Deuteronomy 23:10

If there be among you any man that is not clean,.... Any unclean person in the army, that was even ceremonially unclean in any of the instances the law makes so, one of which put for the rest is mentioned: by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night; through pollution by a nocturnal flux, as the Septuagint version, or a gonorrhoea, an involuntary one, occasioned by impure thoughts and imaginations in dreams; the same case as in Leviticus 15:16. then shall he go abroad out of the camp; out of the army, lest others should be defiled by such; they not having houses to retire to, and chambers to keep themselves in separate from others, as when at home: he shall not come within the camp; that is, not till he has done what is prescribed him in the next verse. Jarchi says, he might not come into the camp of the Levites, and much less into the camp of God.

Of which uncleanness see Leviticus 15:4,16,17 ; or by uncleanness of any like kind; one kind being here, as oft, put for all. He shall go out of the camp. Quest . Why doth this uncleanness oblige a man to go out of the camp, when it did not oblige him to such a removal, Le 15 ? Answ. 1. It is not unreasonable if they were obliged to greater strictness and purity when they were undertaking so difficult and dangerous a work. 2. There is a manifest reason of the difference, because in their houses they had private chambers, where they could in such cases keep themselves from converse with others; whereas in the camp their conveniencies were so small, and their occasions of action so many, that it was very hard for his fellow soldiers that continued with him in the same tent, or part of the camp, to avoid the touching of him, which yet was infectious, Leviticus 15:7,22 .

The person who had become unclean through a nightly occurrence, was to go out of the camp and remain there till he had cleansed himself in the evening. On the journey through the desert, none but those who were affected with uncleanness of a longer duration were to be removed from the camp ( Numbers 5:2 ) but when they were encamped, this law was to apply to even lighter defilements.

30 . who goeth before you ] Heb. emphatically, the goer before you is He , found only in D as here or with slight differences, Deuteronomy 1:33 , Deuteronomy 20:4 , Deuteronomy 31:6 ; Deuteronomy 31:8 ; J, Exodus 13:21 , has the same part, without the def. art. adding the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire; E, Exodus 14:19 , the angel of God going before the camp . It is in such differences of style as well as of figure that the distinction of D consists. See Driver on Exodus 13:21 ; Exodus 14:9 . he shall fight for you ] Cp. JE, Exodus 14:14 , and these deuteronomic passages: Exodus 14:25 : Deuteronomy 3:22 ; Joshua 10:14 b , Joshua 10:42 , Deuteronomy 23:3 ; Deuteronomy 23:10 . before your eyes ] LXX omit. Cp. Deuteronomy 4:6 ; Deuteronomy 4:34 , Deuteronomy 6:22 , Deuteronomy 9:17 , Deuteronomy 25:3 ; Deuteronomy 25:9 , Deuteronomy 28:31 , Deuteronomy 29:1 , Deuteronomy 31:7 , Deuteronomy 34:12 ; Joshua 10:12 ; Joshua 24:17 . Here Moses insists that the people must prefer their experience of God to the reports of the spies about a situation not yet reached. See Deuteronomy 1:27 . Deuteronomy 1:30

Verse 22. - Among other marvelous acts toward Israel, was one done in Israel itself; they, whoso fathers went down to Egypt only seventy in number ( Genesis 46:26, 27 ), had, notwithstanding the cruel oppression to which they were subjected there, grown to a nation numberless as the stars (cf. Genesis 22:17 ; Deuteronomy 1:10 ; Nehemiah 9:23 ). Deuteronomy 10:22