Ulangan 21:10--25:19
Konteks21:10 When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail 1 and you take prisoners, 21:11 if you should see among them 2 an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife, 21:12 you may bring her back to your house. She must shave her head, 3 trim her nails, 21:13 discard the clothing she was wearing when captured, 4 and stay 5 in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations 6 with her and become her husband and she your wife. 21:14 If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go 7 where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell 8 her; 9 you must not take advantage of 10 her, since you have already humiliated 11 her.
21:15 Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other, 12 and they both 13 bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife. 21:16 In the day he divides his inheritance 14 he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other 15 wife’s son who is actually the firstborn. 21:17 Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved 16 wife as firstborn and give him the double portion 17 of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power 18 – to him should go the right of the firstborn.
21:18 If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail, 19 21:19 his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city. 21:20 They must declare to the elders 20 of his city, “Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say – he is a glutton and drunkard.” 21:21 Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge out 21 wickedness from among you, and all Israel 22 will hear about it and be afraid.
21:22 If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse 23 on a tree, 21:23 his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury 24 him that same day, for the one who is left exposed 25 on a tree is cursed by God. 26 You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
22:1 When you see 27 your neighbor’s 28 ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; 29 you must return it without fail 30 to your neighbor. 22:2 If the owner 31 does not live 32 near you or you do not know who the owner is, 33 then you must corral the animal 34 at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him. 22:3 You shall do the same to his donkey, his clothes, or anything else your neighbor 35 has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved. 36 22:4 When you see 37 your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it; 38 instead, you must be sure 39 to help him get the animal on its feet again. 40
22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, 41 nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive 42 to the Lord your God.
22:6 If you happen to notice a bird’s nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs with the mother bird sitting on them, 43 you must not take the mother from the young. 44 22:7 You must be sure 45 to let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourself. Do this so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
22:8 If you build a new house, you must construct a guard rail 46 around your roof to avoid being culpable 47 in the event someone should fall from it.
22:9 You must not plant your vineyard with two kinds of seed; otherwise the entire yield, both of the seed you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled. 48 22:10 You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. 22:11 You must not wear clothing made with wool and linen meshed together. 49 22:12 You shall make yourselves tassels 50 for the four corners of the clothing you wear.
22:13 Suppose a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, 51 and then rejects 52 her, 22:14 accusing her of impropriety 53 and defaming her reputation 54 by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations 55 with her I discovered she was not a virgin!” 22:15 Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity 56 for the elders of the city at the gate. 22:16 The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected 57 her. 22:17 Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out 58 before the city’s elders. 22:18 The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish 59 him. 22:19 They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation 60 ruined the reputation 61 of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
22:20 But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin, 22:21 the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing 62 in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father’s house. In this way you will purge 63 evil from among you.
22:22 If a man is caught having sexual relations with 64 a married woman 65 both the man who had relations with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge 66 evil from Israel.
22:23 If a virgin is engaged to a man and another man meets 67 her in the city and has sexual relations with 68 her, 22:24 you must bring the two of them to the gate of that city and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry out though in the city and the man because he violated 69 his neighbor’s fiancée; 70 in this way you will purge 71 evil from among you. 22:25 But if the man came across 72 the engaged woman in the field and overpowered her and raped 73 her, then only the rapist 74 must die. 22:26 You must not do anything to the young woman – she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person 75 and murders him, 22:27 for the man 76 met her in the field and the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.
22:28 Suppose a man comes across a virgin who is not engaged and overpowers and rapes 77 her and they are discovered. 22:29 The man who has raped her must pay her father fifty shekels of silver and she must become his wife because he has violated her; he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
22:30 (23:1) 78 A man may not marry 79 his father’s former 80 wife and in this way dishonor his father. 81
23:1 A man with crushed 82 or severed genitals 83 may not enter the assembly of the Lord. 84 23:2 A person of illegitimate birth 85 may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so. 86
23:3 An Ammonite or Moabite 87 may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever 88 do so, 89 23:4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired 90 Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. 23:5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed 91 the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves 92 you. 23:6 You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come. 23:7 You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative; 93 you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner 94 in his land. 23:8 Children of the third generation born to them 95 may enter the assembly of the Lord.
