Talmud for Numbers 35:13

MISHNAH: Where are they exiled to? To the cities of refuge. To the three in Transjordan and the three in the Land of Canaan, as it is said⁴⁶Num. 35:14.: Three cities you shall designate in Transjordan, etc. As long as those in the Land of Israel had not been selected⁴⁷Jos. 20:7. Sifry Num. 160., those in Transjordan were not receiving, as it is said⁴⁸Num. 35:13., there shall be six cities of refuge, not until all six were receiving together⁴⁹Giving asylum to the involuntary homicide..
Roads were maintained from one to the other, as it is said⁵⁰Deut. 19:3.: Maintain the road for yourselves, and divide the domain of your Land into three parts⁵¹Divide both the Land of Israel and Transjordan into three Voronoi domains each so that the nearest city of refuge always was indicated on the sign posts.. One sends with them⁵²The homicide. two scholars lest he⁵³The avenger of the blood. kill him⁵²The homicide. on the road, to argue with him. Rebbi Meïr says, he⁵³The avenger of the blood. may argue for himself as it is said⁵⁴Deut. 19:4., this is the word of the homicide.
Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Jehudah says, at the start both the involuntary and the voluntary [homicide] go to the city of refuge; the court sends and brings them back from there. If one is found guilty by a death sentence, they execute him. If he is found not guilty in a capital case, he is freed. If he is found guilty to be exiled they return him to his place as it is said⁵⁵Num. 35:25., the community shall return him to his city of refuge. Not only⁵⁶The homicide may return to his home town upon the death of the High Priest (Num. 35:28). a [High Priest] anointed with the anointing oil⁵⁷A High Priest of the period of Judges or Kings, anointed from the vial prepared by Moses (Ex. 30:22–33)., but also one wearing the many vestments⁵⁸A High Priest of Second Temple times, wearing an imitation of the High Priest’s robes., and one deposed from his office⁵⁹A High Priest of Herodian times or later, when High Priests usually were appointed annually.. Rebbi Jehudah says, also the one anointed for war⁶⁰To exhort the army, Deut. 20:2. returns the homicide. Therefore, the mothers of the [High] Priests support them with food and clothing, so they should not pray for the death of their sons.
If sentence had been passed when the High Priest died, he is not exiled. If sentence had not yet been passed when the High Priest died, and sentence was passed after a successor had been appointed, he returns after the death of the second.
If sentence was passed when there was no High Priest, or one who killed a High Priest, or a High Priest who killed, can never leave from there. He⁵²The homicide. cannot leave from there, neither for a testimony of obligation,⁶¹A religious act, neither civil nor criminal; e. g., to testify to the appearance of the New Moon. nor a testimony in a civil suit, nor a testimony in a criminal suit, not even if Israel needs him like Joab ben Ṣeruya⁶²David’s general., he cannot ever leave from there, as it is said there⁵⁵Num. 35:25.. There shall be his dwelling, there he shall die, there he shall be buried.
Just as the city grants asylum, so does its domain grant asylum⁶³Every city of refuge also is a Levitic city (Num. 35:6). Each Levitic city was surrounded by a greenbelt of 2’000 cubits, having the same status as the city itself (Lev. 35:4–5; Sotah 5:4 Notes 107–111.) The avenger of the blood has no right to pursue the homicide into the city’s domain.. If a murderer left the domain and was found by the avenger of the blood, Rebbi Yose the Galilean says, it is the obligation of the avenger of the blood and the right of everybody⁶⁴To kill the homicide who left the city of refuge (in the Babli: intentionally).. Rebbi Aqiba says, it is the right of the avenger of the blood and nobody would be liable because of him.
If a tree stands inside the domain but its crown is outside the domain, or the tree stands outside the domain but its crown is inside the domain, everything follows the crown⁶⁵If most of the crown is outside (inside), the entire tree is considered outside (inside). In the Babli, the crown is only taken as an extension of the tree.. If somebody killed in one of these cities, he is exiled from quarter to quarter; but a Levite⁶⁶Whose city it is. Only a Levite can be a permanent resident of a city of refuge. who killed is exiled from one city to another.
Similarly⁶⁷This makes no sense here; it is copied from the identical Mishnah Ševiˋit 10:8., a homicide exiled to a city of refuge whom the citizens of the town wanted to honor, should say to them, I am a homicide. If they tell him, anyway, he should accept, for it is said⁵⁴Deut. 19:4., this is the word of a homicide.

