Advanced Commentary
Texts -- Deuteronomy 20:1-20 (NET)
Pericope
NET
- Deu 20:1-15 -- Laws Concerning War with Distant Enemies
- Deu 20:16-20 -- Laws Concerning War with Canaanite Nations
Bible Dictionary
-
Moses
[ebd] drawn (or Egypt. mesu, "son;" hence Rameses, royal son). On the invitation of Pharaoh (Gen. 45:17-25), Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. This immigration took place probably about 350 years before the birth of Moses. ...
-
DEUTERONOMY
[isbe] DEUTERONOMY - du-ter-on'-o-mi: 1. Name 2. What Deuteronomy Is 3. Analysis 4. Ruling Ideas 5. Unity 6. Authorship 7. Deuteronomy Spoken Twice 8. Deuteronomy's Influence in Israel's History 9. The Critical Theory LITERATURE 1....
-
Siege
[isbe] SIEGE - sej (matsor (Dt 28:52,53; 1 Ki 15:27; 2 Ki 25:2; Isa 29:3; Ezek 4:2); "to be besieged," "to suffer siege," ba-matsor bo' (Dt 20:19; 2 Ki 24:10; 25:2)): 1. In Early Hebrew History 2. In the Monarchy 3. Preliminaries t...
[nave] SIEGE Offer of peace must be made to the city before begiing, Deut. 20:10-12. Conducted by erecting embankments parallel to the walls of the besieged city, Deut. 20:19, 20; Isa. 29:3; 37:33. Battering-rams used in, See: Ba...
-
ARMY
[isbe] ARMY - ar'-mi (chayil, "army," tsabha', "host," ma`arakhah, "army in battle array" gedhudh, "troop"): 1. The First Campaign of History 2. In the Wilderness 3. The Times after the Conquest 4. In the Early Monarchy 5. From the...
[smith] I. JEWISH ARMY.--Every man above 20 years of age was a soldier, (Numbers 1:3) each tribe formed a regiment, with its own banner and its own leader (Numbers 2:2; 10:14) their positions in the camp or on the march were accurate...
-
Armies
[nave] ARMIES Who of the Israelites were subject to service in, Num. 1:2, 3; 26:2; 2 Chr. 25:5; who were exempt from service in, Num. 1:47-50; 2:33; Deut. 20:5-9; Judg. 7:3. Enumeration of Israel's military forces, Num. 1:2, 3; 26...
-
War
[smith] The most important topic in connection with war is the formation of the army which is destined to carry it on. [ARMY] In (1Â Kings 9:22) at a period (Solomon?s reign) when the organization of the army was complete, we have ...
[nave] WAR Divine approval of, 2 Sam. 22:35. Civil, Judg. 12:1-6; 20; 2 Sam. 2:12-31; 3:1; 20; 1 Kin. 14:30; 16:21; Isa. 19:2; forbidden, 2 Chr. 11:4; averted, Josh. 22:11-34. Enemy harangued by general of opposing side, 2 Kin. 1...
-
Soldiers
[nave] SOLDIERS Military enrollment of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, Num. 1; 2; in the plains of Moab, Num. 26. Levies of, in the ratio of one man to ten subject to duty, Judg. 20:10. Dressed in scarlet, Nah. 2:3. Cowards e...
-
WAR; WARFARE
[isbe] WAR; WARFARE - wor, wor'-far (milchamah, 'anshe m., "men of war," "soldiers"; polemos, polemein, strateuesthai, stratia): 1. Religious Significance 2. Preliminaries 3. Operations of War 4. Strategy 5. Important Requisites 6....
-
CRITICISM
[isbe] CRITICISM - (The Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis) I. PRELIMINARY 1. Thesis 2. Historical Perspective 3. Inspiration and Criticism II. THE LEGISLATION 1. Groups 2. Covenant Code 3. The Sanctuary 4. Kinds of Sacrifice 5. Sacrifice ...
-
Priest
[nave] PRIEST. Before Moses Melchizedek, Gen. 14:18; Heb. 5:6, 10, 11; 6:20; 7:1-21. Jethro, Ex. 2:16. Priests in Israel before the giving of the law, Ex. 19:22, 24. Called angel, Eccl. 5:6. Mosaic Ex. 28:1-4; 29:9, 44; Num....