23:9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure. 96 23:10 If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission, 97 he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. 23:11 When evening arrives he must wash himself with water and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.
23:12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine. 98 23:13 You must have a spade among your other equipment and when you relieve yourself 99 outside you must dig a hole with the spade 100 and then turn and cover your excrement. 101 23:14 For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeat 102 your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecent 103 among you and turn away from you.
23:15 You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you. 104 23:16 Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages 105 he prefers; you must not oppress him.
23:17 There must never be a sacred prostitute 106 among the young women 107 of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute 108 among the young men 109 of Israel. 23:18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute 110 or the wage of a male prostitute 111 into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.
23:19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite, 112 whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest. 23:20 You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess. 23:21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he 113 will surely 114 hold you accountable as a sinner. 115 23:22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23:23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering. 23:24 When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please, 116 but you must not take away any in a container. 117 23:25 When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand, 118 but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.
24:1 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something offensive 119 in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house. 24:2 When she has left him 120 she may go and become someone else’s wife. 24:3 If the second husband rejects 121 her and then divorces her, 122 gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies, 24:4 her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry 123 her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the Lord. 124 You must not bring guilt on the land 125 which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
24:5 When a man is newly married, he need not go into 126 the army nor be obligated in any way; he must be free to stay at home for a full year and bring joy to 127 the wife he has married.
24:6 One must not take either lower or upper millstones as security on a loan, for that is like taking a life itself as security. 128
24:7 If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, 129 and regards him as mere property 130 and sells him, that kidnapper 131 must die. In this way you will purge 132 evil from among you.
24:8 Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy to follow precisely 133 all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you should do. 24:9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam 134 along the way after you left Egypt.
24:10 When you make any kind of loan to your neighbor, you may not go into his house to claim what he is offering as security. 135 24:11 You must stand outside and the person to whom you are making the loan will bring out to you what he is offering as security. 136 24:12 If the person is poor you may not use what he gives you as security for a covering. 137 24:13 You must by all means 138 return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just 139 deed by the Lord your God.
24:14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites 140 or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. 141 24:15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
24:16 Fathers must not be put to death for what their children 142 do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.
24:17 You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan. 24:18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do all this. 24:19 Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, 143 you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do. 144 24:20 When you beat your olive tree you must not repeat the procedure; 145 the remaining olives belong to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard you must not do so a second time; 146 they should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt; therefore, I am commanding you to do all this.
25:1 If controversy arises between people, 147 they should go to court for judgment. When the judges 148 hear the case, they shall exonerate 149 the innocent but condemn 150 the guilty. 25:2 Then, 151 if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, 152 the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves. 153 25:3 The judge 154 may sentence him to forty blows, 155 but no more. If he is struck with more than these, you might view your fellow Israelite 156 with contempt.
25:4 You must not muzzle your 157 ox when it is treading grain.
25:5 If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, 158 and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. 159 25:6 Then 160 the first son 161 she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel. 25:7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she 162 must go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!” 25:8 Then the elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, “I don’t want to marry her,” 25:9 then his sister-in-law must approach him in view of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. 163 She will then respond, “Thus may it be done to any man who does not maintain his brother’s family line!” 164 25:10 His family name will be referred to 165 in Israel as “the family 166 of the one whose sandal was removed.” 167
25:11 If two men 168 get into a hand-to-hand fight, and the wife of one of them gets involved to help her husband against his attacker, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his genitals, 169 25:12 then you must cut off her hand – do not pity her.
