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Deuteronomy 21

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Atonement for Unsolved Murder 1–9

1
If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; ​
2
then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
3
and it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; ​
4
and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.
5
And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be. ​
6
And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; ​
7
and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
8
Forgive, O Jehovah, thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of thy people Israel. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
9
So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah. ​

Marriage to a Female Captive 10–14

10
When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive, ​
11
and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and thou hast a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife;
12
then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; ​
13
and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. ​
14
And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her. ​

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn 15–17

15
If a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated; ​
16
then it shall be, in the day that he causeth his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved the first-born before the son of the hated, who is the first-born:
17
but he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath; for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the first-born is his. ​

The Stubborn and Rebellious Son 18–21

18
If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them; ​
19
then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20
and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. ​
21
And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Burial of the Executed Criminal 22–23

22
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree; ​
23
his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 21

Verse 1

found slain — Chalal, one pierced to death, lying 'in the field' in 'the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee'. Unavenged blood is a defilement of the land itself: 'blood it defileth the land' (Num 35:33). The ritual that follows (vv.2–9) covers the case where the killer cannot be found.

Verse 3

an heifer, which hath not been wrought with — Eglah, a young cow, never put to work or 'drawn in the yoke'. An animal unused for common service is set apart for a holy purpose, as with the red heifer 'without spot' (Num 19:2). The elders of the nearest city supply it (v.3).

Verse 5

by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried — The priests are present because the LORD 'hath chosen' them 'to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD' (cf. Deut 10:8). Negaʻ, 'stroke', is a blow or injury. The priest is the keeper of the law: 'the priest's lips should keep knowledge' (Mal 2:7).

Verse 6

wash their hands over the heifer — Rachats, to wash. The elders wash over the heifer whose neck was struck off in the valley and then declare their innocence (v.7). The same gesture is the psalmist's plea: 'I will wash mine hands in innocency' (Ps 26:6).

Verse 9

put away the guilt of innocent blood — Baʻar, to clear out, remove. The identical phrase is used of the avenger's execution of a murderer: 'thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel' (Deut 19:13). Where no killer can be reached, the removal is done by doing 'that which is right' (yashar, straight) 'in the sight of the LORD'.

Verse 10

the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands — The victory is credited to the LORD, and the captives (shebi) are in the soldier's power. The law that follows (vv.11–14) governs what he may do with them; it sits beside the rules of war in Deut 20:10–15, which begin with 'proclaim peace unto it'.

Verse 12

shave her head, and pare her nails — Shaving the head belongs to rites of cleansing, as for the healed leper (Lev 14:9) and the defiled Nazarite (Num 6:9). Here it opens the month in the house (v.13) that must pass before the marriage.

Verse 13

bewail her father and her mother a full month — Yerach is a month; the Hebrew reads literally a month of days. She puts off 'the raiment of her captivity' and mourns her parents before the man may 'go in unto her'. The verb for being her husband (baʻal) means to be master, and so to marry or be husband.

Verse 14

thou hast humbled her — Anah, to afflict or bring low; the same verb is used in Deut 22:29, 'because he hath humbled her'. Having married her, he cannot treat her as property: she goes free, and 'thou shalt not sell her at all for money'. Compare the maidservant who may 'go out free without money' (Ex 21:11).

Verse 15

one beloved, and another hated — Sane, 'hated', here means loved less. The case recalls Jacob: 'when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb' (Gen 29:31), and Reuben, her son, was firstborn. The law keeps the father's preference from overriding the order of birth (v.16).

Verse 17

a double portion — Literally the Hebrew says a mouth of two (peh shenayim), that is, two shares of the estate. 'The beginning of his strength' is Jacob's phrase for Reuben (Gen 49:3). Reuben defiled his father's bed, so his birthright 'was given unto the sons of Joseph' (1 Chr 5:1): forfeited for sin, not removed by favour.

Verse 18

stubborn and rebellious — Sarar is to turn away, marah to resist; the pair also describes 'a stubborn and rebellious generation' (Ps 78:8). The offence is persistent refusal of both parents' 'voice' after chastening (yasar), a breach of 'Honour thy father and thy mother' (Ex 20:12).

Verse 20

a glutton, and a drunkard — Zalal, to be loose or worthless, and saba, to drink to excess. The proverb gives their end: 'the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty' (Prov 23:21). The parents themselves bring the charge to the elders at the gate (v.19); they do not carry out the sentence.

Verse 22

hang him on a tree — Talah, to hang up, on a ets, tree or wood. The man is first put to death (v.21 gives stoning for the rebellious son), and the body is then displayed. The display lasts only until evening (v.23); John records that the Jews asked that bodies not remain on the cross on the sabbath (John 19:31).

Verse 23

he that is hanged is accursed of God — Qelalah, a curse. Paul quotes the verse: 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree' (Gal 3:13). Joseph of Arimathaea took Jesus' body down for burial (John 19:38).