-
Amorites
[isbe] AMORITES - am'-o-rits; Amorites ('emori, always in the singular like the Babylonian Amurru from which it is taken; Amorraioi): 1. Varying Use of the Name Explained 2. The Amorite Kingdom 3. Sihon's Conquest 4. Disappearance ...
[nave] AMORITES Descendants of Canaan, Gen. 10:15, 16; 1 Chr. 1:13, 14. Were giants, Amos 2:9. Struck by Chedorlaomer and rescued by Abraham, Gen. 14. Territory of, Gen. 14:7; Num. 13:29; 21:13; Deut. 1:4, 7, 19; 3:8, 9; Josh. 5...
-
BOOTY
[ebd] captives or cattle or objects of value taken in war. In Canaan all that breathed were to be destroyed (Deut. 20: 16). The "pictures and images" of the Canaanites were to be destroyed also (Num. 33:52). The law of booty as to...
[smith] consisted of captives of both sexes, cattle, and whatever a captured city might contain, especially metallic treasures. Within the limits of Canaan no captives were to be made, (20:14,16) beyond these limits, in case of warli...
-
ACCURSED
[isbe] ACCURSED - a-kurs'-ed, a-kurst': In the Book of Josh (6:17,18; 7:1,11,12,13,15) and 1 Ch (2:7) "accursed" (or "accursed thing" or "thing accursed") is the King James Version rendering of the Hebrew word, cherem. The the Revi...
-
House
[isbe] HOUSE - hous (bayith; oikos, in classical Greek generally "an estate," oikia, oikema (literally, "habitation"), in Acts 12:1, "prison"): I. CAVE DWELLINGS II. STONE-BUILT AND MUD/BRICK-BUILT HOUSES 1. Details of Plan and Con...
[nave] HOUSE Built of stone, Lev. 14:40-45; Isa. 9:10; Amos 5:11; brick, Gen. 11:3; Ex. 1:11-14; Isa. 9:10; wood, Song 1:17; Isa. 9:10. Built into city walls, Josh. 2:15. Used for worship, Acts 1:13, 14; 12:12; Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. ...
-
Fort
[nave] FORT, a military defense. Field fortifications, Deut. 20:19, 20; 2 Kin. 25:1; Ezek. 4:2; 17:17; 26:8. Defenses of cities, 2 Chr. 26:15; Isa. 25:12. See: Castles; Towers; Walls. Erected in vineyards and herding grounds, 2 C...
-
WRITING, 2
[isbe] WRITING, 2 - V. Materials. The materials used in writing include almost every imaginable substance, mineral, vegetable, and animal: gold, silver, copper, bronze, clay, marble, granite, precious gems, leaves, bark, wooden pla...
-
Fruit Trees
[nave] FRUIT TREES, care for, Deut. 20:19, 20.
-
Captive
[nave] CAPTIVE Prisoner of war, Gen. 14:12; 1 Sam. 30:1, 2. Cruelty to: Putting to death, Num. 31:9-20; Deut. 20:13; 21:10; Josh. 8:29; 10:15-40; 11:11; Judg. 7:25; 8:21; 21:11; 1 Sam. 15:32, 33; 2 Sam. 8:2; 2 Kin. 8:12; Jer. 39:6...
-
Horticulture
[nave] HORTICULTURE, encouraged, Lev. 19:23-25; Deut. 20:19, 20. See: Agriculture; Grafting; Pruning.
-
Massacre
[nave] MASSACRE Authorized by Moses, Deut. 20:13, 16. Decree to destroy the Jews, Esth. 3. Instances of Inhabitants of Heshbon, Deut. 2:34; of Bashan, Deut. 3:6; of Ai, Josh. 8:24-26; of Hazor, Josh. 11:11, 12; of the cities of ...
Arts
Resources/Books
Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)
-
14:1-4 Scholars have not been able to locate definitely the sites referred to in verse 2."An Egyptian papyrus associates Baal Zephon with Tahpahnes . . . a known site near Lake Menzaleh in the northeastern delta region."235Ho...
-
Let me share with you a couple of quotations that point out the importance of this book."Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its significance on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has no...
-
I. Introduction: the covenant setting 1:1-5II. Moses' first major address: a review of God's faithfulness 1:6-4:40A. God's past dealings with Israel 1:6-3:291. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-462. The march from Kades...
