Deuteronomy 23

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Deuteronomy 23 outlines various laws concerning inclusion in the LORD's congregation, camp purity, and ethical conduct. It prohibits certain individuals and nations from entering the assembly, while also mandating strict hygiene in military camps to preserve holiness. Furthermore, the chapter addresses regulations regarding escaped servants, sexual purity, usury, vows, and gleaning from neighbors' fields.

Exclusions from the Assembly 1–6

He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of Jehovah for ever:

because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

Nevertheless Jehovah thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but Jehovah thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because Jehovah thy God loved thee.

Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

Inclusion of Edomites and Egyptians 7–8

Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a sojourner in his land.

The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

Purity and Holiness in the Camp 9–14

When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing.

If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of that which chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:

but it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.

Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

and thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

for Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

Laws on Justice, Morality, and Vows 15–18

Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant that is escaped from his master unto thee:

he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.

Laws Concerning Lending and Usury 19–20

Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest.

Unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.

The Observance of Vows 21–23

When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe and do; according as thou hast vowed unto Jehovah thy God, a freewill-offering, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

Rights of Harvest and Gleaning 24–25

When thou comest into thy neighbor’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat of grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.

When thou comest into thy neighbor’s standing grain, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing grain.

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

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 23

Verse 1

shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD — Qahal, the assembly of Israel gathered before the LORD. The bar fell on the man made a eunuch by wounding. The promise of Isa 56:3–5 reaches him: 'the eunuch' who keeps the sabbaths and holds the covenant receives 'a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters', and Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:27, 38).

Verse 2

A bastard — Mamzer occurs only twice, here and in Zech 9:6, 'a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod'. The exclusion lasts 'even to his tenth generation', the same term as for Ammon and Moab in v.3. The 'congregation of the LORD' (qahal) is the assembly of Israel gathered for worship and for judgment.

Verse 3

An Ammonite or Moabite — The two nations descend from Lot's sons Moab and Benammi (Gen 19:37–38). The bar was still read from 'the book of Moses' in Nehemiah's day (Neh 13:1–2). Yet Ruth the Moabitess became the mother of Obed, 'the father of Jesse, the father of David' (Ruth 4:17), and so stands in the line of Christ (Matt 1:5).

Verse 4

they met you not with bread and with water — The reason is twofold: they gave no food and drink on the way from Egypt, and they 'hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor' (Num 22:5–6). Neh 13:2 repeats both charges. Peter names the same prophet when he warns of those 'following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness' (2 Pet 2:15).

Verse 5

turned the curse into a blessing — Haphak, to turn over. Balaam himself says, 'How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?' (Num 23:8), and later says, 'Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee' (Num 24:9). Neh 13:2 recalls the same turning. The cause is stated: 'because the LORD thy God loved thee' (cf. Deut 7:8).

Verse 6

seek their peace nor their prosperity — 'Seek' is darash, the verb used of seeking the LORD; 'peace' is shalom and 'prosperity' is tov, good. Ezra 9:12 renews the command for the returned exiles: 'nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever'. Verses 7–8 turn to Edom and Egypt, who are to be treated differently.

Verse 7

thou shalt not abhor an Edomite — Ta'ab is the verb behind toebah, 'abomination'. Edom is 'thy brother' (ach) because Esau was Jacob's brother (Deut 2:4, 'your brethren the children of Esau'). Egypt is not to be hated 'because thou wast a stranger in his land', as Ex 22:21 gives the same reason for kindness to the stranger.

Verse 8

in their third generation — The descendants of Edom and Egypt enter the assembly 'in their third generation', where Ammon and Moab wait ten (v.3). Egypt has a place in the promise of Isa 19:24–25, where the LORD says of it, 'Blessed be Egypt my people', beside Assyria and Israel.

Verse 9

keep thee from every wicked thing — 'Host' is machaneh, the word rendered 'camp' in vv.10–14. The 'wicked thing' (dabar ra) is anything that would offend the LORD who is present with the army. When Israel took Jericho, the order was to 'keep yourselves from the accursed thing', lest Israel 'make the camp of Israel a curse' (Josh 6:18).

