If someone is found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him, then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain. It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke.
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Deuteronomy 21:1-3 sits inside this longer paragraph.
If someone is found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him, then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain. It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke. The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. The priests the sons of Levi shall come near, for them Yahweh your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in Yahweh’s name; and according to their word shall every controversy and every assault be decided. All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. They shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Forgive, Yahweh, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood shall be forgiven them. So you shall put away the innocent blood from among you, when you shall do that which is right in Yahweh’s eyes.
Parallel Translations
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If someone is found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him,
then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain.
It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke.
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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:
Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;
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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 smitten him;
then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain.
And it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke.
Cross-references (11)
- Isaiah 26:21 (v1) For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also will disclose her…
- Numbers 19:2 (v3) “This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded. Tell the children of Israel to bring you a red heifer without spot, in which is…
- Psalms 5:6 (v1) You will destroy those who speak lies. Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
- Psalms 9:12 (v1) For he who avenges blood remembers them. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.
- Proverbs 28:17 (v1) A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; no one will support him.
Show all 11 cross-references
- Acts 28:4 (v1) When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has…
- Deuteronomy 16:18-19 (v2) You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the…
- Jeremiah 31:18 (v3) “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving thus, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untrained calf. Turn me, and I will be…
- Matthew 11:28-30 (v3) “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am…
- Romans 13:3-4 (v2) For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and…
- Philippians 2:8 (v3) And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (22 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v1 This law declareth how horrible a thing murder is,…
This law declareth how horrible a thing murder is, seeing that for one man whole country shall be punished, except remedy be found.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Deu 21:1 If [one] be found slain in the…
Deu 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:
Ver. 1. In the field.] Or elsewhere; the field is instanced, because in places more frequented, murders are not so easily concealed, or so commonly committed.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–3 In the field, or, in the city, or any…
In the field, or, in the city, or any place, only the field is named, as the place where such murders are most commonly committed, and most easily concealed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Care had been taken by some preceding laws for…
Care had been taken by some preceding laws for the vigorous and effectual persecution of a wilful murderer (Deu 19:11 etc.), the putting of whom to death was the putting away of the guilt of blood from the land; but if this could not be done, the murderer not being discovered, they must not think that the land was in no danger of contracting any pollution because it was not through any neglect of theirs that the murderer was unpunished; no, a great solemnity is here provided for the putting away of the guilt, as an expression of their dread and detestation of that sin.
I. The case supposed is that one is found slain, and it is not known who slew him, Deu 21:1. The providence of God has sometimes wonderfully brought to light these hidden works of darkness, and by strange occurrences the sin of the guilty has found them out, insomuch that it has become a proverb, Murder will out. But it is not always so; now and then the devil's promises of secresy and impunity in this world are made good; yet it is but for a while: there is a time coming when secret murders will be discovered; the earth shall disclose her blood (Isa 26:21), upon the inquisition which justice makes for it; and there is an eternity coming when those that escaped punishment from men will lie under the righteous judgment of God. And the impunity with which so many murders and other wickednesses are committed in this world makes it necessary that there should be a day of judgment, to require that which is past, Ecc 3:15.
