A near kinsman, called a go·ʼelʹ, was thus “a repurchaser” (Ru 2:20; 3:9, 13) or, in cases where a murder was involved, a “blood avenger.”​—Nu 35:12.

In the case of murder, the murderer was not allowed sanctuary in the appointed cities of refuge but, after the judicial hearing, was turned over by the judges to the “avenger [go·ʼelʹ] of blood,” a near kinsman of the victim, who then put the murderer to death.