When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou hast taken captives of them,
This verse opens a law for Israel at war. A soldier wins a battle the LORD gave him, brings home captives, and then wants one of the women for himself.
This law does not cover every war. Where the captive came from decided what was allowed.
The first part deals with marriage to a captive taken in war — clearly a permission to marry a Gentile, in a case where there was no such ban as rested on Canaan.
The soldier holds all the power. So the law binds him at every turn.
Yet here the woman was most of all in the hand and power of the man. That is surely why the command takes such a strange form. He was fenced in with prohibitions. She must be given the wife's place. She must be allowed a month for natural sorrow over being separated from her family. The month perhaps also tested whether his new affection was real. If the tie is formed, she can never be enslaved again; and if he divorces her, she is free to go wherever she pleases.
The details of the month are not random. Hair, nails and clothing all carried the marks of the religion she was leaving behind.
The man who wanted her could bring the woman home to his house. There her head was shaved and her fingernails trimmed. Long fingernails and hair braided with idolatrous jewels were part of the religion of ungodly nations. She changed out of the clothes of a captive. She stayed in the house a full month to mourn for her father and mother. Only then could he marry her.
Commentators explain the shaved head differently. One sees the stripping off of idolatry. Another sees a known mark of shame.
When a woman's head was uncovered or shaved in the Old Testament it was a mark of shame. We see this in Numbers 5:18, where a wife was under her husband's suspicion. We see it again in Deuteronomy 21:10-13, about a beautiful woman taken captive by an Israelite.
How kind is this law? Commentators weigh it differently. One reading measures it against the nations around Israel, where a captive belonged to the winner.
What is emphasised, it seems, is the government of the will. It puts restraint on desire, so that at least it is not lawless. Everywhere else, the customs made a captive the lawful property of the conqueror. So this law is a witness to the character of the One who ruled in Israel. We must measure it not by the full light of Christianity now come, but against what surrounded it. Seen that way, it really is the dawning of the day.
Another reading traces the keeping of secondary wives back to this passage. It puts the practice next to divorce: allowed, but never approved.
Deuteronomy 21:11 gives the root of it: a man saw a beautiful woman and lusted after her. God seems to have simply allowed it. It was as the Lord said about their easy way of writing a certificate of divorce. Moses permitted it "because of your hardness of heart." … Christianity disallows such evil. It recognises marriage as established by God, and so the sacredness of the bond in those whom God joins together.
Commentators also read this section as a picture of God's own marriage to His people. Israel broke that bond. God has not finished with her.
Verses 10-17 bear in a very special way on Israel's relationship to the LORD… Through the prophets the Holy Spirit makes the most moving appeals to the conscience of the nation. These appeals rest on the wonderful fact of the relationship He had brought them into with Himself. In that relationship they had failed so openly and so gravely. Israel has proved an unfaithful wife and has therefore been set aside. But the time will come for this long-rejected yet never-forgotten people. God will not only restore them. He will bring them into a state of blessing, privilege and glory beyond anything ever known before.
- Victory — the law starts at the soldier's strongest moment, with the captive in his hand.
- Restraint — right there, the law fences in his will, so desire cannot be lawless.
- Dignity — she gets a wife's place, a month to grieve, and freedom if he sends her away. She can never be a slave again.
- Difference — some see light dawning against the customs of the nations around. Others see a concession to hard hearts, which Christianity ends by holding marriage sacred.
- Marriage — behind the law stands God's own bond with an unfaithful people. He set them aside for a time, and keeps for them a greater blessing than they ever knew.
and thou seest among the captives a woman of beautiful form, and hast a desire unto her, and takest her as thy wife;
Israel's laws of war reach into a very private matter: a soldier sees a woman among the prisoners and wants her. What follows is not a licence but a set of limits — a curb on desire, and a picture of God taking a stranger to be His wife.
The permission depends on who the woman is. She comes from a nation outside the land, not from Canaan, which lay under a ban.
The first part deals with marriage to a captive taken in war. This is a clear permission to marry a Gentile. There was no barrier here like the ban that rested on Canaan.
One writer traces the practice of keeping concubines — secondary wives — back to this verse.
Deuteronomy 21:11 gives the root of it: a man saw a beautiful woman and lusted after her. God seems to have simply allowed it. It was as the Lord said about their easy way of writing a certificate of divorce: Moses permitted it "because of your hardness of heart."
The man holds every advantage here. The law answers by limiting what he may do with her.
Here the woman was most of all in the hand and power of the man. That is surely why the commandment takes such an unusual form: it fenced the man round with prohibitions. He must give her the wife's place. He must allow her a month for natural sorrow at being parted from her family — perhaps also to test how real his new affection was. If the tie is formed, she can never be enslaved again; and if he divorces her, she is free to go wherever she pleases.
