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Deuteronomy Chapter
Twenty-one
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 21
This
chapter treats of the beheading of the heifer, for the expiation of unknown
murder, and the rules to be observed in it, Deuteronomy 21:1 of
a beautiful captive woman an Israelite is desirous of having for his wife, and
what methods he must take to accomplish it, Deuteronomy 21:10,
of giving the double portion to the firstborn, which he must not be deprived of
in favour of the son of a beloved wife, Deuteronomy 21:15
and of the stubborn and rebellious son, who remaining so must be put to death, Deuteronomy 21:18
and of burying a person hanged on a tree the same day he is executed, Deuteronomy 21:22.
Deuteronomy 21:1 “If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the
land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known
who killed him,
YLT
1`When one is found slain on
the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it -- fallen in a
field -- it is not known who hath smitten him,
If one be found slain,.... After public war
with an enemy, Moses proceeds to speak of a private quarrel and fight of one
man with another, in which one is slain, as Aben Ezra observes:
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it; where murders
might be committed more secretly, and remain undiscovered, when they came to
live in separate cities, towns, and villages, with fields adjacent to them,
than now encamped together:
lying in the field; where the quarrel begun, and where the
fight was fought: or, however, where the murderer met with his enemy, and slew
him, and left him; it being common for duels to be fought, and murders
committed in a field; the first murder in the world was committed in such a
place, Genesis 4:8. The
Targum of Jonathan is,"not hidden under an heap, not hanging on a tree,
nor swimming on the face of the waters;'which same things are observed in the
MisnahF9Sotah, c. 9. sect. 2. , and gathered from some words in the
text:
in the land, and so not under a heap:
lying, and so not hanging:
in the field, and so not swimming on the water:
and it be not known who hath slain him; the parties
being alone, and no witnesses of the fact, at least that appear; for, if it was
known, the heifer was not beheaded, later mentionedF11Maimon.
Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 9. sect. 11, 12. ; and one witness in this case was
sufficient, and even one that was not otherwise admitted.
Deuteronomy 21:2 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the
distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities.
YLT
2then have thine elders and
thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which [are] round about the
slain one,
Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth,.... From the
city or cities near to which the murder was committed, to make inquiry about
it, and expiation for it; so Aben Ezra interprets it of the elders of the
cities near, but others understand it of the elders of the great sanhedrim at
Jerusalem; so the Targum of Jonathan,"then shall go out from the great
sanhedrim two of thy wise men, and three of thy judges;'and more expressly the
MisnahF12Sotah, c. 9. sect. 1. ,"three go out from the great
sanhedrim in Jerusalem;'R. Judah says five,"it is said "thy
elders" two, and "thy judges" two,'and there is no sanhedrim or
court of judicature equal (or even), therefore they add to them one more:
and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him
that is slain; that is, from the place where the slain lies, as Jarchi rightly
interprets it; on all sides of it, from the four corner's, as the Targum of
Jonathan, the cities round about the slain. MaimonidesF13Hilchot
Rotzeach, c. 9. sect. 4. says, they do not behead the heifer for, nor measure,
but to a city in which there is a sanhedrim: if it is found between two cities
(that is, at an equal distance), both bring two heifers (MaimonidesF14Ib.
sect. 8. says they bring one between them, which is most reasonable); but the
city of Jerusalem does not bring an heifer to be beheaded: the reason is,
because it was not divided to the tribesF15Maimon Hilchot Rotzeachs,
c. 9. sect. 8. . This measuring, one would think, should be only necessary when
it was not certain which was the nearest city; and yet MaimonidesF16lb.
c. 9. sect. 1. says, even when it was found on the side of a city, which was
certainly known to be nearest, they measured; the command, he observes, is to
measure.
Deuteronomy 21:3 3 And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to
the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has
not pulled with a yoke.
YLT
3and it hath been, the city
which [is] near unto the slain one, even the elders of that city have taken a
heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, which hath not drawn in
the yoke,
And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man,.... And so
suspected, as the Targum of Jonathan, of the murder; or the murderer is in it,
or however belonged to it:
even the elders of the city shall take an heifer; of a year
old, as the same Targum, and so Jarchi; and in this the Jewish writers agree,
that it must be a year old, but not two; though heifers of three years old were
sometimes used in sacrifice, Genesis 15:9 a type
of Christ, in his strength, laboriousness, and patience; see Numbers 19:2.
which hath not been wrought with; in ploughing land, or
treading out corn:
and which hath not drawn in the yoke, which never
had any yoke put upon it; or however, if attempted to be put upon it, it would
not come under it, and draw with it: no mention is made, as usual, that it
should be without blemish: because though in some sense expiatory, yet was not
properly a sacrifice, it not being slain and offered where sacrifices were;
hence it is said in the MisnahF17Ut supra, (Sotah, c. 9.) sect. 5. ,
that a blemish in it did not make it rejected, or unlawful for use:
nevertheless, this heifer may be a type of Christ, whose sufferings, bloodshed,
and death, atone for secret and unknown sins, as well as for open and manifest
ones, even for all sin; and its being free from labour, and without a yoke, may
signify the freedom of Christ from the yoke of sin, and the service of it, and
from human traditions; that he was not obliged to any toil and labour he had
been concerned in, or to bear the yoke of the law, had he not voluntarily
undertaken it of himself; and that he expiated the sins of such who were sons
of Belial, children without a yoke; and for the same reason, this heifer not
being required to be without blemish, might be because Christ, though he had no
sin of his own, was made sin for his people, and reckoned as if he had been a
sinner; though indeed, had this been the design of the type, all the sacrifices
which typified Christ would not have required such a qualification, to be
without blemish, as they did.
