Deuteronomy 24

Deuteronomy 24

Deuteronomy 24:1 “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.

Deuteronomy 24:2 If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,

Deuteronomy 24:3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies,

Deuteronomy 24:4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be repulsive to Yahveh. You must not cause failures on the land Yahveh, your God, is giving you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free to stay at home for one year so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.

Deuteronomy 24:6 “Do not take a pair of grindstones or even the upper millstone as security for a debt, because that is like taking a throat as security.

Deuteronomy 24:7 “If a man is discovered stealing a throat of one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 24:8 “Be careful with a person who has a case of severe skin disease, watching carefully everything the Levitical priests instruct you to do. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.

Deuteronomy 24:9 Remember what Yahveh your God did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.

Deuteronomy 24:10 “When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security.

Deuteronomy 24:11 Stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you.

Deuteronomy 24:12 If he is a poor man, do not lie down with the garment he has given as security.

Deuteronomy 24:13 Be sure to return it to him at sunset. Then he will lie down in it and celebrate you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before Yahveh, your God.

Deuteronomy 24:14 “Do not exploit[1] a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your Israelite brothers or one of the guests in a town in your land.

Deuteronomy 24:15 You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets because he is poor and his throat depends on them. Otherwise, he will cry out to Yahveh against you, and you will be held guilty of the failure.

Deuteronomy 24:16 “Fathers are not to be put to death for their children, and children are not to be put to death for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his failure.

Deuteronomy 24:17 Do not deny justice to a guest or fatherless child, and do not take a widow’s garment as security.

Deuteronomy 24:18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and Yahveh, your God, redeemed you from there. Therefore, I am commanding you to do this.

Deuteronomy 24:19 “When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the guest, the fatherless, and the widow, so that Yahveh your God may empower you in all the work of your hands.

Deuteronomy 24:20 When you knock down the fruit from your olive tree, do not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the guest, the fatherless, and the widow.

Deuteronomy 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left. What remains will be for the guest, the fatherless, and the widow.

Deuteronomy 24:22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.


[1]עָשַׁק = exploit. Deuteronomy 24:14; 28:29, 33.

Deuteronomy 24 quotes:

“If the man decided to divorce the woman, he was to write out a bill of divorce and formally serve it on the woman. She was then sent away from the man’s house, but possession of the bill of divorce gave her a certain protection under law from any further action by the man, In the situation envisaged by this particular piece of legislation, the divorced woman then remarries another man. The second marriage is terminated, either by a second divorce or by the death of the second husband. Now comes the specific legislation: under all these circumstances, the first man may not remarry his former wife. After she has been defiled—the language (defiled) suggests adultery (see Lev. 18:20). The sense is that the woman’s remarriage after the first divorce is similar to adultery in that the woman cohabits with another man. However, if the woman were then to remarry her first husband, after divorcing the second, the analogy with adultery would become even more complete; the woman lives first with one man, then another, and finally returns to the first. Thus the intent of the legislation seems to be to apply certain restrictions on the already existing practice of divorce.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 305). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

“This is not a general law permitting divorce or setting forth grounds for it, but simply takes the practice of divorce for granted (cf. 22:19, 29). The case is therefore a special one, framed in a casuistic fashion (as an ‘if ’ or hypothetical situation). The first three verses are the protasis (‘if ’ section), describing a situation of successive marriages that have terminated. Then verse 4 contains the apodosis (‘then’ section) which supplies the consequence to verses 1–3, and brings the law to a conclusion.”

Woods, Edward J.. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 5) . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 24 links:

daily wages rule
fair to everyone
in retrospect- remembering the past
jobs and the will of God
leftovers
never less than the best
poverty and dignity
remember Miriam
work and marriage


The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 23

Deuteronomy 23

Deuteronomy 23:1 “No man whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been eliminated may enter Yahveh’s collected assembly.

Deuteronomy 23:2 No one of illegitimate birth may enter Yahveh’s collected assembly; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter Yahveh’s collected assembly.

