Source of Law in the Biblical 327 punishment of excision in Lev 20,3.5.6 (13). The wording specifies God’s “personal” participation in the punishment of the transgressor. The foundation of this participation is the belief that God rules the world in all its manifestations. A most interesting example of this phenomenon is the case of unintentional homicide, described in Exod 21,13 by the phrase “if he does not do it intentionally” (KJV translation, in accord with the LXX and Tg. Onq. (14). The literary structure of the sentence, as well as the verbs employed, suggest that the writer/redactor wanted to emphasize the passive role of the human: “but if he did not lie in wait”, in contrast to the active divine participation that follows (15). This idea is further supported in the next part of the verse by God’s active intervention in providing a safe haven for the human perpetrator: “he is to flee to a place I will designate” (16). This is not, as some scholars argue, a force majeure (17), or an accident related to an act of the perpetrator; it is an act of divine providence, ultimately performed by a human. The Rabbis presented just such a scenario in which divine intervention redresses past evils and ensures just retribution (bMak 10b) (18). In this occurrence the human is merely God’s messenger and executioner, a common (13) The ambiguity of the various scriptural forms of trk, as well as the actual substance of this punishment, are debated issues. For our purposes, it suffices to note this term as evidence of divine involvement. (14) The LXX translates: “but God has given him into his hands”. Tg. Onq. translates similarly: “and he was delivered by God into his hands”. (15) It seems odd that our v. 13 lacks a verb indicating what the perpetrator has done, which we would expect after the phrase “but if he did not lie in wait”. It is plausible that this too was deliberate, intending to hint that he is not the real perpetrator. (16) See B. JACOB, The Second Book of the Bible. Exodus (transl. from German by W. Jacob) (Hoboken, NJ 1992) 642-649. (17) E.g., PAUL, Studies in the Book of the Covenant, 64. (18) We read there: “Exod 21,13 refers to two people who [each] killed a person, one unintentionally and the other intentionally, without witnesses to their deeds. [The first did not escape to City of Refuge and the second was not killed]. To reestablish the divine order with respect to each one [according to his deed], God causes them to meet in an inn. The one who killed intentionally sits under a ladder; the one who killed unintentionally climbs down the ladder and falls upon the one [sitting below] killing him; the intentional murderer is killed and the unintentional murderer escapes [to the Cities of Refuge]”. The Mek on the biblical verse quotes the same story, but in a shortened and rather obscure style, and I therefore chose to cite the BT source.