Deuteronomy 21:4 4 The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a
valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break
the heifer’s neck there in the valley.
YLT
4and the elders of that city
have brought down the heifer unto a hard valley, which is not tilled nor sown,
and have beheaded there the heifer in the valley.
The elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough
valley,.... Cities being generally built on hills, and so had adjacent
valleys, to which there was a descent; but here a rough valley, or the rougher
part of it, was selected for this purpose. As a valley is low, and this a rough
one, it may be an emblem of Christ's being brought into this lower world, from
heaven to earth, to do the will of his Father, which was to work out the
salvation of his people; and of his coming into the lower parts of the earth,
the womb of the virgin, at his incarnation, and to the grave at his death, Psalm 139:15, and
of the low estate he came into by the assumption of human nature; through
appearing in the form of a servant, being in indigent circumstances, and
ministered to by others, and needing the assistance of angels in the wilderness
and garden, by which it appeared he was made lower than they; by his being
despised of men, and forsaken by his Father; all which are proofs of the low
estate he was brought into, fitly signified by a valley, and which was a rough
valley to him; in which he was roughly treated, his life being sought after in
his infancy by Herod, which obliged the flight of his parents with him into Egypt;
and being not received, but rejected by his own, as the King Messiah, whom they
would not have to reign over them, and loaded with opprobrious names by them;
and who often sought and attempted by various ways to take away his life; and
when apprehended and examined before the high priest, and in Pilate's hall, was
used in the rudest manner, being spit upon, buffeted, and scourged; and when
led out to be crucified, was treated in the most barbarous and scornful manner,
and was put to death in the most painful and shameful way; and, above all, was
severely handled by the justice of God, being numbered among the transgressors,
when the sword of justice was awaked against him, and he was not in the least
spared, but wrath came upon him to the uttermost for the sins of his people; so
that this world he was brought into proved a rough valley indeed to him. This
some take to be an emblem of the hard heart of the murderer who had committed
such a barbarous and cruel action as to kill a man; or of the hard heart of a
sinner, into which Christ is brought through the ministry of the word; or of
the infamous place, Calvary, where Christ was brought to suffer death; but the
former is best. Some interpret it, a "strong stream"F17אל נחל איתן
"ad torrentem fortem", Montanus. , or "rapid torrent"; so
MaimonidesF18Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 9. sect. 2, so Abarbinel in Muis.
& Ben Melech. and others; and indeed in valleys there are generally streams
or brooks of water, but this seems not so well to agree with what follows:
which is neither cared nor sown; that is, neither
ploughed nor sown, but quite an uncultivated place; and this the Jews
understand not of what it had been, or then was, but what it should be
hereafter; that from henceforward it should never be manured, but lie barren
and useless; so it is said in the MisnahF19Ut supra. (Sotah, c. 9.
sect. 5.) , the place is forbid sowing or tilling, but is free to dress flax
in, or to dig stones out of it: so R. Joseph KimchiF20Apud D.
Kimchi, Sepher Shorash, rad. איח interprets this of a
fat and fruitful valley, which was not to be tilled nor sown from thenceforward
for time to come; the reason of which he thinks was, that they might be the
more careful of their countries and borders, and how they encouraged bloody
minded men to dwell among them; that no slain person might be found there, and
so they lose a choice part of their possessions; and to the same purpose
MaimonitiesF21Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 40. : and this became true
of the fruitful land of Judea and Jerusalem, after the sufferings and death of
Christ there, Luke 21:24.
and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley; with an axe,
on the back part of it, in the midst of the valley, as the Targum of Jonathan,
and the same is said in the MisnahF23Ut supra. (Sotah, c. 9. sect.
5.) : in this it was a type of Christ, who was put to death at the instigation
of the elders of the Jewish nation, Matthew 27:1 and
without the gates of Jerusalem at Golgotha; see Hebrews 13:11.
Deuteronomy 21:5 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in
the name of the Lord; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.
YLT
5`And the priests, sons of
Levi, have come nigh -- for on them hath Jehovah thy God fixed to serve Him,
and to bless in the name of Jehovah, and by their mouth is every strife, and
every stroke –
And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near,.... Who were
clearly of the tribe of Levi, as Aben Ezra notes; about whom there could be no
dispute; for it seems there sometimes were persons in that office, of whom
there was some doubt at least whether they were of that tribe; these seem to be
such that belonged to the court of judicature at Jerusalem; see Deuteronomy 17:9,
who were to be present at this solemnity, to direct in the performance of it,
and to judge and determine in any matter of difficulty that might arise:
for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him; in the
service of the sanctuary, by offering sacrifices, &c.
and to bless in the name of the Lord; the people;
see Numbers 6:23.
and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be
tried; every controversy between man and man respecting civil things,
and every stroke or blow which one man may give another; and whatsoever came
before them was tried by them, according to the respective laws given
concerning the things in question, and were not determined by them in an
arbitrary way, according to their own will and pleasure; see Deuteronomy 17:8.