Deuteronomy 23:3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter Yahveh’s collected assembly; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter Yahveh’s collected assembly permanently.

Deuteronomy 23:4 This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt and because Balaam, son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim, was hired to curse you.

Deuteronomy 23:5 Yet Yahveh, your God, would not listen to Balaam, but he turned the affliction into empowerment for you because Yahveh, your God, cares about you.

Deuteronomy 23:6 Never pursue their welfare or prosperity all your days – permanently.

Deuteronomy 23:7 Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian because you were a guest in his land.

Deuteronomy 23:8 The children born to them in the third generation may enter Yahveh’s collected assembly.

Deuteronomy 23:9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, be careful to avoid anything offensive.

Deuteronomy 23:10 If there is a man among you who is not pure because of a bodily emission during the night, he must go outside the camp; he may not come anywhere inside the camp.

Deuteronomy 23:11 When evening approaches, he is to wash with water, and when the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

Deuteronomy 23:12 You are to have a place outside the camp and go there to relieve yourself.

Deuteronomy 23:13 You are to have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.

Deuteronomy 23:14 You see, Yahveh, your God, walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you, so your encampments must be sacred. He must not see anything indecent among you, or he will turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 23:15 “Do not return a slave to his master when he has escaped from his master to you.

Deuteronomy 23:16 Let him stay among you wherever he wants within your city gates. Do not mistreat him.

Deuteronomy 23:17 “No Israelite woman is to be a cult prostitute, and no Israelite man is to be a cult prostitute.

Deuteronomy 23:18 Do not bring a female prostitute’s wages or a male prostitute’s earnings into the house of Yahveh your God to fulfill any solemn pledge because both are repulsive to Yahveh your God.

Deuteronomy 23:19 “Do not charge your brother interest on silver, food, or anything that can earn interest.

Deuteronomy 23:20 You may charge a foreigner interest. Still, you must not charge your brother Israelite interest so that Yahveh, your God, may empower you in everything you do in the land you are entering to take possession of.

Deuteronomy 23:21 “If you make a solemn pledge to Yahveh your God, do not be slow to keep it, because he will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as a failure.

Deuteronomy 23:22 But if you refrain from making a vow, it will not be counted against you as a failure.

Deuteronomy 23:23 Be careful to do whatever comes from your lips because you have spontaneously voluntarily vowed what you promised to Yahveh, your God.

Deuteronomy 23:24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want until you are full, but do not put any in your container.

Deuteronomy 23:25 When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck heads of grain with your hand, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.

Deuteronomy 23 quotes:

“We are persuaded that every true servant of Christ must be a man of one idea, and that idea is Christ; he must belong to the very oldest school — the school of Christ ; he must be as narrow as the truth of God; and he must, with stern decision, refuse to move one hair’s breadth in the direction of this infidel age. We cannot shake off the conviction that the effort on the part of the preachers and teachers of Christendom to keep abreast of the literature of the day must, to a very large extent, account for the rapid advance of rationalism and infidelity. They have got away from the holy Scriptures, and sought to adorn their ministry by the resources of philosophy, science, and literature. They have catered more for the intellect than for the heart and conscience. The pure and precious doctrines of holy Scripture, the sincere milk of the Word, the gospel of the grace of God and of the glory of Christ, were found insufficient to attract and keep together large congregations.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 349.

“The common theme running through the laws contained in this section1 is the question of admission to the assembly of the Lord (vv. 2, 3, 4, 9). The assembly (qāhāl) of the Lord refers to the covenant people of God, particularly when they are gathered in his presence. Although the normal use of the noun (and the related verb) in Deuteronomy appears in a context dealing with Horeb/Sinai,2 here the word has general reference to Israel as a worshipping community.3 Thus to enter the assembly of the Lord would indicate a person who became a true Israelite and who therefore shared in the worship of the Lord. The expression is somewhat narrower in its intent than Israel, taksn as a whole, for there would be resident aliens and others who, though a part of the community,4 were nevertheless not full members of it.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 296). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 23 links:

do not enter
free and clear
in retrospect- God is looking
in retrospect- remembering the past
limited enrollment
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, June 12, 2023
marmsky·com 20200330
marmsky·com 20200401
marmsky·com 20200402
one citizenry
people of our word
sacred septic
usurping the harvest


The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 22

Deuteronomy 22

Deuteronomy 22:1 “If you see your brother Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother.