Set beside the customs of the nations around Israel, this law stands out.
What stands out is the government of the will — putting restraint on desire, so that at least it shall not be lawless. Everywhere else, custom made a captive the lawful property of her conqueror. So this restraint bears witness to the character of Him who ruled in Israel. We must measure it not by the full light of Christianity now come, but against what surrounded it. Seen this way, it is indeed the dawning of the day.
Before any marriage, she must lay aside her old life and take time to grieve.
The men of her nation would have been killed (Deuteronomy 20:13-14). The man who desired her could bring her home to his house. She had her head shaved and her fingernails trimmed. It was part of the religion of ungodly nations that they had long fingernails and hair braided with idolatrous jewels. She changed out of the clothes of a captive and stayed in the house for a full month to mourn for her father and mother. Only then could she be married to her suitor.
Another writer notes where else the law shaved a woman's head.
Under the law we find two occasions on which the woman was shaven, or uncovered. First, when she was a suspected wife (Numbers 5). Second, when she had just been taken captive and was mourning for her father's house, not yet married to the Jew who had taken her in battle (Deuteronomy 21). Her shaven head showed that she had neither the full confidence nor the full joy of a husband.
One writer reads this law as a picture of Israel's own story with God.
Verses 10-17 bear in a very special way on Israel's relationship to Jehovah… Israel has proved an unfaithful wife, and so God has set her aside. But the time will come when this long-rejected but never-forgotten people will be restored. They will be brought into a blessedness, privilege and glory beyond anything ever known in the past.
The same writer takes the captive's fresh start as a picture of Jerusalem's welcome home.
She comes, like any sinner from the nations, out of a place of defilement, and she is told to leave it behind her (Deuteronomy 21:13). This tells us how Jerusalem will finally be received: like the prodigal son coming home. And so the king will greatly desire her beauty, for in such people is all His delight. It is His own beauty that He sees in them — the beauty He Himself has put on them: the shoes, the ring, and the best robe.
- Desire — the law starts where the trouble starts: a man sees and wants. Commentators differ on the tone. One calls it the root of concubinage, allowed for hardness of heart. Others stress the restraint laid on the will.
- Restraint — the law fences the man in. He must give her the wife's place. She can never be enslaved again, and she goes free if he divorces her.
- Removal — head shaved, nails trimmed, captive's clothes exchanged, a full month to mourn. The old life comes off before the new one begins.
- Dawn — set against the customs of the nations around, this law shows the character of the God who ruled Israel. It is daybreak, not yet full daylight.
- Desire fulfilled — the stranger leaves her defilement behind and becomes the wife the King desires. The beauty He desires is the beauty He gave her.
then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
This verse sits inside a short law about an Israelite soldier who wants to marry a woman taken captive in war (verses 10–14). Before any marriage she had to enter his house and pass through visible changes, and the question is why God set conditions on a conqueror's desire.
The verse describes the first step in a fixed sequence. One writer sets out the whole of it, including why the hair and nails mattered.
The woman could be brought home to the house of the man who desired her. There her head was shaved and her finger nails trimmed. Long finger nails and hair intertwined with idolatrous jewels were part of the religion of godless nations. She changed out of the clothes of a captive and stayed in the house for a full month to mourn for her father and mother. Only then could she be married to her suitor.
A shaved head carried a known meaning in the law. This passage is one of only two places where it appears.
What was the shame that the shaved or shorn state of a woman's head confessed? This must be settled by looking at the Law, and under it we find two occasions on which the woman was shaved, or uncovered. First, when she was a suspected wife (Num. 5). Second, when she had recently been taken captive and was mourning for her father's house. She was not yet joined to the Jew who had taken her in battle (Deut. 21). Her shaved state showed that she did not have either the full confidence or the full joy of a husband.
By the standards of the surrounding nations, a captive belonged to the victor to do with as he pleased. The commandment cuts across that.
It seems the stress falls on governing the will — holding desire in check, so that at least it shall not be lawless. And this law concerns a captive, who by the customs prevailing everywhere else was the lawful property of the conqueror. Such a law is a witness to the character of Him who ruled in Israel. We must judge it, not by the full light of Christianity now come, but by contrast with what was around. Seen that way, it is indeed the dawning of the day.
The delay was not empty ceremony. It secured her standing, gave her time, and tested the man.
Here the woman was most of all in the hand and power of the man. That is surely why the commandment takes the strange form it does. Even so, the man was fenced round with prohibitions. He must give her the wife's place. He must allow her a month for natural sorrow over leaving her family, perhaps also to test how real his new affection was. If the tie is formed, she can never be enslaved again. And if he divorces her, she is free to go where she pleases.
This law did not open the door to every captive. A woman from outside Israel could be married; the ban on the nations of Canaan still stood.