25:13 You must not have in your bag different stone weights, 170 a heavy and a light one. 171 25:14 You must not have in your house different measuring containers, 172 a large and a small one. 25:15 You must have an accurate and correct 173 stone weight and an accurate and correct measuring container, so that your life may be extended in the land the Lord your God is about to give you. 25:16 For anyone who acts dishonestly in these ways is abhorrent 174 to the Lord your God.
25:17 Remember what the Amalekites 175 did to you on your way from Egypt, 25:18 how they met you along the way and cut off all your stragglers in the rear of the march when you were exhausted and tired; they were unafraid of God. 176 25:19 So when the Lord your God gives you relief from all the enemies who surround you in the land he 177 is giving you as an inheritance, 178 you must wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven 179 – do not forget! 180
[21:10] 1 tn Heb “gives him into your hands.”
[21:11] 2 tn Heb “the prisoners.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
[21:12] 3 sn This requirement for the woman to shave her head may symbolize the putting away of the old life and customs in preparation for being numbered among the people of the
[21:13] 4 tn Heb “she is to…remove the clothing of her captivity” (cf. NASB); NRSV “discard her captive’s garb.”
[21:13] 5 tn Heb “sit”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “remain.”
[21:13] 6 tn Heb “go unto,” a common Hebrew euphemism for sexual relations.
[21:14] 7 sn Heb “send her off.” The Hebrew term שִׁלַּחְתָּה (shillakhtah) is a somewhat euphemistic way of referring to divorce, the matter clearly in view here (cf. Deut 22:19, 29; 24:1, 3; Jer 3:1; Mal 2:16). This passage does not have the matter of divorce as its principal objective, so it should not be understood as endorsing divorce generally. It merely makes the point that if grounds for divorce exist (see Deut 24:1-4), and then divorce ensues, the husband could in no way gain profit from it.
[21:14] 8 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by the words “in any case.”
[21:14] 9 tn The Hebrew text includes “for money.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[21:14] 10 tn Or perhaps “must not enslave her” (cf. ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); Heb “[must not] be tyrannical over.”
[21:14] 11 sn You have humiliated her. Since divorce was considered rejection, the wife subjected to it would “lose face” in addition to the already humiliating event of having become a wife by force (21:11-13). Furthermore, the Hebrew verb translated “humiliated” here (עָנָה, ’anah), commonly used to speak of rape (cf. Gen 34:2; 2 Sam 13:12, 14, 22, 32; Judg 19:24), likely has sexual overtones as well. The woman may not be enslaved or abused after the divorce because it would be double humiliation (see also E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy [NAC], 291).
[21:15] 12 tn Heb “one whom he loves and one whom he hates.” For the idea of שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) meaning to be rejected or loved less (cf. NRSV “disliked”), see Gen 29:31, 33; Mal 1:2-3. Cf. A. Konkel, NIDOTTE 3:1256-60.
[21:15] 13 tn Heb “both the one whom he loves and the one whom he hates.” On the meaning of the phrase “one whom he loves and one whom he hates” see the note on the word “other” earlier in this verse. The translation has been simplified for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
[21:16] 14 tn Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”
[21:16] 15 tn Heb “the hated.”
[21:17] 16 tn See note on the word “other” in v. 15.
[21:17] 17 tn Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (piy shÿnayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31-34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8-22).
[21:17] 18 tn Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ’on; cf. HALOT 22 s.v.). Cf. NAB “the first fruits of his manhood”; NRSV “the first issue of his virility.”
[21:18] 19 tn Heb “and he does not listen to them.”
[21:20] 20 tc The LXX and Smr read “to the men,” probably to conform to this phrase in v. 21. However, since judicial cases were the responsibility of the elders in such instances (cf. Deut 19:12; 21:3, 6; 25:7-8) the reading of the MT is likely original and correct here.
[21:21] 21 tn The Hebrew term בִּעַרְתָּה (bi’artah), here and elsewhere in such contexts (cf. Deut 13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:9), suggests God’s anger which consumes like fire (thus בָעַר, ba’ar, “to burn”). See H. Ringgren, TDOT 2:203-4.