Deuteronomy 22:2 If your brother does not live near you or you don’t know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him.

Deuteronomy 22:3 Do the same for his donkey, his garment, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

Deuteronomy 22:4 If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it; help him lift it.

Deuteronomy 22:5 “A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is repulsive to Yahveh your God.

Deuteronomy 22:6 “If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the land along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, do not take the mother along with the young.

Deuteronomy 22:7 You may take the young for yourself, but be sure to let the mother go free so that you may prosper and live long.

Deuteronomy 22:8 If you build a new house, make a railing around your roof so that you don’t place bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.

Deuteronomy 22:9 Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; or else, the entire harvest, both the crop you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will become defiled.

Deuteronomy 22:10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Deuteronomy 22:11 Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen.

Deuteronomy 22:12 Make tassels on the four corners of the outer garment you wear.

Deuteronomy 22:13 “If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her,

Deuteronomy 22:14 and places an accusation on her of shameful conduct and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’

Deuteronomy 22:15 the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the city gate.

Deuteronomy 22:16 The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her.

Deuteronomy 22:17 Notice he has placed an accusation on her of shameful conduct, and this is what he said: “I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,” but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders.

Deuteronomy 22:18 Then the elders of that city will take the man and punish him.

Deuteronomy 22:19 They will also fine him a hundred silver shekels and give them to the young woman’s father because that man gave an Israelite virgin a bad name. She will remain his wife; he cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

Deuteronomy 22:20 But if this accusation is true and no evidence of the young woman’s virginity is found,

Deuteronomy 22:21 they will bring the woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. You see, she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 22:22 “If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

Deuteronomy 22:23 If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,

Deuteronomy 22:24 takes the two of them out to the gate of that city and stones them to death – the young woman because she did not cry out in the town and the man because he has humiliated his neighbor’s fiancée. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 22:25 But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he holds her firmly and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die.

Deuteronomy 22:26 Do nothing to the young woman, because she is not guilty of a failure deserving death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

Deuteronomy 22:27 When he found her in the field, the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.

Deuteronomy 22:28 If a man encounters a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, takes hold of her and rapes her, and they are discovered,

Deuteronomy 22:29 the man who raped her is to give the young woman’s father fifty silver shekels, and she will become his wife because he humiliated her. He cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

Deuteronomy 22:30 “A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.

Deuteronomy 22 quotes:

“Let us never forget this ; it is a wholesome truth for every one of us. We all need to bear in mind that if God were to withdraw His sustaininsr ofrace for one moment, tliere is no depth of iniquity’ into which we are not capable of plunging; indeed, we may add — and wo do it with deep thankfulness — it is His own gracious hand that preserves us, each moment, from becoming a complete wreck in every way, — physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and in our circumstances. May we keep this ever in the remembrance of the thoughts of our hearts, so that we may walk humbly and watchfully, and lean upon that arm which alone can sustain and preserve us.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 341.

“The law, in the address of Moses, not only contains prohibitions, but also requires positive action on the part of the Israelites in particular circumstances. Here, it is prescribed that an Israelite offer assistance to his fellow Israelite (brother); such assistance would require personal effort and initiative. The law counters a natural human tendency not to get involved or not to go out of one’s way to help another. Two categories of assistance are noted: (a) the restoration of lost property (vv. 1–3); (b) direct aid to a neighbor in a difficult circumstance (v. 4). The principle underlying the legislation is the same in both instances.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 286). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 22 links:

a distinctive people
a higher standard of mutual respect
consensual and criminal
crime in the city
in retrospect- purging the evil
in retrospect- removing the shame
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, June 10, 2019
passion and shame
puffy jacket story
transvestites and mother bird theft


The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 21

Deuteronomy 21

Deuteronomy 21:1 “If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land Yahveh your God is giving you to take possession of, and it is not known who killed him,

Deuteronomy 21:2 your elders and judges are to come out and measure the distance from the victim to the nearby cities.

