Deuteronomy 21:10-14

Deuteronomy 21:10-14

[10] When thou goest forth  to war  against thine enemies,  and the LORD  thy God  hath delivered  them into thine hands,  and thou hast taken  [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  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  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  for money,  thou shalt not make merchandise  of her, because  thou hast humbled  her.

What does Deuteronomy 21:10-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Israelite men could marry women from distant conquered cities taken as prisoners of war (provided they did not already have a wife). Such a woman had to shave her head and trim her nails. These were rituals of purification customary in the ancient Near East. [1] She received one month to mourn her parents ( Deuteronomy 21:13). This may presuppose that they had died in the battle or, more likely, that she was to cut off all ties to her former life. [2]
"Such kindly consideration is in marked contrast with the cruel treatment meted out to women captured in war among the neighboring nations ..." [3]
"This legislation could have two basic results: the men would be restrained from rape, and the women would have time to become adjusted to their new condition." [4]
The provision for divorce ( Deuteronomy 21:14) receives further clarification later ( Deuteronomy 24:1-4). We should not interpret the fact that God legislated the rights of sons born into polygamous families as tacit approval of that form of marriage. Monogamy was God"s will ( Genesis 2:24; cf. Matthew 19:4-6). [5] However, God also gave laws that regulated life when His people lived it in disobedience to His will. In other words, God did not approve of polygamy, but He tolerated it in Israel in the sense that He did not execute or punish polygamists through civil procedures. Similarly He did not approve of divorce, but He allowed it in this case (cf. Genesis 21:8-14; Ezra 9-10; Malachi 2:16). [6]
God did not feel compelled to comment in Scripture whenever people disobeyed him. That Isaiah , He did not always lead the writers of Scripture to identify every sinful practice as such whenever it occurs in the text. This was especially true when the people"s sins produced relatively limited consequences. He did comment more on the Israelites" sins that directly involved their relationship to Himself and their sins that affected many other people. This fact reflects God"s gracious character (cf. Luke 15:12).