-
This brief section places the events that follow in their geographical and chronological setting. It introduces the occasion for the covenant, the parties involved, and other information necessary to identify the document and...
-
". . . Deuteronomy contains the most comprehensive body of laws in the Pentateuch. It is clearly intended to be consulted for guidance on many aspects of daily life, in sharp contrast with the laws of Leviticus, which are ver...
-
Another writer suggested that chapters 6-26 expand the Decalogue with the intent of addressing the spirit of the law.92He believed the structure of the book supports his contention that the writer chose exemplary cases. Moses...
-
"These clearly are not laws or commandments as such but primarily series of parenetic homilies in which Moses exhorted the people to certain courses of action in light of the upcoming conquest and occupation of Canaan. Within...
-
The section of Deuteronomy dealing with general stipulations of the covenant ends as it began, with an exhortation to covenant loyalty (5:1-5; cf. 4:32-40)."This chapter is to be understood as a re-emphasis of these principle...
-
Moses' homiletical exposition of the law of Israel that follows explains reasons for the covenant laws that arose from the Ten Commandments. This address concludes with directions for celebrating and confirming the covenant (...
-
The context of this section is significant as usual. Verses 1-8 deal with people who ministered to Yahweh in various ways for the people, and verses 15-22 concern the delivery of God's revelations to His people. Verses 9-14 c...
-
These instructions deal with how Israel was to come into possession of the Promised Land (cf. Num. 33:50-56). They are in the context of civil legislation because Israel did not have a standing army. Soldiers volunteered to g...
-
This section concludes the "purely legal material."284The ordinances with which Moses concluded his second address (chs. 5-26) not only specified the Israelites' actions in further respects but also focused their thinking on ...
-
"The presentation of the commandments and the statutes and ordinances that will guide Israel's life in the land is over now. Verse 16 serves as a concluding bracket around chapters 5-26, matching Moses' introduction to the wh...
-
"Moses assigned the priests and elders the duty of regularly republishing the law of the covenant. The effect of this was to associate the priests and elders with Joshua in the responsibility of rule and in the esteem of Isra...
-
As preparation for entering Canaan, Joshua sent spies to reconnoiter the area Israel would enter."Although Joshua had received a promise from the Lord of His almighty help in the conquest of Canaan, he still thought it necess...
-
5:13-15 "Despite Joshua's long military experience he had never led an attack on a fortified city that was prepared for a long siege. In fact, of all the walled cities in Palestine, Jericho was probably the most invincible. T...
-
The residents of the town of Gibeon decided that if they could not defeat the Israelites they would join them. This has been a strategy that enemies of believers have employed for centuries (cf. Num. 25:1-2).9:1-2 Israel is t...
-
Presumably God willingly gave Gideon the signs of the fleece because He knew the command He would give him to reduce his army would stretch his faith to its limit. The Israelite soldiers numbered only 32,000 (or 32 units, v. ...
-
"In the short pericope 13:7b-15a obedience was the stone on which Saul stumbled; here it is the rock that crushes him."147Chapter 15 records one of the battles Saul had with the Amalekites, Israel's enemy to the south (cf. 14...
-
"With Joab's return to the king in Jerusalem, the grand symphony known as the Court History of David reaches its conclusion for all practical purposes (at least as far as the books of Samuel are concerned . . .). The last fou...
-
This section is similar to the one that recorded Saul's failure to follow Yahweh's command that also resulted in God cutting him off as His vice-regent (1 Sam. 13:13-14). The parallels between Saul and Ahab are remarkable thr...
-
Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair o...
-
As was true in the chapter 10-15 section, this one (16:1-22:16) also becomes more difficult to outline as it ends because there are fewer groupings of proverbs.19:7 The first part of this verse is hyperbole (overstatement to ...
-
5:14 Again the prophet urged the Israelites to seek good rather than evil so they could live (cf. vv. 4-6). Then the sovereign, almighty Yahweh would truly be with them, as they professed He was even as they practiced their i...
Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)
-
Which swept away so much chaff. According to Deuteronomy 20:8, the standing enactment was that such a proclamation as that in verse 3 should precede every battle. Much difficulty has been raised about the mention of Mount Gil...