seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 21:10 When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, 11 if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails 13 and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
And check this out...
Deuteronomy 21:15 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, 16 when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. 17 He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
And another one...
Deuteronomy 21:18 If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
And the last from this chapter...
Deuteronomy 21:22 If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, 23 you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Here's the link to the commentary.
You certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally: After the month of mourning, the potential husband was free to marry the captive woman — yet, he did not have to. But if he decided not to, he had to set her free with dignity. This was a remarkable protection of the rights of a captive woman.
A double portion of all that he has: This was the right of the firstborn in ancient Israel; the firstborn son was to receive twice as much inheritance as any other son. For example, if there were three sons, the inheritance would be divided into four parts, with the firstborn receiving two parts, and the other three sons each receiving one part.
A stubborn and rebellious son: This does not mean a small child, or even a young teen — but a son past the age of accountability, who sets himself in determined rebellion against his father and mother.
Bring him out to the elders of his city: Such a stubborn and rebellious son was to be put on trial before the elders of the city. If they determine him to be chronically rebellious, then the son was to be stoned to death.
And all Israel shall hear and fear: This law was clearly intended to protect the social order of ancient Israel. No society can endure when the young are allowed to make war against the old.
I left out the verses about the "unsolved murder". It seems they would measure the distance to find the nearest town, and put the case in the hands of the Elders in the closest town. All the Elders in the closest town had to sacrifice a heifer and declare their hands clean of the blood of the murder. Yep... I left it out....Now on to marrying women who have been taken captive. Remember, they could take virgins as spoils of war. According to this law... she had to live with him for a month... NO SEX YET. She has to shave her head and clean her nails and give up her clothes. She has to be given a month to mourn her family. She's a captive in war, remember. They give her a month to get over it... a full month... a menstrual cycle. Check out verse 14. After that month the man could lay with her.... [take her as his wife]. If she wasn't a good enough lay... or if she didn't get along well enough... the man could let her go. She can't be sold or enslaved though... because she's been defiled!
Now on to verse 15. The problems of Esau and Jacob are addressed here. The problems of Leah and Rachel are addressed here. Well not really... Esau and Jacob were twins. Bilhah and Rachel were only two wives of Jacob. Jacob loved Joseph more than the others. There was no coat of many colors for the other sons. But the law would stop the eldest son from being ripped off after being raised in an unloving family.
Got a brat in the family... a drunk... a sloth. Well if that's the problem... and the brat is old enough... an adult... you can take them to the city gate and if the Elders agree he's a bum... they will be happy go stone him to death for you.
And finally... don't leave anyone on the cross [or a pole] overnight. That would include Jesus of Nazareth.
I started to skip these too... but the taking of a virgin... the stoning of a bum... distribution of wealth... and not leaving Jesus on the Cross all seemed to be pretty important.
So let's call this study....
Virgins, bums, money, and the Cross.