[21:21] 22 tc Some LXX traditions read הַנִּשְׁאָרִים (hannish’arim, “those who remain”) for the MT’s יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”), understandable in light of Deut 19:20. However, the more difficult reading found in the MT is more likely original.
[21:23] 24 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by “make certain.”
[21:23] 25 tn Heb “hung,” but this could convey the wrong image in English (hanging with a rope as a means of execution). Cf. NCV “anyone whose body is displayed on a tree.”
[21:23] 26 sn The idea behind the phrase cursed by God seems to be not that the person was impaled because he was cursed but that to leave him exposed there was to invite the curse of God upon the whole land. Why this would be so is not clear, though the rabbinic idea that even a criminal is created in the image of God may give some clue (thus J. H. Tigay, Deuteronomy [JPSTC], 198). Paul cites this text (see Gal 3:13) to make the point that Christ, suspended from a cross, thereby took upon himself the curse associated with such a display of divine wrath and judgment (T. George, Galatians [NAC], 238-39).
[22:1] 27 tn Heb “you must not see,” but, if translated literally into English, the statement is misleading.
[22:1] 28 tn Heb “brother’s” (also later in this verse). In this context it is not limited to one’s siblings, however; cf. NAB “your kinsman’s.”
[22:1] 29 tn Heb “hide yourself.”
[22:1] 30 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail.”
[22:2] 31 tn Heb “your brother” (also later in this verse).
[22:2] 32 tn Heb “is not.” The idea of “residing” is implied.
[22:2] 33 tn Heb “and you do not know him.”
[22:2] 34 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the ox or sheep mentioned in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:3] 35 tn Heb “your brother” (also in v. 4).
[22:3] 36 tn Heb “you must not hide yourself.”
[22:4] 37 tn Heb “you must not see.” See note at 22:1.
[22:4] 38 tn Heb “and (must not) hide yourself from them.”
[22:4] 39 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “be sure.”
[22:4] 40 tn Heb “help him to lift them up.” In keeping with English style the singular is used in the translation, and the referent (“the animal”) has been specified for clarity.
[22:5] 41 tn Heb “a man’s clothing.”
[22:5] 42 tn The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “offense”) speaks of anything that runs counter to ritual or moral order, especially (in the OT) to divine standards. Cross-dressing in this covenant context may suggest homosexuality, fertility cult ritual, or some other forbidden practice.
[22:6] 43 tn Heb “and the mother sitting upon the chicks or the eggs.”
[22:6] 44 tn Heb “sons,” used here in a generic sense for offspring.
[22:7] 45 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “be sure.”
[22:8] 46 tn Or “a parapet” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV); KJV “a battlement”; NLT “a barrier.”
[22:8] 47 tn Heb “that you not place bloodshed in your house.”
[22:9] 48 tn Heb “set apart.” The verb קָדַשׁ (qadash) in the Qal verbal stem (as here) has the idea of being holy or being treated with special care. Some take the meaning as “be off-limits, forfeited,” i.e., the total produce of the vineyard, both crops and grapes, have to be forfeited to the sanctuary (cf. Exod 29:37; 30:29; Lev 6:18, 27; Num 16:37-38; Hag 2:12).
[22:11] 49 tn The Hebrew term שַׁעַטְנֵז (sha’atnez) occurs only here and in Lev 19:19. HALOT 1610-11 s.v. takes it to be a contraction of words (שַׁשׁ [shash, “headdress”] + עַטְנַז [’atnaz, “strong”]). BDB 1043 s.v. שַׁעַטְנֵז offers the translation “mixed stuff” (cf. NEB “woven with two kinds of yarn”; NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “woven together”). The general meaning is clear even if the etymology is not.
