Verses 12-14
The Torah upheld capital punishment for murder (Exodus 21:12), which God commanded of Noah (Genesis 9:6) and people in the Near East practiced from then on. It did not permit capital punishment in the case of manslaughter (unpremeditated murder, Exodus 21:13), which the Code of Hammurabi allowed. [Note: Code of Hammurabi, section 229, in Pritchard, pp. 163-80.]
In the ancient East whoever sought sanctuary in a sacred place was safe from punishment even if he or she had deliberately murdered someone. The Torah removed that protection in the case of murder. God regarded the sanctity of human life greater than the sanctity of a place (Exodus 21:4).
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