¹²⁰Reference to Mishnah 12, found only in G.[Just as the city grants asylum, so does its domain grants asylum.] ¹²¹Tosephta 3:10, Sifry Deut. 185. The Tosephta credits Abba Shaul with the statement quoted here for R. Nehorai. Sifry quotes R. Nehorai and (Rebbi) Shaul, in inverse order.“Three cities did Moses designate in Transjordan. When they came to the Land they designated another three. In the future there will be another three, as it is said three, three, three¹²²Deut. 19:9. It is written there in v. 7, “three cities you shall designate”. Since it is already reported in Deut. 4:41–43 that Moses designated three cities in Transjordan, v. 19:7 must refer to the three cities which Joshua designated. Therefore 19:9 must refer to another three cities situated in the Northern part of the Land of Promise (Num. 34:1–15) that never was part of the historical Land of Israel. In the opinion of Abba Shaul this Northern part, promised only if the entire people keep all biblical commandments, was as wide as the Cis- and Transjordan parts of the Land of Israel, and therefore needed not three but six additional cities of refuge. It is difficult to make sense of R. Nehorai’s statement.
In the text probably one should read three(Deut. 19:7), three, the three(Deut.19:9). The words עוֹד “additional”, עַל אֵלֶּה “to these” are in Deut. 19:9. In the Constantinople edition, the argument of Abba Shaul for the first 9 is identical to that of the anonymous Tanna; this might be lectio facilior.. This makes nine. Abba Shaul says, three. Three of three times three makes nine. Additional makes twelve. Rebbi Nehorai says, three, three, three make nine. Additional makes twelve. To these three makes fifteen.” It is written¹²³Num. 35:13.: Six cities of refuge there shall be for you, that all six of them give asylum simultaneously. And you say so¹²⁴If this refers to the previous statement,then it is pointed out that Num. 35:13, which limits the number to six, cannot be squared with Deut. 19:9 which suggests nine. The question can be directed only at the anonymous Tanna who requires 9, and R. Nehorai who requires 15 cities, but not at Abba Shaul who envisages two pairs of six cities each.
Another interpretation (Pene Moshe) has this sentence starting a new paragraph, referring to Mishnah 9, and wonders why a High Priest of Second Temple times, who was not anointed with the holy oil compounded by Moses (Ex. 30:22–33) should have the power to free the exiled homicide. It is stated there in v. 23 that only Moses himself could compound this oil and in v. 31 that it should be used for all subsequent generations. By tradition, Josia buried the oil flask together with the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple Mount (2Chr.35:3) after the prophetess Hulda informed him of the imminent destruction of the Temple.? It follows what Rebbi Samuel [ben Aina]¹²⁵Added from G (and the parallels, Taˋaniot 2:1, Horaiot 3:2, as well as the Babli, Yoma 21b). Only R. Samuel bar Aina is known as student of R. Aha. said in the name of Rebbi Aḥa: Five things was the last Temple missing which were in the first Temple, as it is written¹²⁶Hag. 1:8.: Go to the mountain, bring wood, etc., up to I may be honored. It is written I shall be honored, without the letter he¹²⁷Ketib וְאֶכָּבֵד, Qere וְאֶכָּֽבְדָה֭. Both spellings make sense. The missing ה is interpreted in the Alexandrian system of numeration as “5”.. These are the five things which the last Temple was missing which were in the first Temple. They are: The fire¹²⁸The Heavenly fire (2Chr. 7:1)., the Ark¹²⁴If this refers to the previous statement,then it is pointed out that Num. 35:13, which limits the number to six, cannot be squared with Deut. 19:9 which suggests nine. The question can be directed only at the anonymous Tanna who requires 9, and R. Nehorai who requires 15 cities, but not at Abba Shaul who envisages two pairs of six cities each.
Another interpretation (Pene Moshe) has this sentence starting a new paragraph, referring to Mishnah 9, and wonders why a High Priest of Second Temple times, who was not anointed with the holy oil compounded by Moses (Ex. 30:22–33) should have the power to free the exiled homicide. It is stated there in v. 23 that only Moses himself could compound this oil and in v. 31 that it should be used for all subsequent generations. By tradition, Josia buried the oil flask together with the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple Mount (2Chr.35:3) after the prophetess Hulda informed him of the imminent destruction of the Temple., Urim and Tummim¹²⁹Which are mentioned as worn by the High Priest (Ex. 28:30) but for which no description or instructions are given., anointing oil¹²⁴If this refers to the previous statement,then it is pointed out that Num. 35:13, which limits the number to six, cannot be squared with Deut. 19:9 which suggests nine. The question can be directed only at the anonymous Tanna who requires 9, and R. Nehorai who requires 15 cities, but not at Abba Shaul who envisages two pairs of six cities each.
Another interpretation (Pene Moshe) has this sentence starting a new paragraph, referring to Mishnah 9, and wonders why a High Priest of Second Temple times, who was not anointed with the holy oil compounded by Moses (Ex. 30:22–33) should have the power to free the exiled homicide. It is stated there in v. 23 that only Moses himself could compound this oil and in v. 31 that it should be used for all subsequent generations. By tradition, Josia buried the oil flask together with the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple Mount (2Chr.35:3) after the prophetess Hulda informed him of the imminent destruction of the Temple., and the Holy Spirit¹³⁰The spirit of prophecy..