Deuteronomy 21:6 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man
shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
YLT
6and all the elders of that
city, who are near unto the slain one, do wash their hands over the heifer
which is beheaded in the valley,
And all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain man,.... The whole
court of judicature belonging to it, all the magistracy of it; even though
there were an hundred of them, MaimonidesF24Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 9.
sect. 3. says:
shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the
valley: in token of their innocence, and this they did not only for
themselves, but for the whole city, being the representatives of it; see Psalm 26:6. Some
think that this is a confirmation of the sense embraced by some, that it was a
strong stream to which the heifer was brought; and there might be a stream of
water here, and a valley also; though it would be no great difficulty to get
from the city, which was near, a sufficient quantity of water to wash the hands
of the elders with. This may denote the purification of sin by the blood of
Christ, when it is confessed over him; and shows that priests and elders,
ministers of the word, as well as others, stand in need of it; and that even
those concerned in the death of Christ shared in the benefits of it.
Deuteronomy 21:7 7 Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this
blood, nor have our eyes seen it.
YLT
7and they have answered and
said, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen –
And they shall answer and say,.... The elders of the
city, at the time of the washing of their hands:
our hands have not shed this blood; have been no ways
concerned in it, nor accessory to it: the Targum of Jonathan is,"it is
manifest before the Lord that he did not come into our hands, nor did we
dismiss him, that has shed this blood;'which is more fully explained in the
MisnahF25Ut supra, (Sotah. c. 9.) sect. 6. ; for had they been aware
of him, or had any suspicion of him or his design, they would have detained
him, or at least would not have suffered him to have departed alone:
neither have our eyes seen; it, or him; so the
Targum of Jerusalem,"our eyes have not seen him that hath shed this
blood;'by which expression is meant, that they had no manner of knowledge of
the murderer, nor of any circumstance that could lead them to suspect or
conclude who he was.
Deuteronomy 21:8 8 Provide atonement, O Lord,
for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood
to the charge of Your people Israel.’ And atonement shall be provided on their
behalf for the blood.
YLT
8receive atonement for Thy
people Israel, whom Thou hast ransomed, O Jehovah, and suffer not innocent
blood in the midst of Thy people Israel; and the blood hath been pardoned to
them,
Be merciful, O Lord, to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed,.... Out of
Egyptian bondage, and claimed as his own; and therefore it is requested he
would be favourable to them, and show them mercy, and not punish them for a sin
they were entirely ignorant of, though done by some one among them, whom as yet
they could not discover. The words seem to be the words of the elders
continued, who having made a declaration of their innocence, humbly request
mercy of God, not only for themselves, but for all the people of Israel; yet,
both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan take them to be the words of the
priests, and so does Jarchi, and the same is affirmed in the MisnahF26Ut
supra. (Sotah. c. 9. sect. 5.) :
and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge; impute not
the guilt of innocent blood to a people in general, when only a single person,
and he unknown, is chargeable with it: or put it not "in the midst"
of thy people; let it not be placed to the whole, because it cannot be found
out whose it is, though it is certain it is one in the midst of them:
and the blood shall be forgiven them; that is, God
will not impute it, and place it to their account, or lay it to their charge;
but will graciously consider the beheading of the heifer as an expiation of it:
it is said in the MisnahF1Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 9. sect. 7. ,"if
the murderer is found before the heifer is beheaded, it goes forth and feeds
among the herd; but if after it is beheaded, it is buried in the same place;
and again, if the heifer is beheaded, and after that the murderer is found, he
shall be slain;'so the Targums, and Jarchi on the next verse.
Deuteronomy 21:9 9 So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from
among you when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
YLT
9and thou dost put away the
innocent blood out of thy midst, for thou dost that which [is] right in the
eyes of Jehovah.
So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you,.... Which
otherwise, the person not being found out, and brought to just punishment for
it, would devolve upon the whole. Aben Ezra interprets it the punishment of
innocent blood, which, by the above method being taken, would not be inflicted
on them:
when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord; as it was to
observe this law concerning the beheading of the heifer, with all the rites and
ceremonies belonging to it here enjoined; as well as every other command,
statute, and ordinance of the Lord, which are all right to be done, Psalm 19:8.
Deuteronomy 21:10 10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive,
YLT
10`When thou goest out to
battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God hath given them into thy
hand, and thou hast taken captive its captivity,
When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies,.... This
refers to an arbitrary war, as Jarchi remarks, which they entered into of
themselves, of choice, or through being provoked to it by their enemies; and
not a war commanded by the Lord, as that against the seven nations of Canaan,
and against Amalek; since there were to be no captives in that war, but all
were to be destroyed:
and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands; given them
the victory over their enemies, so that they were obliged to surrender
themselves to them prisoners of war:
and thou hast taken them captive, or "led his or
their captivityF2ושבית שביו
"et captivam duxerit captivitatem ejus", Pagninus, Montanus,
Vatablus. captive"; led them captive who used to lead others, denoting
their conquest of victorious nations; see a like phrase in Psalm 68:18.
