(The) The man who, in the Jewish polity, had the right
of taking vengeance on him who had slain one of his kinsmen. The
Avenger in Hebrew is called goël.
Cities of refuge were appointed for the protection of homicides, and
of those who had caused another's death by accident. The Koran
sanctions the Jewish custom. Family feuds have been a common hunting
ground of poets and novelists.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