[22:12] 50 tn Heb “twisted threads” (גְּדִלִים, gÿdilim) appears to be synonymous with צִיצִת (tsitsit) which, in Num 15:38, occurs in a passage instructing Israel to remember the covenant. Perhaps that is the purpose of the tassels here as well. Cf. KJV, ASV “fringes”; NAB “twisted cords.”
[22:13] 51 tn Heb “goes to her,” a Hebrew euphemistic idiom for sexual relations.
[22:13] 52 tn Heb “hate.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15. Cf. NAB “comes to dislike”; NASB “turns against”; TEV “decides he doesn’t want.”
[22:14] 53 tn Heb “deeds of things”; NRSV “makes up charges against her”; NIV “slanders her.”
[22:14] 54 tn Heb “brings against her a bad name”; NIV “gives her a bad name.”
[22:14] 55 tn Heb “drew near to her.” This is another Hebrew euphemism for having sexual relations.
[22:15] 56 sn In light of v. 17 this would evidently be blood-stained sheets indicative of the first instance of intercourse. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 302-3.
[22:16] 57 tn Heb “hated.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.
[22:17] 58 tn Heb “they will spread the garment.”
[22:18] 59 tn Heb “discipline.”
[22:19] 60 tn Heb “for he”; the referent (the man who made the accusation) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion with the young woman’s father, the last-mentioned male.
[22:19] 61 tn Heb “brought forth a bad name.”
[22:21] 62 tn The Hebrew term נְבָלָה (nÿvalah) means more than just something stupid. It refers to a moral lapse so serious as to jeopardize the whole covenant community (cf. Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 20:6, 10; Jer 29:23). See C. Pan, NIDOTTE 3:11-13. Cf. NAB “she committed a crime against Israel.”
[22:21] 63 tn Heb “burn.” See note on Deut 21:21.
[22:22] 64 tn Heb “lying with” (so KJV, NASB), a Hebrew idiom for sexual relations.
[22:22] 65 tn Heb “a woman married to a husband.”
[22:22] 66 tn Heb “burn.” See note on the phrase “purge out” in Deut 21:21.
[22:23] 68 tn Heb “lies with.”
[22:24] 71 tn Heb “burn.” See note on the phrase “purge out” in Deut 21:21.
[22:25] 72 tn Heb “found,” also in vv. 27, 28.
[22:25] 73 tn Heb “lay with” here refers to a forced sexual relationship, as the accompanying verb “seized” (חָזַק, khazaq) makes clear.
[22:25] 74 tn Heb “the man who lay with her, only him.”
[22:26] 75 tn Heb “his neighbor.”
[22:27] 76 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who attacked the woman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:28] 77 tn Heb “lies with.”
[22:30] 78 sn Beginning with 22:30, the verse numbers through 23:25 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 22:30 ET = 23:1 HT, 23:1 ET = 23:2 HT, 23:2 ET = 23:3 HT, etc., through 23:25 ET = 23:26 HT. With 24:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
[22:30] 79 tn Heb “take.” In context this refers to marriage, as in the older English expression “take a wife.”
[22:30] 80 sn This presupposes either the death of the father or their divorce since it would be impossible for one to marry his stepmother while his father was still married to her.
[22:30] 81 tn Heb “uncover his father’s skirt” (so ASV, NASB). This appears to be a circumlocution for describing the dishonor that would come to a father by having his own son share his wife’s sexuality (cf. NAB, NIV “dishonor his father’s bed”).
[23:1] 82 tn Heb “bruised by crushing,” which many English versions take to refer to crushed testicles (NAB, NRSV, NLT); TEV “who has been castrated.”
[23:1] 83 tn Heb “cut off with respect to the penis”; KJV, ASV “hath his privy member cut off”; English versions vary in their degree of euphemism here; cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “penis”; NASB “male organ”; NCV “sex organ”; CEV “private parts”; NIV “emasculated by crushing or cutting.”
