Deuteronomy 21:15

Laws Concerning Children

21:15 Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other, ¹  and they both ²  bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife.

Deuteronomy 21:18

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, ³ 

Deuteronomy 33:8

Blessing on Levi

33:8 Of Levi he said:

Your Thummim and Urim ⁴  belong to your godly one, ⁵ 

whose authority you challenged at Massah, ⁶ 

and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. ⁷ 

[21:15]  ¹ tn Heb “one whom he loves and one whom he hates.” For the idea of שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) meaning to be rejected or loved less (cf. NRSV “disliked”), see Gen 29:31, 33; Mal 1:2-3. Cf. A. Konkel, NIDOTTE 3:1256-60.

[21:15]  ² tn 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” see the note on the word “other” earlier in this verse. The translation has been simplified for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.

[21:18]  ³ tn Heb “and he does not listen to them.”

[33:8]  ⁵ sn Thummim and Urim. These terms, whose meaning is uncertain, refer to sacred stones carried in a pouch on the breastplate of the high priest and examined on occasion as a means of ascertaining God’s will or direction. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6. See also C. Van Dam, NIDOTTE 1:329-31.

[33:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.

[33:8]  ⁷ sn Massah means “testing” in Hebrew; the name is a wordplay on what took place there. Cf. Exod 17:7; Deut 6:16; 9:22; Ps 95:8-9.

[33:8]  ⁸ sn Meribah means “contention, argument” in Hebrew; this is another wordplay on the incident that took place there. Cf. Num 20:13, 24; Ps 106:32.