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Text -- Deuteronomy 21:2-23 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
21:2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse .
21:3 Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked – that has never pulled with the yoke –
21:4 and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water , to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown . There at the wadi they are to break the heifer’s neck .
21:5 Then the Levitical priests will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name , and to decide every judicial verdict ) verdict )
21:6 and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley .
21:7 Then they must proclaim , “Our hands have not spilled this blood , nor have we witnessed the crime.
21:8 Do not blame your people Israel whom you redeemed , O Lord , and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person .” Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed .
21:9 In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before the Lord .
Laws Concerning Wives
21:10 When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail and you take prisoners ,
21:11 if you should see among them an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife ,
21:12 you may bring her back to your house . She must shave her head , trim her nails ,
21:13 discard the clothing she was wearing when captured , and stay in your house , lamenting for her father and mother for a full month . After that you may have sexual relations with her and become her husband and she your wife .
21:14 If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go where she pleases . You cannot in any case sell her; you must not take advantage of her, since you have already humiliated her.
Laws Concerning Children
21:15 Suppose a man has two wives , one whom he loves more than the other , and they both bear him sons , with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife.
21:16 In the day he divides his inheritance he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other wife’s son who is actually the firstborn .
21:17 Rather , he must acknowledge the son of the less loved wife as firstborn and give him the double portion of all he has , for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power – to him should go the right of the firstborn .
21:18 If a person has a stubborn , rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother , and they discipline him to no avail,
21:19 his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city .
21:20 They must declare to the elders of his city , “Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say – he is a glutton and drunkard .”
21:21 Then all the men of his city must stone him to death . In this way you will purge out wickedness from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid .
Disposition of a Criminal’s Remains
21:22 If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed , and you hang the corpse on a tree ,
21:23 his body must not remain all night on the tree ; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day , for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God . You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
CRUCIFIXION |
PRIMOGENITURE |
PATRIMONY |
Moses |
LAW OF MOSES |
Heifer |
Church |
Government |
Birthright |
RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY |
CONCUBINE |
Children |
LAW IN THE OLD TESTAMENT |
HEIFER, RED |
SALVATION |
SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 3 |
Murder |
Homicide |
PRAYER |
SACRIFICE, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, 2 |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Deu 21:2; Deu 21:3; Deu 21:4; Deu 21:4; Deu 21:5; Deu 21:5; Deu 21:5; Deu 21:5; Deu 21:6; Deu 21:6; Deu 21:7; Deu 21:7; Deu 21:8; Deu 21:8; Deu 21:9; Deu 21:10; Deu 21:11; Deu 21:12; Deu 21:13; Deu 21:13; Deu 21:13; Deu 21:14; Deu 21:14; Deu 21:14; Deu 21:14; Deu 21:14; Deu 21:15; Deu 21:15; Deu 21:16; Deu 21:16; Deu 21:17; Deu 21:17; Deu 21:17; Deu 21:18; Deu 21:20; Deu 21:21; Deu 21:21; Deu 21:22; Deu 21:23; Deu 21:23; Deu 21:23
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NET Notes: Deu 21:4 The unworked heifer, fresh stream, and uncultivated valley speak of ritual purity – of freedom from human contamination.
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NET Notes: Deu 21:7 Heb “seen”; the implied object (the crime committed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Deu 21:11 Heb “the prisoners.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
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NET Notes: Deu 21:12 This requirement for the woman to shave her head may symbolize the putting away of the old life and customs in preparation for being numbered among th...
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NET Notes: Deu 21:14 You have humiliated her. Since divorce was considered rejection, the wife subjected to it would “lose face” in addition to the already hum...
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NET Notes: Deu 21:15 Heb “both the one whom he loves and the one whom he hates.” On the meaning of the phrase “one whom he loves and one whom he hates...
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NET Notes: Deu 21:17 Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ’on; cf. HALOT 22 s.v.). Cf. NAB “the first fruits of his manhood...
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NET Notes: Deu 21:20 The LXX and Smr read “to the men,” probably to conform to this phrase in v. 21. However, since judicial cases were the responsibility of t...
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