Deuteronomy 21:11 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and
desire her and would take her for your wife,
YLT
11and hast seen in the
captivity a woman of fair form, and hast delighted in her, and hast taken to
thee for a wife,
And seest among the captives a beautiful woman,.... Whether a
virgin, wife, or widow, according to the Jewish writers, even though another
man's wife; so JarchiF3Vid. T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 21. 2. , and
MaimonidesF4Hilchot Melachim, c. 8. sect. 3. ; the marriages of
Gentiles being reckoned by the Jews no marriages:
and hast a desire unto her; being captivated with
her beauty; some understand this of the strength and rage of lust, but it
rather signifies a passionate desire of enjoying her in a lawful way, as
follows:
that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; to be married
to her in a legal manner; for though it was not allowed the Israelites to marry
any of the seven nations of Canaan, nor indeed with any of other nations
continuing in their idolatry; yet they might marry such as became their
captives and servants, and were wholly in their own power; and especially if
proselytes to their religion, and which this fair captive was to become before
marriage, as is by some gathered from the following things to be done by her;
though after all, this was only a permission, because of the hardness of their
hearts, as is said of divorce; and that such marriages were not very grateful
to God appears, as some have observed, from the ceremonies used before
marriage, to render her contemptible; and the easy dismission of her
afterwards, according to the sense of some interpreters.
Deuteronomy 21:12 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she
shall shave her head and trim her nails.
YLT
12then thou hast brought her
in unto the midst of thy household, and she hath shaved her head, and prepared
her nails,
Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house,.... In order
to make her his wife, after some things were done here directed to; for this is
not to be understood of his taking her home with a view to defile her, as
MaimonidesF5Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 41. interprets it; who
observes, that when a man's lust so rages that he cannot subdue it, yet he
ought not publicly to satisfy his lust, but to have the woman into a private
and secret place, as it is said:
thou shalt bring her into the midst of thine house; nor was he
permitted to lie with her in the camp, nor was it lawful for him to defile her
a second time, until her mourning was at an end; though elsewhereF6Hilchot
Melachim, c. 8. sect. 2. he gives a different sense of this passage, and
supposes the man to have lain with the captive woman, before the introduction
of her into his house; for it is a notion that prevails with the Jewish
writers, that an Israelitish soldier might lie once with an Heathen woman taken
captive, to gratify his lust, but might not repeat it; so it is said in the
TalmudF7T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 21. 2. ; yet it must be observed, that
there are some, though but few, who are of opinion that the first congress was
unlawful, and that he might not touch her until certain conditions were
fulfilled, and they were married, as R. JochananF8Apud Abarbinel in
loc. & R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 14. 1. ; and which is embraced,
supported, and defended by Abarbinel on the place, and in which he is
undoubtedly right; and so it is understood by JosephusF9Antiqu. l.
4. c. 8. sect. 23. and PhiloF11De Charitate, p. 706. ; for this law
gives no liberty nor countenance to the violation of the beautiful captive. The
plain meaning is, that when a Jewish soldier was passionately in love with a
captive, and was desirous of making her his wife, he was to take her home to
his house, where she was to remain, to see whether his passion of love would
subside, or the woman become a proselyte, or however till certain rites were
observed, and then he was permitted to marry her:
and she shall shave her head; either that she might be
the less engaging, her flowing locks, or plaited hair, or modish headdress,
being removed from her, which had served to excite a passion for her; or as a
token of mourning for her present afflicted state and condition; and in
afflicted circumstances it was usual to shave the head; see Job 1:20; and
though it was forbidden the Israelites, yet not Gentiles; Deuteronomy 14:1.
and pare her nails; this and the former some think were ordered
to make her fit to be his wife, and were a sort of purification of her, and an
emblem of her having renounced Heathenism, and having departed from it, and
laid aside all superfluity of former naughtiness; but this phrase is
interpreted in the Targum of Onkelos, "let her nails grow"; and so
the Arabic version: and this the Jewish writers say was ordered to be done,
that she might appear ugly and disagreeable to him, and be abhorred by him; so
Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Ben Melech; the same is observed by MaimonidesF12Ut
supra. (Hilchot Melachim, c. 8.) sect. 5. , and is the sense of R. AkibaF13In
T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 48. 2. . Another of their writersF14R. Abraham
Seba in Tzeror Hammor, fol. 146. 2. think it refers to a custom in some nations
to dye their nails."The daughters of the Heathens (he says) used to adorn
the nails of their hands and feet, and dye them with various colours, according
to the custom of the Ishmaelites (or Turks); that there might be a variety in
their hands, and men might look at them, take them and handle them until the
fire of hell, and an evil concupiscence, burned; wherefore this is ordered that
they might let them grow, without any preparation or die.'But perhaps this
neglect of their nails, and suffering them to grow, was in token of mourning as
well as shaving the head, as also sometimes even paring the nails was done on
the same account.
Deuteronomy 21:13 13 She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain
in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you
may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
YLT
13and turned aside the
raiment of her captivity from off her, and hath dwelt in thy house, and
bewailed her father and her mother a month of days, and afterwards thou dost go
in unto her and hast married her, and she hath been to thee for a wife:
And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her,.... Her
beautiful garments, and gay apparel, in which she was taken captive; and which
tended to stir up the stronger affection for her, and greater desire after her;
and therefore, as some think, were ordered to be removed, to abate the ardour
of love to her. Jarchi observes, that the daughters of the Gentiles used to
adorn themselves in war, that they might cause others to commit fornication
with them; and another writer before referred to saysF15R. Abraham
Seba in Tzeror. Hammor, fol. 146. 2. , the daughters of Heathens used to adorn
themselves in raiment of silk, and purple, and fine linen, and needlework, to
allure and entice men with them; and therefore the law obliges to put off her
beautiful garments, and clothe her with old worn out ones, that she might be
less agreeable to him; though the putting off her fine clothes, and being clad
with sordid ones, might be only as a token of mourning; as it was customary at
such times to lay aside richer clothing, and put on sackcloth, Jonah 3:6.
and shall remain in thine house: shut up there, and never
stir out, as the same writer interprets it. MaimonidesF16Ut supra.