Deuteronomy 21:3 The elders of the city nearest to the victim are to get a young cow that has not been yoked or used for work.

Deuteronomy 21:4 The elders of that city will bring the cow down to a continually flowing stream, to a place not tilled or planted, and they will break its neck there by the stream.

Deuteronomy 21:5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, will come forward, because Yahveh your God has chosen them to minister to him and pronounce empowerments in his name, and they are to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.

Deuteronomy 21:6 All the elders of the city nearest to the victim will wash their hands by the stream over the young cow whose neck has been broken.

Deuteronomy 21:7 They will answer, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood; our eyes did not see it.

Deuteronomy 21:8 Yahveh, absolve[1] the guilt of your people, Israel, whom you redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.’ Then, the responsibility for bloodshed will be absolved from them.

Deuteronomy 21:9 You must purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood because you will be doing what is right in Yahveh’s sight.

Deuteronomy 21:10 “When you go to war against your enemies and Yahveh your God hands them over to you and you take some of them prisoner, and

Deuteronomy 21:11 if you see a beautiful woman among the captives, desire her, and want to take her as your wife,

Deuteronomy 21:12 you are to bring her into your house. She is to shave her head, trim her nails,

Deuteronomy 21:13 remove the clothes she was wearing when she was taken prisoner, live in your house, and mourn for her father and mother a whole month. After that, you may have sexual relations with her and be her husband, and she will be your wife.

Deuteronomy 21:14 But if you do not treasure her, you are to let her go as her personality prefers, and you must not sell her or treat her as merchandise because you have humiliated her.

Deuteronomy 21:15 “If a man has two wives, one cared about and the other not cared about, and both the cared about and the not cared about bear him sons, and if the wife not cared about has the firstborn son,

Deuteronomy 21:16 when that man gives what he has to his sons as an inheritance, he is not to show favoritism to the son of the wife cared about as his firstborn over the firstborn of the not cared about wife.

Deuteronomy 21:17 He must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the wife he did not care about, by giving him two shares of his estate because he is the first of his virility; he legally deserves the firstborn’s share.

Deuteronomy 21:18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn’t listen to them even after they discipline him,

Deuteronomy 21:19 his father and mother are to take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown.

Deuteronomy 21:20 They will say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he doesn’t obey us. He’s a glutton and a drunkard.’

Deuteronomy 21:21 Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. You must purge the evil from you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

Deuteronomy 21:22 “If anyone is found guilty of a failure deserving the death penalty and is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,

Deuteronomy 21:23 you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s affliction. You must not defile the land Yahveh your God is giving you as an inheritance.


[1]כָּפַר (piel) = absolve. Deuteronomy 21:8; 32:43.

Deuteronomy 21 quotes:

“A very suggestive and interesting passage of holy Scripture now lies open before us, and claims our attention. A sin is committed — a man is found slain in the land, but no one knows aught about it; no one can tell whether it is murder ov manslaughter, or who committed the deed. It lies entirely bej’ond the range of human knowledge ; and yet there it is — an undenialjle fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord’s land, and man is wholly incompetent to deal with it.

What, then, is to be done ? The glory of God and the purity of His land must be maintained. He knows all about it, and He alone can deal with it; and truly His mode of dealing with it is full of most precious teaching.

First of all, tlie elders and judges appear on the scene. Tlie claims of truth and righteousness must be duly attended to ; justice and judgment must be perfectly maintained. This is a gieat cardinal truth, running all through the Word of God. Sin must be judged ere siiis can be forgiven or the sinner justified. Ere mercy’s heavenly voice can be beard, justice must be perfectly satisfied, the throne of God vindicated, and His name glorified. Grace must reign through I’ighteousness. Blessed be God that it is so ! Wiiat a glorious truth for all who have taken their true place as sinners ! God has been glorified as to the question of sin, and therefore He can, in perfect righteousness, pardon and justify the sinner.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. pp. 330-331.

