Blood Vengeance

When someone was murdered, there was the option for his family to take revenge by killing the murderer. However, this blood vengeance was subject to certain rules.

Blood vengeance was a way of restoring a balance that had been upset by murder. When someone had been killed, the family was entitled to avenge themselves and kill the murderer. In principle, the vengeance was carried out by the (eldest) son. But if there was no son, another family member could take up the role of the blood avenger.

In the following cases, a murder could not be avenged: 

Someone who had killed another person could escape blood vengeance by fleeing to a city of refuge. However, in this kind of city he would only be safe if he had killed the person by accident. If the murder was premeditated, the murderer would have to be killed after all. Blood vengeance could not be bought off.

Blood vengeance comes from the same principles as the concept of the kinsman-redeemer. The kinsman-redeemer was a family member tasked with restoring balance. If a family member had lost a piece of land, the kinsman-redeemer had to buy it back. If a family member was forced to sell themselves into slavery, he had to redeem them. Blood vengeance was also a way of restoring balance. In fact, the Hebrew term for kinsman-redeemer, gaal, is often translated into English as “avenger of blood”. The word has to do with “getting something back” or “making something right”.