The first part deals with marriage to a captive taken in war. This clearly permits marriage to a Gentile, where there was no hindrance such as the ban that rested upon Canaan.
Does the law here reach the standard of Christian marriage? One writer says plainly that it does not.
Here, as we know from our Lord's words, in the law of marriage we find the failure of the law more than anywhere. Man's hard heart ruled out the full restraint of absolute righteousness, until grace should come. The law could only soften the polygamy and divorce practised among the surrounding nations. It curbed the will in part and stopped sheer lawlessness. It was left to Christianity to restore woman to her original place in creation by the side of man.
One writer looks past the letter of the law to a queen who leaves a place of defilement behind her.
There is something striking about this queen. She is looked at as coming, like any sinner of the Gentiles, from some place of defilement that she is urged to leave behind her (Deut. 21:13). This tells us the character in which Jerusalem will be received at the last, like a prodigal son coming home. And so the king will greatly desire her beauty. For in such is all His delight. It is His own beauty He sees in them — the beauty He Himself has put on them: the shoes, the ring, and the best robe.
- Captive — she comes in as spoil of war, from a nation outside the land. Canaan's people were under a ban.
- Stripped — head shaved, nails trimmed, captive's clothes changed. The ornaments of her old religion come off first.
- Waiting — a full month of mourning gives her room for grief and gives his desire time to prove itself real.
- Wife — she cannot be enslaved again, and if he puts her away she goes free. Desire is fenced round, and that fence shows God's character.
- Beyond — the law only curbs what a hard heart could not yet cure. The woman leaves her defilement and receives a beauty not her own, and that points on to grace.
and she shall put the clothes of her captivity from off her, and shall abide in thy house, and bewail her father and mother a full month, and afterwards thou mayest go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
Deuteronomy 21:13 sits inside a law about a soldier who wants to marry a woman captured in war. Before any marriage, she must strip off everything that marked her old life. Then she has a full month to grieve — a delay that protects her.
The shaving, the trimming and the change of clothes were not random. One writer explains each act by what the surrounding nations wore and believed:
The man who wanted her could bring the woman home to his house. There he had her head shaved and her finger nails trimmed. Long finger nails, and hair intertwined with idolatrous jewels, were part of the religion of the godless nations. She changed out of the clothes of a captive. Then she stayed in the house for a full month to mourn for her father and mother, before she could marry him.
A shaved head carried its own message. One writer notes the two cases in the law where a woman's head was uncovered or shorn:
First, when she was a wife under suspicion (Num. 5). Second, when she had just been taken captive and was mourning for her father's house, not yet married to the Jewish man who had taken her in battle (Deut. 21). A woman in this shaven state was not enjoying either the full confidence or the full joy of a husband.
She is in his power — and that is where the law tightens, around him and not around her:
Yet here, more than anywhere, the woman was in the hand and power of the man — and here the law fenced him in with prohibitions. That is surely why the commandment takes such an unusual form. He must give her the wife's place. He must allow her a month for natural sorrow over being separated from her relatives, and perhaps this also tested in some measure how real his new affection for her was. If the tie is formed, she can never be enslaved again; and should she be divorced, she is free to go wherever she pleases.
The same month works as a check on the man's feelings. If he ends up unwilling to marry her, the outcome is still fixed in her favour:
If, however, the man was disappointed in the woman, he was to set her free, not selling her and not treating her brutally. The month in which she stayed in his house would be enough for him to observe whether he was satisfied with her, so that, if not, there would be no reason to marry her.
Judged by later standards, this law looks like a low bar. Judged against its own world, it is a step out of the dark:
It seems, then, that what is stressed is the government of the will — putting restraint on desire, so that at least it shall not be lawless. Everywhere else, the customs of the day made a captive the lawful property of the conqueror. So this law is a witness to the character of Him who ruled in Israel. We must measure that character not by the full light of Christianity now come, but against what was around it. Seen this way, it becomes indeed the dawning of the day.
The same writer is candid about the limits of the law here:
Our Lord's own words show it: the law of marriage is where the failure of the law comes out more than anywhere else. Until grace should come, the hardness of man's heart ruled out the full restraint of absolute righteousness. The nations round about practised polygamy and divorce. These could only be softened by curbing the will in part and preventing sheer lawlessness. It was reserved for Christianity to restore woman to her original place in creation by the side of man.
This law lets an Israelite marry a woman from outside Israel — but not a woman from every nation:
The first part treats of marriage with a captive taken in war — a distinct permission, of course, of marriage with a Gentile, where there was not the hindrance of such a ban as rested upon Canaan.
Commentators also read this law as a picture of God's dealings with Israel. One points to the nation's future restoration:
Israel has proved an unfaithful wife, and as a result has been set aside. But the time will come for this long rejected people, whom God has never forgotten. He will not only restore them. He will bring them into a state of blessing, privilege and glory beyond anything they have ever known.