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II. Directions are given concerning what is to be done in this case. Observe,
1. It is taken for granted that a diligent search had been made for the murderer, witnesses examined, and circumstances strictly enquired into, that if possible they might find out the guilty person; but if, after all, they could not trace it out, not fasten the charge upon any, then, (1.) The elders of the next city (that had a court of three and twenty in it) were to concern themselves about this matter. If it were doubtful which city was next, the great sanhedrim were to send commissioners to determine that matter by an exact measure, Deu 21:2, Deu 21:3. Note, Public persons must be solicitous about the public good; and those that are in power and reputation in cities must lay out themselves to redress grievances, and reform what is amiss in the country and neighbourhood that lie about them. Those that are next to them should have the largest share of their good influence, as ministers of God for good. (2.) The priests and Levites must assist and preside in this solemnity (Deu 21:5), that they might direct the management of it in all points according to the law, and particularly might be the people's mouth to God in the prayer that was to be put up on this sad occasion, Deu 21:8. God being Israel's King, his ministers must be their magistrates, and by their word, as the mouth of the court and learned in the laws, every controversy must be tried. It was Israel's privilege that they had such guides, overseers, and rulers, and their duty to make use of them upon all occasions, especially in sacred things, as this was. (3.) They were to bring a heifer down into a rough and unoccupied valley, and to kill it there, Deu 21:3, Deu 21:4. This was not a sacrifice (for it was not brought to the altar), but a solemn protestation that thus they would put the murderer to death if they had him in their hands. The heifer must be one that had not drawn in the yoke, to signify (say some) that the murderer was a son of Belial; it must be brought into a rough valley, to signify the horror of the fact, and that the defilement which blood brings upon a land turns it into barrenness. And the Jews say that unless, after this, the murderer was found out, this valley where the heifer was killed was never to be tilled nor sown. (4.) The elders were to wash their hands in water over the heifer that was killed, and to profess, not only that they had not shed this innocent blood themselves, but that they knew not who had (Deu 21:6, Deu 21:7), nor had knowingly concealed the murderer, helped him to make his escape, or been any way aiding or abetting. To this custom David alludes, Psa 26:6, I will wash my hands in innocency; but if Pilate had any eye to it (Mat 27:24) he wretchedly misapplied it when he condemned Christ, knowing him to be innocent, and yet acquitted himself from the guilt of innocent blood. Protestatio non valet contra factum - Protestations are of no avail when contradicted by fact. (5.) The priests were to pray to God for the country and nation, that God would be merciful to them, and not bring upon them the judgments which the connivance at the sin of murder would deserve. It might be presumed that the murderer was either one of their city or was now harboured in their city; and therefore they must pray that they might not fare the worse for his being among them, Num 16:22. Be merciful, O Lord, to thy people Israel, Deu 21:8. Note, When we hear of the wickedness of the wicked we have need to cry earnestly to God for mercy for our land, which groans and trembles under it. We must empty the measure by our prayers which others are filling by their sins. Now,
2. This solemnity was appointed, (1.) That it might give occasion to common and public discourse concerning the murder, which perhaps might some way or other occasion the discovery of it. (2.) That it might possess people with a dread of the guilt of blood, which defiles not only the conscience of him that sheds it (this should engage us all to pray with David, Deliver me from blood-guiltiness), but the land in which it is shed; it cries to the magistrate for justice on the criminal, and, if that cry be not heard, it cries to heaven for judgment on the land. If there must be so much care employed to save the land from guilt when the murderer was not known, it was certainly impossible to secure it from guilt if the murderer was known and yet protected. All would be taught, by this solemnity, to use their utmost care and diligence to prevent, discover, and punish murder. Even the heathen mariners dreaded the guilt of blood, Jon 1:14. (3.) That we might all learn to take heed of partaking in other men's sins, and making ourselves accessory to them ex post facto - after the fact, by countenancing the sin or sinner, and not witnessing against it in our places. We have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness if we do not reprove them rather, and bear our testimony against them. The repentance of the church of Corinth for the sin of one of their members produced such a carefulness, such a clearing of themselves, such a holy indignation, fear, and revenge (Co2 7:11), as were signified by the solemnity here appointed.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–3 If one be found slain,.... After public war with…
If one be found slain,.... After public war with an enemy, Moses proceeds to speak of a private quarrel and fight of one man with another, in which one is slain, as Aben Ezra observes:
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it; where murders might be committed more secretly, and remain undiscovered, when they came to live in separate cities, towns, and villages, with fields adjacent to them, than now encamped together:
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lying in the field; where the quarrel begun, and where the fight was fought: or, however, where the murderer met with his enemy, and slew him, and left him; it being common for duels to be fought, and murders committed in a field; the first murder in the world was committed in such a place, Gen 4:8. The Targum of Jonathan is,"not hidden under an heap, not hanging on a tree, nor swimming on the face of the waters;''which same things are observed in the Misnah (i), and gathered from some words in the text:
in the land, and so not under a heap:
lying, and so not hanging:
in the field, and so not swimming on the water:
and it be not known who hath slain him; the parties being alone, and no witnesses of the fact, at least that appear; for, if it was known, the heifer was not beheaded, later mentioned (k); and one witness in this case was sufficient, and even one that was not otherwise admitted.
(i) Sotah, c. 9. sect. 2. (k) Maimon. Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 9. sect. 11, 12.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The expiation of an uncertain murder, ver. 1-9. The…
The expiation of an uncertain murder, ver. 1-9. The usage of a captive taken to wife, ver. 10-14. The first-born to not to be disinherited, ver. 15-17. A stubborn son to be put to death, ver. 18-21. Bodies of malefactors to be buried, ver. 22. 23.
The field - Or, in the city, or any place: only the field is named, as the place where such murders are most commonly committed.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v1 If a man be found slain in a field,…
CHAPTER XXI
If a man be found slain in a field, and the cause of his death
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be unknown, the murder shall be expiated by the sacrifice of a
heifer in an uncultivated valley, 1-4.
The rites to be used on the occasion, 5-9.
The ordinance concerning marriage with a captive, 10-14.
The law relative to the children of the hated and beloved wives:
if the son of the hated wife should be the first-born he shall
not be disinherited by the son of the beloved wife, but shall
have a double portion of all his father's goods, 15-18.
The law concerning the stubborn and rebellious son, who, when
convicted, is to be stoned to death, 19-21.
Of the person who is to be hanged, 22.
His body shall not be left on the tree all night; every one that
is hanged on a tree is accursed of God, 23.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXI
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v1 Deu 21:1-3. Lying in the field — Or, in…
Deu 21:1-3. Lying in the field — Or, in the city, or any place: only the field is named as the place where such murders are most commonly committed. Thy elders and judges — Those of thy elders who are judges: the judges or rulers of all the neighbouring cities. Measure — Unless it be evident which city is nearest; for then measuring was superfluous. Which hath not drawn in the yoke — A fit representation of the murderer, in whose stead it was killed, who would not bear the yoke of God’s laws. A type also of Christ, who was under no yoke but what he had voluntarily taken upon himself.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–3 The elders represented the citizens at large, the judges…
The elders represented the citizens at large, the judges the magistracy: priests Deu 21:5 from the nearest priestly town, were likewise to be at hand. Thus, all classes would be represented at the purging away of that blood-guiltiness which until removed attached to the whole community.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Land. The Jewish doctors hence infer, that if the…
Land. The Jewish doctors hence infer, that if the corpse was found hanging or drowned &c., or nearer a town of the Gentiles than one of the Israelites, this law did not oblige. They are so exact as to dispute whether the distance must be measured from the nose or from the naval of the deceased. (Selden, Syned. iii. 7.) But the law shews us, that the author of the murder must be discovered, if possible, as the crime is so grievous as, in a manner, to defile the land, and draw down the vengeance of God, if it be carelessly left unpunished. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–3 FORMS TO BE OBSERVED WHEN ONE WAS FOUND SLAIN,…
FORMS TO BE OBSERVED WHEN ONE WAS FOUND SLAIN, Deu_21:1-9.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 1. If one be found] So Deu_17:2; Deu_24:7, also…
1. If one be found] So Deu_17:2; Deu_24:7, also Sg. passages.
which the Lord thy God is to give thee] see on Deu_19:14.
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lying] Heb. falling but with perfect sense, fallen, cp. Num_24:4, Jdg_3:25; Jdg_5:27.
in the field] sadeh, as in Deu_22:25; Deu_22:27, in its earlier meaning (see on Deu_5:21), the wild uncultivated country, remote from habitations.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v1 Deu_21:1-9. UNDETECTED HOMICIDES.
XXI.
Deu_21:1-9. UNDETECTED HOMICIDES.
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(1) If one be found slain—It is remarkable that in our own time the most effectual remedy against outrages of which the perpetrators cannot be discovered is a fine upon the district in which they occur.
(2) Thy elders and thy judges shall come forth.—Rashi says these were to be special commissioners, members of the great Sanhedrin.
(3-4) An heifer, which hath not been wrought with . . . a rough valley which is neither eared nor sown.—Rashi’s note on this is curious: “The Holy One, blessed be He! said, ‘A yearling heifer which hath borne no fruit shall come and be beheaded in a place which yieldeth no fruit, to atone for the murder of the man whom they did not suffer to bear fruit.’ Some have thought that the valley was neither to be eared (ploughed) nor sown from that time forward.” The verbs are not past in the Hebrew, and the words may bear this meaning. If so, the district in which the murder occurred would be mulcted in that portion of land for ever.
(5) And the priests.—See on Deu_21:8.
(7) Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.—“Not that the chief magistrates of the city are supposed to have shed this blood; but that they have not contrived or procured the murder by any maintenance or partnership in the deed” (Rashi). We cannot but feel how impossible such solemn public declarations would be if the murderer had been harboured by the inhabitants of the place.
(8) Be merciful, O Lord.—In the sense of the publican’s prayer in St. Luke 18 “be propitiated,” literally, cover. The mercy seat is the “covering” of the Law, which protects Israel from it. The sacrifices are a “covering” for the sinner from a punishment of sin. According to Rashi, the prayer in the eighth verse is spoken by the priests; and it seems probable enough. No part in the transaction is assigned to them, unless it be this. And their presence was certainly necessary.
And the blood shall be forgiven them.—Literally, shall be covered for them. Not the same expression as Lev_4:20; Lev_4:26; Lev_4:31; Lev_4:35. But we can hardly follow the Jewish commentators into the question whether, if the perpetrator of the murder were afterwards discovered, the blood of the heifer which had been shed already could be allowed to atone for it, so that the murderer need not be punished.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 21
Deuteronomy 21
"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; then thy elders and thy judges" - the guardians of the claims of truth and righteousness - " shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities that are round about him that is slain; and it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; 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. And the priests the sons of Levi - exponents of grace and mercy - "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" - blessed, comforting fact! - "And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley; and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 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." (Vers. 1-9.)
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A very interesting and suggestive passage of holy scripture now lies open before us, and claims our attention. A sin is committed, a man is found slain in the land; but no one knows ought about it, no one can tell whether it is murder or manslaughter, or who committed the deed. It lies entirely beyond the range of human knowledge. And yet, there it is, an undeniable fact. Sin has been committed, and it lies as a stain on the Lord’s land, and man is wholly incompetent to deal with it.
What then is to be done? The glory of God and the purity of His land must be maintained. He knows all about it, and He alone can deal with it; and truly His mode of dealing with it is full of most precious teaching.
First of all, the elders and judges appear on the scene. The claims of truth and righteousness must be duly attended to; justice and judgement must be perfectly maintained. This is a great cardinal truth running all through the word of God. Sin must be judged, ere sins can be forgiven, or the sinner justified. Ere mercy’s heavenly voice can be heard, justice must be perfectly satisfied, the throne of God vindicated, and His Name glorified. grace must reign through righteousness. Blessed be God that it is so! What a glorious truth for all who have taken their true place as sinners! God has been glorified as to the question of sin, and therefore He can, in perfect righteousness, pardon and justify the sinner.
But we must confine ourselves simply to the interpretation of the passage before us; and, in so doing, we shall find in it a very wonderful onlook into Israel’s future. True, the great foundation truth of atonement is presented; but it is with special reference to Israel. The death of Christ is here seen in its two grand aspects, namely, as the expression of Man’s guilt, and the display of God’s grace, the former we have in the man found slain in the field; the latter in the heifer slain in the rough valley. The elders and the judges find out the city nearest to the slain man; and nothing can avail for that city save the blood of a spotless victim - the blood of the One who was slain at the guilty city of Jerusalem.