“In the earlier legislation, distinctions have been made between manslaughter and murder, together with the manner of dealing with such crimes (17:8; 19:4–13). In this passage it is envisaged that a crime has taken place (presumably murder, though it could have been manslaughter), but the authorities do not know who was responsible for the crime. Because of the religious implications of murder, incurring guilt for the whole land, the matter could not simply be left (to use modern language) as an open file at the police headquarters. Some action had to be taken immediately, though the action described in these verses does not preclude the continuing investigation into the cause of the death by the officers of the law. Both the crime and the procedure involved have parallels in Near Eastern literature and legal texts,1 though at a number of points the Israelite practice is quite distinctive.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 278). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 21 links:

bypassing preferences
from captive to family
hand washing cow
in retrospect- removing the shame
staying compliant and connected
transvestites and mother bird theft
why he was taken down


The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 20


Deuteronomy 20

Deuteronomy 20:1 “When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them, because Yahveh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

Deuteronomy 20:2 When you are about to engage in battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army.

Deuteronomy 20:3 He is to say to them: ‘Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them.

Deuteronomy 20:4 You see, Yahveh, your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’

Deuteronomy 20:5 “The officers are to address the army, and this is what you should say: ‘Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him leave and return home. Or else, he may die in battle, and another man dedicates it.

Deuteronomy 20:6 Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him leave and return home. Or else he may die in battle, and another man enjoys its fruit.

Deuteronomy 20:7 Has any man become engaged to a woman and not married her? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise, he may die in battle, and another man marries her.’

Deuteronomy 20:8 The officers will address the army again and say, ‘Is there any man who is afraid or cowardly? Let him leave and return home so that his brothers won’t lose heart as he did.’

Deuteronomy 20:9 When the officers have finished addressing the army, they will appoint military commanders to lead it.

Deuteronomy 20:10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, make an offer of peace.

Deuteronomy 20:11 If it answers your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people found in it will become forced laborers for you and serve you.

Deuteronomy 20:12 However, if it does not make peace with you but wages war against you, lay siege to it.

Deuteronomy 20:13 When Yahveh, your God, hands it over to you, strike down all its males with the sword.

Deuteronomy 20:14 But you may take the women, dependents, animals, and whatever else is in the city– all its spoil– as plunder. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahveh, your God, has given you.

Deuteronomy 20:15 This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and are not among the cities of these nations.

Deuteronomy 20:16 However, you must not let any breathing[1] thing stay alive among the cities of these people Yahveh your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 20:17 You must destroy them — the Hethite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite – as Yahveh your God has commanded you,

Deuteronomy 20:18 so that they won’t teach you to do all the repulsive acts they do for their gods, and you fail Yahveh, your God.

Deuteronomy 20:19 “When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. Do not fell them. Are trees of the field human to come under siege by you?

Deuteronomy 20:20 But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce food. You may fell them to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.


[1]נְשָׁמָה

Deuteronomy 20 quotes:

“It was just as consistent with the character of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to fight against His enemies, as it is with tlie character of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them. And inasmuch as it is the revealed character of God that furnishes the model on which His people are to be formed — llie standard by which thej’ are to act, it was quite as consistent for Israel to cut their enemies in pieces as it is for us to love them, pray for them, and do them good.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 316.

“When the Israelites engaged in battle, the greater numbers and superior military equipment (horses and chariots—the Israelite army would consist of infantrymen) of their enemies need cause them no anxiety. Israelite strength lay not in numbers, not in the superiority of their weapons, but in their God.3 The strength of their God was not simply a matter of faith, but a matter of experience; in the Exodus from Egypt, God (the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt) had proved his strength and prowess in war against the strongest enemy that Israel had known.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 271). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 20 links:

confidence instead of fear
destroying the defiled
first seek peace
God’s remedy for defilement
in retrospect- wise warfare
leaving the fruitful trees
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, June 10, 2021
pep talk 1
pep talk 2


The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.