Another links the leaving-behind in this verse to the queen of Psalm 45:
She is looked at as coming, like any sinner of the Gentiles, out of a place of defilement which she is told to leave behind her (Deut. 21:13). This shows how Jerusalem will at last be received — like a prodigal son coming home. And so the king shall greatly desire her beauty. For in such is all His delight. It is His own beauty He sees in them — the beauty He Himself has put on them — the shoes, and the ring, and the best robe.
- Stripped — shaved head, trimmed nails, captive's clothes thrown off. Every mark of her old idolatrous life had to go.
- Shamed — a shorn head in the law signalled a woman not yet enjoying a husband's full confidence or joy.
- Sheltered — the month gave her real grief its space, tested his desire, and secured her the wife's place instead of slavery.
- Restrained — where the man held all the power, the law fenced him in. Writers call this the dawning of day, though the law still fell short of what grace later restored.
- Received — as a picture, the outsider is brought near. Israel is set aside yet not forgotten, and the bride's beauty is the beauty her King has put on her.
And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go according to her desire; but thou shalt in no wise sell her for money; thou shalt not treat her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
This law closes a case that began in battle. A woman is taken captive, brought into an Israelite's home, and married. Verse 14 asks what happens if the marriage fails. The surprise is that the law binds the man, who held all the power.
A month in his house came before the marriage. That month was there to settle the question. If he changed his mind afterwards, she was still not left at his mercy.
If the man was disappointed in the woman, he was to set her free. He was not to sell her, and not to treat her with cruelty. The month she stayed in his house gave him time to see whether he was satisfied with her. If he was not, there was no reason to marry her.
In the nations around Israel, a captive belonged to the man who took her. This law pushes the other way, and it does so where his power was greatest. The reason it gives is that he has humiliated her.
Here, more than anywhere else, the woman was in the hand and power of the man. That is surely why the commandment takes such an unusual form: the man was hedged about with prohibitions. He had to give her the wife's place. He had to allow her a month to grieve over leaving her family. That month may also have tested how real his affection for her was. Once the tie is formed, no one can ever enslave her again. And if he divorces her, she is free to go wherever she pleases.
The Hebrew behind "where she wants" is unusual. It is part of a wider pattern, where the soul stands for the will.
Scripture says the same thing in several ways. The will, in man's natural state, is identified with the soul, or joined to it. Translators render the word for soul as "will" three times (Ps. 27:12, Ps. 41:2, Ezek. 16:27). And "let her go where she wants" (Deut. 21:14) is literally "let her go to her soul."
Her release is more than permission to leave. She goes where her own will takes her.
Commentators treat this law as a curb, not an ideal. It limited an evil that it did not yet abolish.
Our Lord's words show us that the law of marriage is where the law failed most of all. Man's hard heart ruled out the full restraint of absolute righteousness until grace came. The nations around practised polygamy and divorce, and the law could only soften them. It curbed the will in part and held back open lawlessness. Christianity alone restored woman to her first place in creation, at man's side.
Judged by that later light, the rule looks small. Judged against the world around it, it shows who governed Israel.
So the emphasis seems to fall on the government of the will. It puts restraint on desire, so that at least it shall not be lawless. And the woman here is a captive, who by the customs everywhere else was the conqueror's lawful property. This restraint is a witness to the character of Him who ruled in Israel. We must measure it, not by the full light of Christianity now come, but against what surrounded it. Seen that way, it is indeed the dawning of the day.
This woman comes from outside the nations Israel was told to destroy. The law sets out to shield her.
The woman captive desired by an Israelite for a wife could not be one of the Canaanite races, for they were all to be slain; other Gentiles are meant. She was to be protected and treated with mercy.
Writers also read verses 10-17 as a picture of God's own bond with Israel. Israel is a wife set aside, but not lost for good.
Verses 10-17 bear in a very special way on Israel's relationship to Jehovah. The reader will find many references to this subject throughout the prophets. There the Holy Spirit makes the most touching appeals to the conscience of the nation. These appeals rest on the wonderful fact of the relationship into which He had brought them to Himself — the very relationship in which they had failed so plainly and so badly. Israel has proved an unfaithful wife, and God has therefore set her aside. But the time will come when this long rejected but never forgotten people will not only be restored. They will be brought into a condition of blessedness, privilege and glory beyond anything ever known in the past.
- Power — the woman lay wholly in the man's hand. That is just where the law hedges him about with prohibitions.
- Protection — she is a foreign captive, and the law shields her: never sold, never enslaved again.
- Freedom — release means she goes "to her soul", wherever her own will takes her.
- Dawn — set beside the customs of the nations around, this restraint on desire shows the character of the God who ruled Israel. It is the dawning of the day.
- Fullness — the law only curbed what a hard heart would not give up. Christianity restored woman to her place at man's side.