[23:1] 84 sn The Hebrew term translated “assembly” (קָהָל, qahal) does not refer here to the nation as such but to the formal services of the tabernacle or temple. Since emasculated or other sexually abnormal persons were commonly associated with pagan temple personnel, the thrust here may be primarily polemical in intent. One should not read into this anything having to do with the mentally and physically handicapped as fit to participate in the life and ministry of the church.
[23:2] 85 tn Or “a person born of an illegitimate marriage.”
[23:2] 86 tn Heb “enter the assembly of the
[23:3] 87 sn An Ammonite or Moabite. These descendants of Lot by his two daughters (cf. Gen 19:30-38) were thereby the products of incest and therefore excluded from the worshiping community. However, these two nations also failed to show proper hospitality to Israel on their way to Canaan (v. 4).
[23:3] 88 tn The Hebrew term translated “ever” (עַד־עוֹלָם, ’ad-’olam) suggests that “tenth generation” (vv. 2, 3) also means “forever.” However, in the OT sense “forever” means not “for eternity” but for an indeterminate future time. See A. Tomasino, NIDOTTE 3:346.
[23:3] 89 tn Heb “enter the assembly of the
[23:4] 90 tn Heb “hired against you.”
[23:5] 91 tn Heb “the
[23:5] 92 tn The verb אָהַב (’ahav, “love”) here and commonly elsewhere in the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s elective grace toward Israel. See note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
[23:8] 95 sn Concessions were made to the Edomites and Egyptians (as compared to the others listed in vv. 1-6) because the Edomites (i.e., Esauites) were full “brothers” of Israel and the Egyptians had provided security and sustenance for Israel for more than four centuries.
[23:9] 96 tn Heb “evil.” The context makes clear that this is a matter of ritual impurity, not moral impurity, so it is “evil” in the sense that it disbars one from certain religious activity.
[23:10] 97 tn Heb “nocturnal happening.” The Hebrew term קָרֶה (qareh) merely means “to happen” so the phrase here is euphemistic (a “night happening”) for some kind of bodily emission such as excrement or semen. Such otherwise normal physical functions rendered one ritually unclean whether accidental or not. See Lev 15:16-18; 22:4.
[23:12] 98 tn Heb “so that one may go outside there.” This expression is euphemistic.
[23:13] 99 tn Heb “sit.” This expression is euphemistic.
[23:13] 100 tn Heb “with it”; the referent (the spade mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[23:13] 101 tn Heb “what comes from you,” a euphemism.
[23:14] 102 tn Heb “give [over] your enemies.”
[23:14] 103 tn Heb “nakedness of a thing”; NLT “any shameful thing.” The expression עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers specifically to sexual organs and, by extension, to any function associated with them. There are some aspects of human life that are so personal and private that they ought not be publicly paraded. Cultically speaking, even God is offended by such impropriety (cf. Gen 9:22-23; Lev 18:6-12, 16-19; 20:11, 17-21). See B. Seevers, NIDOTTE 3:528-30.
[23:15] 104 tn The Hebrew text includes “from his master,” but this would be redundant in English style.
[23:17] 106 tn The Hebrew term translated “sacred prostitute” here (קְדֵשָׁה [qÿdeshah], from קַדֵשׁ [qadesh, “holy”]; cf. NIV “shrine prostitute”; NASB “cult prostitute”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “temple prostitute”) refers to the pagan fertility cults that employed female and male prostitutes in various rituals designed to evoke agricultural and even human fecundity (cf. Gen 38:21-22; 1 Kgs 14:24; 15:12; 22:47; 2 Kgs 23:7; Hos 4:14). The Hebrew term for a regular, noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute is זוֹנָה (zonah).
[23:17] 107 tn Heb “daughters.”
[23:17] 108 tn The male cultic prostitute was called קָדֵשׁ (qadesh; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” earlier in this verse). The colloquial Hebrew term for a “secular” male prostitute (i.e., a sodomite) is the disparaging epithet כֶּלֶב (kelev, “dog”) which occurs in the following verse (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).
