whereas a private place, where a man had no right to be, and doing what he had no business with, rendered a case suspicious, and such a man was liable to be taken up when any affair happened of the kind here spoken of; so the Jewish writers observe ^F20 , ``a wood is a public place for him that hurts and him that is hurt to enter there;'' both had a right to go thither, the one as well as the other, he to whom the accident came, and he by whom it came; but they say, a court that belongs to a master of a house (a private court) is excepted, where there is no power or liberty for him that hurts or for him that is hurt to enter.

Abba Saul says, What is hewing wood? It is what a man has a right to do, or is in his power; it is what is public and common, and not peculiar to any:

and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree ;
lifts up the axe and is about to strike with it, in order to cut down the tree pitched upon by him or by his neighbour, or both:

and the head slippeth from the handle ;
the head of the axe from the handle of it,

or the iron from the wood
^F21 ; the iron part of the axe, which is properly the head, from the wooden part, which is laid hold on by the hand; and this not being well fastened, slips and falls off as the blow is fetching, or the stroke just ready to be given:

and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die ;
hits him in some part as he stands by him, which proves fatal:

he shall flee unto one of these cities, and live ;
be safe and secure from the avenger of blood; such an one might have the benefit of one of these cities, for, for such they were designed: the rule with the Jews is, what is done by way of descent (i.e. which comes down and lights upon a man, and is not levelled against him, or thrown up at him) he is to be exiled (or to have the benefit of a city of refuge), but what is not by way of descent, he is not to have it.

Some think this is spoken of the wood which is cleaved, and not of the wood in which the iron is fixed; but the wise men say it is to be so understood ^F24 ; in which they are right.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: Misn. Maccot, c. 2. sect. 2.
• F21: (Ueh Nm lzrbh) "ferrum e ligno", Pagninus, Montanus.
• F24: Misn. Maccot, c. 2. sect. 1. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib.