A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

Deuteronomy 21

¹ “If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him, — if a murderer could not be found, great solemnity is provided for putting away the guilt from the land, as an expression of dread and detesting of that sin;

² then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure the distance unto the cities which are round about him that is slain. — thy elders and thy judges near the cities, appointed by members of the great Sanhedrin at Jerusalem;

— so the Targum of Jonathan says, “then shall go out from the great Sanhedrin two of thy wise men, and three of thy judges;”

³ And it shall be that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer which hath not been worked and which hath not drawn in the yoke; — in this case, the heifer, of a year old, represents the murderer, so far at least as to die in his stead, since he himself could not be found;

⁴ and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley. — unto a rough valley; rough, uncultivated ground, fitly representing the horribleness of the murder;

⁵ And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried.

— by their word shall every controversy be tried; every controversy between man and man respecting civil things, and every stroke or blow which one man may give another; and whatsoever came before them was tried by them;

⁶ And all the elders of that city who are next unto the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley. — shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: in token of their innocence, and this they did not only for themselves, but for the whole city;

⁷ And they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. — our hands have not shed this blood; have been no ways concerned in it, nor accessory to it: the Targum of Jonathan says “it is manifest before the Lord that he did not come into our hands, nor did we dismiss him, that has shed this blood;”

⁸ Be merciful, O Lord, unto Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto Thy people of Israel’s charge.’ And the blood shall be forgiven them. — and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge; impute not the guilt of innocent blood to Israel in general, when only a single person, and he unknown, is chargeable with it.

⁹ So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord. — so shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you; which otherwise, the person not being found out, and brought to just punishment for it, would devolve upon the whole.

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 them captive, — by this law a soldier was allowed to marry his captive, if he pleased;

¹¹ and seest among the captives a beautiful woman and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her for thy wife, — and hast a desire unto her; being captivated with her beauty; it signifies a passionate desire of enjoying her in a lawful way,

¹² then thou shalt bring her home to thine house. And she shall shave her head and pare her nails; — she shall shave her head; this was one of the external signs of mourning,

¹³ and she shall put the raiment of her captivity 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 in unto her and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

— and bewail her father and her mother a full month; who were either dead in the battle, or however she had no hope of seeing them any more,

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 her at all for money; thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her. — then thou shalt let her go whither she will; by a bill of divorce, as the Targum of Jonathan, who understands it in this sense,

— and as before marriage, at the month’s end, or any time before, that if his affections cooled towards her, and all the above methods tended to abate his love of her, then he was obliged to dismiss her, or to grant her her freedom, and let her go wherever she pleased.

¹⁵ “If a man have two wives, one beloved and another hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated, — this law restrains men from disinheriting their eldest sons without just cause;

¹⁶ then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is indeed the firstborn.

— when the son of his wife he has the least value for is really his firstborn, he may not, through favour and affection to the wife he loves better, prefer her son, and declare him to be the firstborn;

— the birthright was to Joseph, the eldest son of Rachel, the most beloved wife of Jacob, before Reuben who was the son of Leah, less beloved by him, and was in fact his firstborn; yet this was owing to the sin of Reuben, and by the appointment of God; Genesis 49:3.

¹⁷ But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he hath, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

— for he is the beginning of his strength; as Jacob said, of Reuben; distinguish him from all his other sons, and make known to all, that he is his firstborn.

¹⁸ “If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them, — which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother; is disobedient to the commands of either of them;

¹⁹ then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city and unto the gate of his place.

— and bring him out unto the elders of his city; the Sanhedrin, or court of judicature, to be admonished and scourged by order of the bench of three, if he returns to his corrupt and wicked ways again;

²⁰ And they shall say unto the elders of his city, ‘This, our son, is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ — this our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; one of an obstinate disposition, will have his own will and way,

— he is a glutton and a drunkard; is perverse and refractory; honours not, but despises his parents, and is disobedient to their commands, unruly and ungovernable;

²¹ And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, so that he die. So shalt thou put evil away from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. — so shalt thou put away evil from among you; put a stop to, and prevent such an evil for the future,

— and remove the guilt of it; or, as the Targum of Jonathan says, him that doeth that evil, then “all the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die; and so shall you put away the evil doer from among you, and all Israel will hear, and be afraid.”

²² “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he is to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree, — on a tree; which was done after the malefactor was put to death some other way; this public shame being added to his former punishment.

²³ his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day (for he that is hanged is accursed of God), that thy land be not defiled which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

— accursed of God by this law, the touch of a dead body was defiling, therefore dead bodies must not be left hanging, as that would defile the land.

Deuteronomy 22

¹ “Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt in any case bring them back unto thy brother. — go astray; literally, being driven away, as by wild beasts, or by robbers; or frightened and starved away from the herd or from the flock by a wolf or a dog.

² And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.

— if thou know him not; which implies, that if they did know the owner, they should restore it to him; thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, to be used like thine own cattle.

³ In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment and with all lost things of thy brother’s, which he hath lost and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise; thou mayest not hide thyself. — and so shalt thou do with his raiment; if that is lost and found, it must be restored to the owner;

⁴ Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

— thou shall not see thy brother’s ox or his ass fall down by the way; and lie under his burden, not being able to rise with it of himself, nor with all the assistance about it, without further help;

— and hide thyself from them; cover thine eyes, or turn them another way, and make as if thou didst not see them in distress; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again; 

⁵ “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment; for all who do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God. — the woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man; it being very unseemly and impudent, and contrary to the modesty of her sex;

— neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment; which would betray effeminacy and softness unbecoming men, and would lead the way to many impurities; as they are an abomination to the Lord thy God;

⁶ “If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree or on the ground, whether there be young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young; — if a bird’s nest chance to be before thee: these precepts are designed to cultivate a spirit of humanity; and cares for animals and fowls of the sir;

⁷ but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go and take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

— let the dam go; partly for the bird’s sake, which suffered enough by the loss of its young; for God would not have cruelty exercised towards the brute creatures; and partly for men’s sake, to restrain their greediness and covetousness;

— and from MSG

When you come across a bird’s nest alongside the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, don’t take the mother with the young. You may take the babies, but let the mother go so that you will live a good and long life. Deuteronomy 22:6

⁸ “When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a parapet for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house if any man fall from thence. — when thou buildest a new house; obviously the Law refers to houses with flat roofs, upon which it was customary to walk;

— that thou bring not blood upon thy house; be not the occasion of blood being shed, or contract guilt of blood through negligence of such a provision the law directs to, the guilt of manslaughter, or of shedding innocent blood in thy house;

⁹ “Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds, lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown and the fruit of thy vineyard be defiled. — with divers kinds of seed mixed and sowed together between the rows of vines in thy vineyard; which was forbidden to be done in the field, Leviticus 19:19, and here in the vineyard.

¹⁰ “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. — an ox and ass, being of different species and of very different characters, cannot associate comfortably, nor unite cheerfully in drawing a plough or a wagon. The ass being much smaller and his step shorter, there would be an unequal and irregular draft.

¹¹ “Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woolen and linen together. — a garment of woollen and linen together aren’t allowed;

— in Ezekiel 44:17-18, the priests are altogether forbidden the use of woollen garments during their ministry.

¹² “Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture wherewith thou coverest thyself. —this fringe on the four sides of the square shawl or mantle, Numbers 15:38; partly to bring the commands of God to their remembrance, and partly as a public profession of their nation and religion, whereby they might be distinguished from strangers of the nations.

¹³ “If any man take a wife and go in unto her, and hate her, — that is, marries a wife, and cohabits with her as man and wife, and after some time dislikes her,

¹⁴ and give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her and say, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found her not a maid,’ — I found her not a maid; the sense is, that he had married her, and when he came to cohabit with her as man and wife, it appeared to him that she was vitiated, and not a pure virgin;

¹⁵ then shall the father of the damsel and her mother take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate. — then shall the father and the mother of the damsel take; power from the court, according to the Targum of Jonathan;

¹⁶ And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, ‘I gave my daughter unto this man for a wife, and he hateth her; — and he hateth her; has taken a dislike to her, and wants to be rid of her, and therefore has brought this infamous action against her;

¹⁷ and lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, “I found not thy daughter a maid,” and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

— saying, l found not thy daughter a maid; so that it seems he said this not only to his neighbours, and before a court of judicature, but to the parents of the damsel (a young unmarried woman);

¹⁸ And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; — and the elders of that city shall take the man, and chastise him. Not with words, but “shall scourge him;” as the Targum of Jonathan says; —

¹⁹ and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought an evil name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. — the fine was to be paid to the father, because the slander was against him principally as the head of the wife’s family.

²⁰ But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel, — but if this thing be true; which the husband of the damsel (a young unmarried woman) laid to her charge, that she was no virgin when married to him, and she had committed whoredom, of which there was proof;

²¹ then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house; so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

— sin of an injury to her husband in the false profession of virginity, with a pretence of virginity, she should then be put to death.

²² “If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman and the woman; so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. — both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; they were both to die, and to die the same death.

²³ “If a damsel who is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her, — and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; with her consent, as might be presumed by her not crying out,

²⁴ then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones, that they die — the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city, and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor’s wife; so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

— the damsel because she cried not, being in the city, and the man because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife; as she was by espousal, by contract, by promise, and so was guilty of adultery, which was punishable with death: so thou shall put away evil from among you;

²⁵ “But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die. — he being guilty of rape;

²⁶ But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death. For as when a man riseth against his neighbor and slayeth him, even so is this matter;

— and a man force her, and lie with her; or “take fast and strong hold on her” (b); so that she is not able to get out of his hands, and make her escape; then the man only that lay with her shall die; he being guilty of rape;

²⁷ for he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her. — for he found her in the field; from which it might he presumed that she was forced, and did not consent;

²⁸ “If a man find a damsel who is a virgin who is not betrothed, and lay hold on her and lie with her, and they be found, — and lay hold on her, and lie with her, she yielding to it, and so is not expressive of a rape;

²⁹ then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days. — and she shall be his wife; if her father and she agreed to it; and in such a case the man was not at his liberty to refuse;

³⁰ “A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s skirt. — a man shall not take his father’s wife; not marry her, or any other incestuous relationship with her, whether his own mother, or a stepmother.

~ by Joel on May 21, 2024.

Posted in Books of Moses