(Hilchot Melachim, c. 8. sect. 2.) says, that she was to be with him in the
house, that going in and out he might see her, and she become abominable to
him; though perhaps it was only that he might have an opportunity of observing
her manners, and of conversing with her, in order to make a proselyte of her;
so the Targum of Jonathan interprets it of dipping herself, and becoming a
proselytess in his house; or else, as the rest, her abiding in the house, and
not going out, might be on account of mourning, as follows:
and bewail her father and her mother a full month; who were
either dead in the battle, or however she had no hope of seeing them any more,
being a captive, and likely to be settled in another man's house in a foreign
country, and so take her farewell of her father's house in this mournful
manner. The Jews are divided about the sense of these words; some take them
simply to signify her parents, others her idols, according to Jeremiah 2:17. The
Targum of Jonathan is,"and weep for the idols of the house of her father
and her mother;'meaning not for the loss of them, but for the idolatry of her
father's house she was now convinced of, being become a proselytess, according
to the paraphrast; but the last seems only to have respect to the loss of her
father and mother, which she was to bewail a whole month, or "a moon of
days"F17ירח ימים
"luna dierum", Montanus, Piscator, Grotius. ; as many days as the
moon is going its course, which it finishes in twenty seven days, seven hours,
and forty three minutes, and this is called the periodical month; but is longer
in passing from one conjunction of it with the sun to another, called the
synodical month, and its quantity is twenty nine days, twelve hours, and forty
four minutes. MaimonidesF18Ut supra (Hilchot Melachim, c. 8.), sect.
6. says, she was to stay in his house three months, one month of mourning, and
two after that, and then he was to marry her. The reason of this the Targum of
Jonathan explains, by paraphrasing the words thus,"and shall stay three
months, that it may be known whether she is with child;'that is, by his lying
with her before when taken with her beauty, that so he might distinguish this
child begotten on her in Heathenism, from what he might have by her after
marriage, which is supposed to be the case of Tamar and Absalom; but as there
is no foundation in the text for a permission to lie with her before marriage,
so neither for these additional months; only one month was required, which was
the usual time for mourning for deceased relations; see Numbers 20:29.
and after that thou shalt go in unto her; and not
before:
and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife he continuing
to love her, and she having become a proselytess.
Deuteronomy 21:14 14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then
you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you
shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.
YLT
14`And it hath been -- if
thou hast not delighted in her, that thou hast sent her away at her desire, and
thou dost not at all sell her for money; thou dost not tyrannize over her,
because that thou hast humbled her.
And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her;.... Either
some time after marriage:
then thou shalt let her go whither she will; by a bill of
divorce, as the Targum of Jonathan, who understands it in this sense, and as
the connection of the words seems to require; or else before marriage, at the
month's end, or any time before, that if his affections cooled towards her, and
all the above methods tended to abate his love of her, then he was obliged to
dismiss her, or to grant her her freedom, and let her go wherever she pleased;
she was no longer his captive, nor his servant:
but thou shalt not sell her at all for money; as he might
have done if he had not made such a proposal to her, and obliged her to the
observance of such rites and ceremonies as he did, in order to make her his
wife:
thou shalt not make merchandise of her; which seems
to express the same thing, and therefore something else is rather intended; as
that he should neither make any gain of her by selling her to another, nor
retain her in his own service, nor make use of her as a slave; so Jarchi says,
that in the Persian language they call service by this word, and which also he
says he learnt from an eminent writer of theirs, R. Moses Hadarsan; with which
MaimonidesF19Ut supra. (Hilchot Melachim, c. 8. sect. 2.) agrees,
who explains it, shall make no use of her service, or serve himself by her; he
should have no profit by her, either by sale, or servitude:
because thou hast humbled her; which phrase it must be
owned is often, used of unlawful commerce with a woman, of defiling her, or
violating her chastity; and so may seem to confirm the notion of those who
think that he lay with her before he took her to his house, and therefore, upon
a refusal to marry her afterwards, was obliged to this loss; though the word
signifies any kind of affliction, as this was a very great one, a great
mortification to her, to be taken into his house, to have her head shaved, and
her nails pared, or suffered to grow, and her fine clothes changed for sordid
ones; and all this with a profession of a design to marry her, and yet after
all is deceived and disappointed by him; wherefore for such a conduct toward
her he was obliged to give her her freedom.
Deuteronomy 21:15 15 “If a man has two wives, one loved and the other
unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the
unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved,
YLT
15`When a man hath two wives,
the one loved and the other hated, and they have borne to him sons (the loved
one and the hated one), and the first-born son hath been to the hated one;
If a man have two wives,.... Which is supposed,
but not approved of, though permitted because of the hardness of men's hearts;
for it was not so from the beginning, when only one man and one woman were
created, and joined together in marriage; but as it was connived at, and become
customary, a law is made to prevent confusion, and preserve order in families:
one beloved and another hated; or less loved, yet
continued his wife, and not divorced. Aben Ezra observes, this follows upon the
former, because it is there said, that though first he had a desire to her (the
captive beautiful woman), yet afterwards had no delight in her:
and they have borne him children both, the beloved and the hated; as Rachel and
Leah did to Jacob, who were, the one very much beloved by him, and the other
less:
and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated; or not so
much beloved as the other, as was the case in the above instance.