[23:18] 110 tn Here the Hebrew term זוֹנָה (zonah) refers to a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” in v. 17.
[23:18] 111 tn Heb “of a dog.” This is the common Hebrew term for a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) male prostitute. See note on the phrase “sacred male prostitute” in v. 17.
[23:19] 112 tn Heb “to your brother” (likewise in the following verse). Since this is not limited to actual siblings, “fellow Israelite” is used in the translation (cf. NAB, NASB “countrymen”).
[23:21] 113 tn Heb “the
[23:21] 114 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”
[23:21] 115 tn Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; NIV, NCV, NLT “be guilty of sin.”
[23:24] 116 tn Heb “grapes according to your appetite, your fullness.”
[23:24] 117 tn Heb “in your container”; NAB, NIV “your basket.”
[23:25] 118 sn For the continuation of these practices into NT times see Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.
[24:1] 119 tn Heb “nakedness of a thing.” The Hebrew phrase עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers here to some gross sexual impropriety (see note on “indecent” in Deut 23:14). Though the term usually has to do only with indecent exposure of the genitals, it can also include such behavior as adultery (cf. Lev 18:6-18; 20:11, 17, 20-21; Ezek 22:10; 23:29; Hos 2:10).
[24:2] 120 tn Heb “his house.”
[24:3] 121 tn Heb “hates.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.
[24:3] 122 tn Heb “writes her a document of divorce.”
[24:4] 123 tn Heb “to return to take her to be his wife.”
[24:4] 124 sn The issue here is not divorce and its grounds per se but prohibition of remarriage to a mate whom one has previously divorced.
[24:4] 125 tn Heb “cause the land to sin” (so KJV, ASV).
[24:5] 126 tn Heb “go out with.”
[24:5] 127 tc For the MT’s reading Piel שִׂמַּח (simmakh, “bring joy to”), the Syriac and others read שָׂמַח (samakh, “enjoy”).
[24:6] 128 sn Taking millstones as security on a loan would amount to taking the owner’s own life in pledge, since the millstones were the owner’s means of earning a living and supporting his family.
[24:7] 129 tn Heb “from his brothers, from the sons of Israel.” The terms “brothers” and “sons of Israel” are in apposition; the second defines the first more specifically.
[24:7] 130 tn Or “and enslaves him.”
[24:7] 131 tn Heb “that thief.”
[24:7] 132 tn Heb “burn.” See note on the word “purge” in Deut 19:19.
[24:8] 133 tn Heb “to watch carefully and to do.”
[24:9] 134 sn What the
[24:10] 135 tn Heb “his pledge.” This refers to something offered as pledge of repayment, i.e., as security for the debt.
[24:11] 136 tn Heb “his pledge.”
[24:12] 137 tn Heb “may not lie down in his pledge.” What is in view is the use of clothing as guarantee for the repayment of loans, a matter already addressed elsewhere (Deut 23:19-20; 24:6; cf. Exod 22:25-26; Lev 25:35-37). Cf. NAB “you shall not sleep in the mantle he gives as a pledge”; NRSV “in the garment given you as the pledge.”
[24:13] 138 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “by all means.”
[24:13] 139 tn Or “righteous” (so NIV, NLT).
[24:14] 140 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not limited only to actual siblings; cf. NASB “your (+ own NAB) countrymen.”
[24:14] 141 tn Heb “who are in your land in your gates.” The word “living” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:16] 142 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB; twice in this verse). Many English versions, including the KJV, read “children” here.
[24:19] 143 tn Heb “in the field.”
[24:19] 144 tn Heb “of your hands.” This law was later applied in the story of Ruth who, as a poor widow, was allowed by generous Boaz to glean in his fields (Ruth 2:1-13).
[24:20] 145 tn Heb “knock down after you.”
[24:21] 146 tn Heb “glean after you.”
[25:1] 148 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:1] 149 tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”
[25:1] 150 tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”
[25:2] 151 tn Heb “and it will be.”
