I don’t defend the Torah’s ostensibly immoral laws, but I do try to understand what motivated them.
Dr. Rabbi
Eliezer Finkelman
,
,
The Torah allows kin to take vengeance on a murderer; in cases of manslaughter, the killer is offered sanctuary at a refuge city. These laws highlight the struggle to limit clan justice in ancient Israel, a challenge found centuries earlier among the northern Amorites, as detailed in several letters to King Zimri-Lim of Mari.
Dr.
Yigal Bloch
,
,
“But… if it came to light, when my rival appeared, that he had a mother waiting for him....”
Dr.
Gili Kugler