Deuteronomy 21:16 16 then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his
possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the
son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true
firstborn.
YLT
16then it hath been, in the
day of his causing his sons to inherit that which he hath, he is not able to
declare first-born the son of the loved one, in the face of the son of the
hated one -- the first-born.
Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he
hath,.... By a will in writing, or byword of mouth, or by a deed of
gift, actually bestowing his goods upon them, and dividing among them what he
is for the present possessed of; see Luke 15:12,
that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the
son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn; that is, when
such is the case, that the son of his wife he has the least value for is really
his firstborn, he may not, through favour and affection to the wife he loves
better, prefer her son, and declare him to be the firstborn, by devising to him
or bestowing on him the double portion of his goods; for so to do would not be
right, or agreeably to the will and law of God; for though previous to this law
the birthright was given to Joseph, the eldest son of Rachel, the most beloved
wife of Jacob, before Reuben who was the son of Leah, less beloved by him, and
was in fact his firstborn; yet this was owing to the sin of Reuben, and by the
appointment of God; see Genesis 49:3.
Deuteronomy 21:17 17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as
the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is
the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
YLT
17But the first-born, son of
the hated one, he doth acknowledge, to give to him a double portion of all that
is found with him, for he [is] the beginning of his strength; to him [is] the
right of the first-born.
But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn,.... Own him
and declare him to be so, both by his will and the division of goods by him; or
he shall "separate" him, as Onkelos; distinguish him from all his
other sons, and make known to all, as the Targum of Jonathan, that he is his
firstborn:
by giving him a double portion of all that he hath; or,
"that is found with him"F20אשר ימצא לו "quod inventum
fuerit ei", Pagninus, Montanus., ; which he was in the possession of when
he made his will, or divided his goods; and so refers not to what might come
into his hands afterwards, or should be his in reversion afterwards; in this
the firstborn had not his double portion, only in what his father was for the
present possessed of; so that if a man had two sons, his goods were divided
into three parts, and the firstborn took two parts, and the other the third; if
three sons, they were divided into four parts, of which the firstborn had two
parts, and the others each of them one; if four sons, they were divided into
five parts, and the firstborn took two, and the other three one apiece, and so
in proportion; the division was made according to their number:
for he is the beginning of his strength; as Jacob
said, of Reuben; see Gill on Genesis 49:3 the
right of the firstborn is his; before this law was given, there was a
birthright, or a privilege belonging to the firstborn, which gave him the
preeminence in the family to his brethren; but whether he was entitled to a
double portion of goods, previous to this law, is not certain; however, by this
it was his right, and might not be alienated from him; for, according to the
Jewish canonsF21Misn. Bava Bathra, c. 8. sect. 5. ,"if a man
say, such an one my son, the firstborn, shall not take the double portion, and
my son such an one shall not inherit with his brethren, he says nothing, cause
he disposes contrary to what is written in the law.'This law of the firstborn
in the mystery of it may respect our Lord Jesus Christ, the firstborn of God,
and the firstborn of Mary; and who had a double portion of the gifts and grace
of the Spirit, or rather the Spirit without measure, the oil of gladness he was
anointed with above his fellows, and is the firstborn among many brethren,
among whom in all things he has the preeminence; and also the elect of God, the
church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven, who have a double
portion, both temporal and spiritual things, the promise of this life and that
to come, grace here and glory hereafter; and the ultimate glory is but one
inheritance, they all share alike in, being equally children, and all
firstborn; and it may have regard also to the Jewish and Gentile churches, the
former was the beloved wife, the latter some time not beloved, and yet the
children of the Gentile church have a larger measure of the Spirit than those
of the jewish church had; see Romans 9:25.
Deuteronomy 21:18 18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will
not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who,
when they have chastened him, will not heed them,
YLT
18`When a man hath a son
apostatizing and rebellious -- he is not hearkening to the voice of his father,
and to the voice of his mother, and they have chastised him, and he doth not hearken
unto them –
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son,.... It is
observedF23Moses Kotensis Mitzvot Torah, pr. affirm. 122. Kimchi in 2 Sam. 3. 3. that this law
quickly follows, and is subjoined to that which relates to the marriage of a
woman taken captive, because often from such marriages wicked and refractory
children have sprung, and which they exemplify in the case of Absalom, whose
mother they say David took in war and married: the character of such a son
follows, and by which it may be known that he is stubborn and rebellious;
stubborn in his nature, and rebellious in his actions; behaves contrary to the
laws of God, and the instructions of his parents; what he should do, that he
does not; and what he should not do, that he does; will not do what is
commanded him, and will do what is forbidden him, notwithstanding all counsels,
admonitions, and corrections given him:
which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his
mother; is disobedient to the commands of either of them; see Proverbs 30:17 and,
when they have chastened him, will not hearken to them; when they have reproved
him by words, and corrected him with blows; the Jews understand this of
scourging or beating by the order of the sanhedrim, after admonition given; it
is saidF24Misn. Sandedrin, c. 8. sect. 4. ,"they admonish him
before three (a court of judicature consisting of three judges), and they beat
him; but it seems rather to respect private corrections of their own by words
and stripes, which having no effect, they were to proceed as follows.'
