Avenger of blood

The avenger of blood (Hebrew gōʾēl haddām) was the nearest male relative of a murder victim, on whom fell the duty and right to execute the killer. The institution was rooted in the principle that innocent blood pollutes the land and demands justice. Moses regulated this practice by establishing six cities of refuge to which an accidental killer could flee; if the avenger caught the killer outside a city of refuge, the killing was lawful (Numbers 35:9–28; Deuteronomy 19:1–13). The accidental killer was required to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest.

The broader term gōʾēl (kinsman-redeemer) also encompasses the duty to redeem enslaved relatives and to raise up offspring for a deceased brother—the same kinship-obligation in a different context.