[25:2] 152 tn Heb “if the evil one is a son of smiting.”
[25:2] 153 tn Heb “according to his wickedness, by number.”
[25:3] 154 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the judge) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[25:3] 155 tn Heb “Forty blows he may strike him”; however, since the judge is to witness the punishment (v. 2) it is unlikely the judge himself administered it.
[25:3] 156 tn Heb “your brothers” but not limited only to an actual sibling; cf. NAB) “your kinsman”; NRSV, NLT “your neighbor.”
[25:4] 157 tn Heb “an.” By implication this is one’s own animal.
[25:5] 158 tn Heb “take her as wife”; NRSV “taking her in marriage.”
[25:5] 159 sn This is the so-called “levirate” custom (from the Latin term levir, “brother-in-law”), an ancient provision whereby a man who died without male descendants to carry on his name could have a son by proxy, that is, through a surviving brother who would marry his widow and whose first son would then be attributed to the brother who had died. This is the only reference to this practice in an OT legal text but it is illustrated in the story of Judah and his sons (Gen 38) and possibly in the account of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2:8; 3:12; 4:6).
[25:6] 160 tn Heb “and it will be that.”
[25:6] 161 tn Heb “the firstborn.” This refers to the oldest male child.
[25:7] 162 tn Heb “want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister in law.” In the second instance the pronoun (“she”) has been used in the translation to avoid redundancy.
[25:9] 163 sn The removal of the sandal was likely symbolic of the relinquishment by the man of any claim to his dead brother’s estate since the sandal was associated with the soil or land (cf. Ruth 4:7-8). Spitting in the face was a sign of utmost disgust or disdain, an emotion the rejected widow would feel toward her uncooperative brother-in-law (cf. Num 12:14; Lev 15:8). See W. Bailey, NIDOTTE 2:544.
[25:9] 164 tn Heb “build the house of his brother”; TEV “refuses to give his brother a descendant”; NLT “refuses to raise up a son for his brother.”
[25:10] 165 tn Heb “called,” i.e., “known as.”
[25:10] 167 tn Cf. NIV, NCV “The Family of the Unsandaled.”
[25:11] 168 tn Heb “a man and his brother.”
[25:11] 169 tn Heb “shameful parts.” Besides the inherent indelicacy of what she has done, the woman has also threatened the progenitive capacity of the injured man. The level of specificity given this term in modern translations varies: “private parts” (NAB, NIV, CEV); “genitals” (NASB, NRSV, TEV); “sex organs” (NCV); “testicles” (NLT).
[25:13] 170 tn Heb “a stone and a stone.” The repetition of the singular noun here expresses diversity, as the following phrase indicates. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
[25:13] 171 tn Heb “a large and a small,” but since the issue is the weight, “a heavy and a light one” conveys the idea better in English.
[25:14] 172 tn Heb “an ephah and an ephah.” An ephah refers to a unit of dry measure roughly equivalent to five U.S. gallons (just under 20 liters). On the repetition of the term to indicate diversity, see IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
[25:15] 173 tn Or “just”; Heb “righteous.”
[25:16] 174 tn The Hebrew term translated here “abhorrent” (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) speaks of attitudes and/or behaviors so vile as to be reprehensible to a holy God. See note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
[25:17] 175 tn Heb “what Amalek” (so NAB, NRSV). Here the individual ancestor, the namesake of the tribe, is cited as representative of the entire tribe at the time Israel was entering Canaan. Consistent with this, singular pronouns are used in v. 18 and the singular name appears again in v. 19. Since readers unfamiliar with the tribe of Amalekites might think this refers to an individual, the term “Amalekites” and the corresponding plural pronouns have been used throughout these verses (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
[25:18] 176 sn See Exod 17:8-16.
[25:19] 177 tn Heb “ the
[25:19] 178 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.”
[25:19] 179 tn Or “from beneath the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
[25:19] 180 sn This command is fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-33.