Deuteronomy 21:19 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him
and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city.
YLT
19then laid hold on him have
his father and his mother, and they have brought him out unto the elders of his
city, and unto the gate of his place,
Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him,.... With
their own hands, or cause him to be apprehended by others, in which they were
to agree, and which the Jews gather from hence;"if (say theyF25Misn.
Sanhedrin, c. 8. sect. 4. ) the father is willing (to bring him to justice),
and the mother not willing, if his father is not willing and the mother is
willing, he is not reckoned a stubborn or rebellious son, until they both
agree:"
and bring him out unto the elders of his city; according to
the MisnahF26Ibid. , the sanhedrim, or court of judicature,
consisting of twenty three; for they say, that after he has been admonished and
scourged by order of the bench of three, if he returns to his corrupt and
wicked ways again, he is judged by the court of twenty three:
and unto the gate of his place; or city, where the court
sat; so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, to the gate of the sanhedrim of
his place.
Deuteronomy 21:20 20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son
of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton
and a drunkard.’
YLT
20and have said unto the
elders of his city, Our son -- this one -- is apostatizing and rebellious; he
is not hearkening to our voice -- a glutton and drunkard;
And they shall say unto the elders of his city,.... In open
court, what follows, at the same time, according to the Targum of Jonathan,
acknowledging their own sins, for which such a calamity had befallen them,
saying,"we have transgressed the decree of the word of the Lord, because
is born unto us a son that is stubborn, &c.'see John 9:2.
this our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; one of an
obstinate disposition, will have his own will and way, is perverse and
refractory; honours not, but despises his parents, and is disobedient to their
commands, unruly and ungovernable: the Jews gatherF1Misn. Sanhedrin,
c. 8. sect. 4. many things from hence, for which there is little foundation, as
that they must be neither dumb, nor blind, nor deaf; though what they further
observe is not much amiss, concerning this rebellious child, that the law
respects a son and not a daughter, because a daughter generally is more
tractable; and less capable of doing mischief than a son; and a son and not a
man, for if at man's estate, and for himself, he is not under the power of his
parents; and yet not a child or a little one, for that is not comprehended in
the commands; he must be according to them thirteen years of age and one day,
and he must be a son and not a fatherF2Ut supra, (Misn. Bava Bathra,
c. 8.) sect. 1. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. :
he is a glutton and
a drunkard; which, according to the MisnahF3Ib. sect. 2. , is one
that eats half a pound of flesh, and drinks half a log of Italian wine; R. Jose
says, a pound of flesh and a log of wine; but the decision was not according to
him; the first rule stood: now half a pound of flesh, and half a log of wine,
which was about three egg shells, or a quarter of a pint, would be at this day
reckoned very little by our grandsons of Bacchus, as Schickard observesF4Jus
Regium Heb. c. 5. Theor. 17. p. 364. ; but in an age of severer discipline, as
he says, in the tender candidates of temperance, it was reckoned too much, and
was a presage of a future glutton: and it must be further observed to
denominate him a rebellious son, what he ate and drank was to be what he stole
from his parents, and did not eat and drink it at home, but abroad, and in bad
company; so Jarchi remarks on the text, he is not guilty until he steals, and
eats half a pound of flesh, and drinks half a log of wine; in which he seems to
have respect to the Jewish canonF5Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 8. sect. 3.
,"if he steals from his father and eats it in a place in his father's
power, or from others and eats it in a place in their power, or from others and
eats it in a place in his father's power; he is not reckoned a stubborn and
rebellious son, unless he steals from his father, and eats it in a place in the
power of others,'see Proverbs 23:20, the
Jews seem to refer to this when they charged Christ with being a glutton and a
winebibber, Matthew 11:19 being
desirous of having him thought as such an one.
Deuteronomy 21:21 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death
with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel
shall hear and fear.
YLT
21and all the men of his city
have stoned him with stones, and he hath died, and thou hast put away the evil
out of thy midst, and all Israel do hear and fear.
And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he
die,.... The populace; that is, after his trial is finished, and he
is condemned to die; and he was not stoned until the three first judges were
there (by whom he was admonished, and ordered to be beaten), as it it said,
"this is our son", this is he that was beaten before youF6Misn.
Sanhedrin, c. 3. sect. 4. ; and according to the Targum of Jonathan,"if he
feared (God, and showed any token of repentance) and received instruction, and
they (his parents) desired to preserve him alive, they preserved him; but if he
refused and was rebellious, then they stoned him;'but the Jews say this law,
and that of retaliation, were never put into execution:
so shalt thou put away evil from among you; put a stop
to, and prevent such an evil for the future, and remove the guilt of it; or, as
the Targum of Jonathan, him that doeth that evil:
and all Israel shall hear, and fear; it being to be publicly
notified throughout the land, that such an one suffered death for such a crime,
which would be a means of deterring others from the same; so Jarchi
remarks,"here (says he) a proclamation was necessary to be made by the
sanhedrim, as that such an one was stoned because he was stubborn and
rebellious;'for the mystical sense of this see Ephesians 2:2.
