Deuteronomy 21:11

That marriage be entered into by all, Genesis 1:28. 2. That a contract or betrothing precede marriage, Deuteronomy 20:7. 3. That the new married man rejoice with his wife the first year, Deuteronomy 24:5. 4. That the male children of Israel be circumcised, Genesis 17:10; Leviticus 12:3. 5. That the widow of a man dying without children marry unto her husband's brother, Deuteronomy 25:5. 6. That he who refuseth so to take the widow of one dying without children, being next of kin, have his shoe pulled off, and be spit upon, Deuteronomy 25:7–9. 7. That he who hath violated the chastity of a virgin by force be compelled to marry her, Deuteronomy 22:29. 8. That he who hath defamed his wife without cause keep her without hope of divorce, Deuteronomy 22:13–19. 9. That he who seduceth a virgin to fornication pay fifty shekels, Exodus 22:16, 17. 10 That a fair woman taken in war be dealt withal according to the law, Deuteronomy 21:10–14. 11. That divorce be made by a writing, or bill of divorcement, Deuteronomy 24:1. 12. That a woman suspected of adultery be dealt withal according to the law, Numbers 5:30. 16. The eleventh family concerneth CRIMINAL JUDGMENTS AND PUNISHMENTS, and hath eight precepts belonging unto it:—1. That criminal persons not guilty of sins deserving capital punishment be beaten with stripes, Deuteronomy 25:2, 3. 2. That he who slew a man at unawares be banished from conversing among the people, Numbers 35:25. 3. That those guilty of it be hanged or strangled, Deuteronomy 21:22. 4.

thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, 11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; 12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine 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 thine 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 make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her. By this law a soldier is allowed to marry his captive if he pleased. For the hardness of their hearts Moses gave them this permission, lest, if they had not had liberty given them to marry such, they should have taken liberty to defile themselves with them, and by such wickedness the camp would have been troubled. The man is supposed to have a wife already, and to take this wife for a secondary wife, as the Jews called them. This indulgence of men's inordinate desires, in which their hearts walked after their eyes, is by no means agreeable to the law of Christ, which therefore in this respect, among others, far exceeds in glory the law of Moses.

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 Jarchi (c), and Maimonides (d); 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. (c) Vid. T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 21. 2.((d) Hilchot Melachim, c. 8. sect. 3.

Deuteronomy 21:11 . And hast a desire unto her — Moses here returning to the case of war with the neighbouring nations, directs that, if a Hebrew soldier conceived a peculiar regard for a captive woman, and desired to marry her, he must not do it immediately after she became his prisoner, it being of dangerous consequence for the Israelites to marry Gentile wives. He was first to keep the woman in his house for a month, at least, where she was to live in the retirement and habit of a mourner, for the loss of her parents and her country; as also to give her time to be instructed in the knowledge of the true God and his will, and renounce her idolatrous worship, and to allow him sufficient space to try whether his affection for her was calm and steady, or might cool and wear off. If this interval caused no abatement of his love, but, upon her turning proselyte, he still desired to make her his wife, he might then lawfully do it.

Hast a desire unto her; or, hast cleaved to her , to wit, in love; or, hast taken delight in her ; which may be a modest expression for lying with her , and seems probable, because it is said, Deu 21:14 , that he had humbled her, to wit, by military insolence, when he took her captive, not after he had married her, for then he would have expressed it thus, because thou hast married her , which had been more emphatical than to say, because thou hast humbled her . And here seem to be two cases supposed, and direction given what to do in both of them: 1. That he did desire to marry her, of which he speaks Deu 21:11-13 . 2. That he did not desire this, or not delight in her, of which he speaks Deu 21:14 .

The regulations which now follow in the rest of this and throughout the next chapter bring out the sanctity of various personal rights and relations fundamental to human life and society. Deuteronomy 21:10-14. The war supposed here is one against the neighboring nations after Israel had utterly destroyed the Canaanites (compare Deuteronomy 7:3), and taken possession of their land.

De 21:10-23. The Treatment of a Captive Taken to Wife. 10-14. When thou goest to war … and seest among the captives a beautiful woman … that thou wouldest have her to thy wife—According to the war customs of all ancient nations, a female captive became the slave of the victor, who had the sole and unchallengeable control of right to her person. Moses improved this existing usage by special regulations on the subject. He enacted that, in the event that her master was captivated by her beauty and contemplated a marriage with her, a month should be allowed to elapse, during which her perturbed feelings might be calmed, her mind reconciled to her altered condition, and she might bewail the loss of her parents, now to her the same as dead. A month was the usual period of mourning with the Jews, and the circumstances mentioned here were the signs of grief—the shaving of the head, the allowing the nails to grow uncut, the putting off her gorgeous dress in which ladies, on the eve of being captured, arrayed themselves to be the more attractive to their captors. The delay was full of humanity and kindness to the female slave, as well as a prudential measure to try the strength of her master's affections. If his love should afterwards cool and he become indifferent to her person, he was not to lord it over her, neither to sell her in the slave market, nor retain her in a subordinate condition in his house; but she was to be free to go where her inclinations led her.

Treatment of a Wife who had been a Prisoner of War. - If an Israelite saw among the captives, who had been brought away in a war against foreign nations, a woman of beautiful figure, and loved her, and took her as his wife, he was to allow her a month's time in his house, to bewail her separation from her home and kindred, and accustom herself to her new condition of life, before he married her. What is said here does not apply to the wars with the Canaanites, who were to be cut off (vid., Deuteronomy 7:3 ), but, as a comparison of the introductory words in Deuteronomy 21:1 with Deuteronomy 20:1 clearly shows, to the wars which Israel would carry on with surrounding nations after the conquest of Canaan. שׁבי and שׁביה, the captivity, for the captives.

[Bible] 21:7. And shall say: Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 21:8. Be merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, O Lord, and lay not innocent blood to their charge, in the midst of thy people Israel. And the guilt of blood shall be taken from them: 21:9. And thou shalt be free from the innocent's blood, that was shed, when thou shalt have done what the Lord hath commanded thee. 21:10. If thou go out to fight against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God deliver them into thy hand, and thou lead them away captives, 21:11. And seest in the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and lovest her, and wilt have her to wife, 21:12. Thou shalt bring her into thy house: and she shall shave her hair, and pare her nails, 21:13. And shall put off the raiment, wherein she was taken: and shall remain in thy house, and mourn for her father and mother one month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and shalt sleep with her, and she shall be thy wife. 21:14. But if afterwards she please thee not, thou shalt let her go free, but thou mayst not sell her for money nor oppress her by might because thou hast humbled her. 21:15. If a man have two wives, one beloved, and the other hated, and they have had children by him, and the son of the hated be the firstborn, 21:16. And he meaneth to divide his substance among his sons: he may not make the son of the beloved the firstborn, and prefer him before the son of the hated. 21:17. But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, and shall give him a double portion of all he hath: for this is the first of his children, and to him are due the first birthrights. 21:18. If a man have a stubborn and unruly son, who will not hear the commandments of his father or mother, and being corrected, slighteth obedience: 21:19. They shall take him and bring him to the ancients of the city, and to the gate of judgment,