Verse 10

uncleanness that chanceth him by night — Miqreh, what befalls a man. The case is that of Lev 15:16: 'if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even'. The man must 'go abroad out of the camp'; Num 5:2 puts out of the camp the leper, 'every one that hath an issue' and the one 'defiled by the dead'.

Verse 11

when the sun is down — The man washes at evening and returns when the sun is down. The terms are those of Lev 15:16 ('unclean until the even') and Lev 22:7 ('when the sun is down, he shall be clean'). The uncleanness lasts until sunset and no longer.

Verse 14

walketh in the midst of thy camp — The verb is the walking of the LORD God in the garden (Gen 3:8) and of Lev 26:12, 'I will walk among you, and will be your God'. Paul applies that line to the church: 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them' (2 Cor 6:16). 'Unclean thing' is ervah, literally nakedness, something shameful, which he must not 'see'.

Verse 15

the servant which is escaped — 'Deliver' is sagar, to shut up or hand over. The runaway is not to be handed back to his master. The Egyptian 'servant to an Amalekite', whose master left him when he fell sick, asked David, 'nor deliver me into the hands of my master', and David took him as his guide (1 Sam 30:15–16). Israel too had been 'a servant in the land of Egypt' (Deut 5:15).

Verse 16

where it liketh him best — The choice of place is the fugitive's: 'in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best' (tov). 'Oppress' is yanah, rendered 'vex' in Ex 22:21, 'Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt'. The reason there is Israel's own time in Egypt.

Verse 17

a sodomite — Qadesh is the male counterpart of the qedeshah of the first clause, both from the root of 'holy', persons given over to idol worship. In Judah 'there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations' (1 Kings 14:24), and Josiah 'brake down the houses of the sodomites' by the house of the LORD (2 Kings 23:7).

Verse 18

the price of a dog — Keleb, dog, is set beside the 'hire of a whore' (ethnan zonah), and is taken here of the male counterpart of v.17. Both payments are 'abomination' (toebah) to the LORD, and may not be brought 'for any vow' (neder), which leads into the rules on vows in vv.21–23.

Verse 19

usury of money, usury of victuals — Neshek, interest, from nashak, to bite. The prohibition covers money, food and 'any thing that is lent', as in Ex 22:25 and Lev 25:35–37; Ps 15:5 describes the righteous as one who 'putteth not out his money to usury'. Christ teaches, 'lend, hoping for nothing again' (Luke 6:35).

Verse 20

Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury — The 'stranger' (nokri) is the foreigner, set against 'thy brother'. The same contrast stands in Deut 15:3, 'Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again'. The reason given is the LORD's blessing, as in 15:10: 'the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto'.

Verse 21

thou shalt not slack to pay it — Acher, to delay. 'Require' is darash, the verb of 'seek', so the LORD seeks the vow out. Eccl 5:4 gives the same warning, 'defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools', and Ps 66:13 gives the example: 'I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows'.

Verse 22

forbear to vow — Chadal, to leave off. The vow itself is not required: 'it shall be no sin in thee', against v.21, where an unpaid vow 'would be sin'. Eccl 5:5 says the same, 'Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay', and Prov 20:25 calls rash vows 'a snare'.

Verse 24

thy fill — Sova, satisfaction; 'at thine own pleasure' is literally as the soul (nephesh) desires. The traveller eats but carries none away in a 'vessel' (keli). The poor and the stranger have a share of the vineyard elsewhere: 'thou shalt not glean thy vineyard… thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger' (Lev 19:10).

Verse 25

pluck the ears with thine hand — Qatap, to pluck off. The disciples did this on the sabbath: they 'began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat' (Matt 12:1). The Pharisees' complaint was not the plucking but that it was 'not lawful to do upon the sabbath day' (Matt 12:2); Luke adds 'rubbing them in their hands' (Luke 6:1).