Deuteronomy 21:22 22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and
he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
YLT
22`And when there is in a man
a sin -- a cause of death, and he hath been put to death, and thou hast hanged
him on a tree,
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death,.... This
before mentioned, or any other that deserves death, any kind of death, as
strangling, killing with the sword, burning and stoning, to which the Jews
restrain it here:
and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him, on a tree; is condemned
to stoning, and after that they hang him, as the Targum of Jonathan; and
according to the Jewish Rabbins, as Jarchi observes, all that were stoned were
to be hanged, and only men, not womenF7Misn. Sotah, c. 3. sect. 8. ;
for it is remarked that it is said "him" and not "her"F8Maimon.
& Bartenora in. ib. : about this there is a dispute in the MisnahF9Misn.
Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 4. ;"all that are stoned are hanged, they are the
words of R. Eliezer; but the wise men say none are to be hanged but the
blasphemer and idolater; a man is to be hanged with his face to the people, a
woman with her face to the tree, they are the words of R. Eliezer; but the wise
men say, a man is to be hanged, but no woman, to whom R. Eliezer replied, did
not Simeon Ben Shetach hang women in Ashkelon? they answered him, he hung eighty
women (at once), but they do not judge or condemn two in one day;'so that this
was a particular case at a particular time, and not be drawn into an example:
in the same place it is asked,
"how
they hang one? they fix a beam in the earth, and a piece of wood goes out of it
(near the top of it, as one of the commentatorF11Bartenora in Misn.
Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 4. remarks), and join his two hands together and hang
him;'that is, by his hand, not by his neck, as with us, but rather in the
crucifixion; only in that the hands are spread, and one hand is fastened to one
part of the cross beam, and the other to the other end.
Deuteronomy 21:23 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but
you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which
the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is
hanged is accursed of God.
YLT
23his corpse doth not remain
on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day -- for a thing
lightly esteemed of God [is] the hanged one -- and thou dost not defile thy
ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance.
His body shall not remain
all night upon the tree,.... Which is to be understood of any and everyone that was
hanged, and not of the rebellious son only; of whom JosephusF12Antiqu.
l. 4. c. 8. sect. 24. says, that he was to be stoned by the multitude without
the city, and having remained a whole day for a spectacle unto all, was to be
buried at night; and indeed such a person was not to remain hanging on the tree
any part of the night, but to be taken down at sun setting; so the Targum of
Jonathan,"ye shall bury him at sun setting;'so says MaimonidesF13Hilchot
Sanhedrin, c. 15. sect. 7. , they hang a man near the setting of the sun and
loose him immediately, and if he continues they transgress a negative precept,
"his body shall not remain", &c. yea, according to him and to the
MisnahF14Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 5. , and which agrees with the
practice of the Jews to this day, not only those that were put to death by the
sanhedrim, but whoever suffered his dead to remain unburied a night
transgressed a negative command, unless he kept him for his honour, to get for
him a coffin and shroud:
but thou shalt in any wise bury him in that day: by all means,
if possible; malefactors were not buried in the sepulchre of their fathers, but
there were two burying places provided by the sanhedrim, one for those that
were stoned and burnt, and another for those that were killed with the sword
and strangledF15Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 5. ; and even the instruments
of their death were to be buried also, as MaimonidesF16Ut supra,
(Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 15.) sect. 9. relates, the tree on which he is hanged is
buried with him, that there may be no remembrance of the evil, and they say,
this is the tree on which such an one was hanged; and so the stone with which
he is stoned, and the sword with which he is killed, and the napkin with which
he is strangled, all are buried in the place where he is put to death, but not
in the grave itself:
for he that is hanged is accursed of God: plainly
appears to be so, having committed some foul sin which has brought the curse of
God upon him, and which being hanged on a tree was a plain proof and
declaration of; and therefore having hereby suffered the rigour of the law, the
curse of it, his body was ordered to be taken down; for the words are not a
reason of his being hanged, but a reason why being hanged, and so openly
accursed, he should not remain hanging, but be taken down and buried: the
meaning is not, as Onkelos gives it, that"because he sinned before the
Lord he is hanged,'and particularly was guilty of blasphemy; which is given as
the reason of his being hanged, and as the sense of this passage; on the
mention of which it is saidF17Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 4.
,"it is as if he should say, wherefore is he hanged? because he cursed
God, and the name of God was found profaned:'but though this, or any other
capital crime, may be allowed to be the reason of the man's being hanged, and
so apparently accursed; yet this is not the reason of his being loosed from
thence, but his having bore the curse and satisfied the law: and hence this is
applied to Christ by the apostle, in Galatians 3:13
showing, that his hanging on the tree was an indication and proof of his being
made sin and a curse for his people, or that he bore the curse of the law for
their sins, and that the taking of him down from the tree, and burying him,
signified the removing the curse from him and his people for whom he suffered;
or that thereby he redeemed them from the curse of the law, as the apostle
expresses it:
that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee
for an inheritance: which is another reason for taking down the body from the tree
and burying it, lest the land of Canaan, which the Lord had given them for an
inheritance, and which was typical of the undefiled inheritance, 1 Peter 1:4 should
be polluted, both in a natural sense, through the putrefaction and corruption,
and the disagreeable smell of a dead body, and in a ceremonial sense, as every
carcass was defiling, if a person but entered where it was; and therefore a
dead body was not to be left hanging openly in the air, and rotting there.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》