The reader will note, with much interest, that the moment the claims of justice were met by the death of the victim, a new element is introduced into the scene. "The priests the sons of Levi shall come near." This is grace acting on the blessed ground of righteousness. The priests are the channels of grace, as the judges are the guardians of righteousness. How perfect, how beautiful is scripture, in every page, every paragraph, every sentence! It was not until the blood was shed that the ministers of grace could present themselves. The heifer beheaded in the valley changed the aspect of things completely "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" - blessed fact for Israel! blessed fact for every true believer! - "shall every controversy and every stroke be tried." All is to be settled on the glorious and eternal principle of grace reigning through righteousness.
Thus it is that God will deal with Israel by-and-by. We must not attempt to interfere with the primary application of all those striking institutions which come under our notice in this profound and marvellous book of Deuteronomy. No doubt, there are lessons for us - precious lessons; but we may rest perfectly assured that the true way in which to understand and appreciate those lessons is to see their true and proper bearing. For instance, how precious, how full of consolation, the fact that it is by the word of the minister of grace that every controversy and every stroke is to be tried, for repentant Israel by-and-by, and for every repentant soul now! Do we lose ought of the deep blessedness of this by seeing and owning the proper application of the scripture? Assuredly not; so far from this, the true secret of profiting by any special passage of the word of God is to understand its true scope and bearing.
"And all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley."* "I will wash my hands in innocency; and so will I compass thine altar." The true place to wash the hands is where the blood of atonement has for ever expiated our guilt. "And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 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."
{*How full of suggestive power is the figure of "the rough valley! " How aptly it sets forth what this world at large, and the land of Israel in particular, was to our blessed Lord and Saviour! Truly it was a rough place to Him, a place of humiliation, a dry and thirsty land a place that had never been eared or sown. But, all homage to His Name! by His death in this rough valley, He has procured for this earth and for the land of Israel a rich harvest of blessing which shall be reaped throughout the millennial age to the full praise of redeeming love. And even now, He from the throne of heaven’s majesty, and we, in spirit with Him, can look back to that rough valley as the place where the blessed work was done which forms the imperishable foundation of God’s glory, the church’s blessing, Israel’s full restoration, the joy of countless nations, and the glorious deliverance of this groaning creation.}
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." "Unto you, first, God having raised up his Son Jesus sent him to bless you, by turning away every one of you from his iniquities." Thus all Israel shall be saved and blessed by-and-by, according to the eternal counsels of God, and in pursuance of His promise and oath to Abraham, ratified and eternally established by the precious blood of Christ, to whom be all homage and praise, world without end!
Verses 10-17 bear, in a very special way, upon Israel’s relationship to Jehovah. We shall not dwell upon it here. The reader will find numerous references to this subject, throughout the pages of the prophets, in which the Holy Ghost makes the most touching appeals to the conscience of the nation - appeals grounded on the marvellous fact of the relationship into which He had brought them to Himself, but in which they had so signally and grievously failed. Israel has proved an unfaithful wife, and, in consequence thereof, has been set aside. But the time will come when this long rejected but never forgotten people shall not only be reinstated but brought into a condition of blessedness, privilege and glory beyond anything ever known in the past.
This must never, for a moment, be lost sight of or interfered with. It runs like a brilliant golden line through the prophetic scriptures from Isaiah to Malachi; and the lovely theme is resumed and carried on in the New Testament. Take the following glowing passage, which is only one of a hundred. "For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof Go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah [My delight is in her], and thy land Beulah [married]; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy Sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night; ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength" - let men beware how they meddle with this! - "Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured; but they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the court of my holiness.... Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord; and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken." (Isa. 62)
To attempt to alienate this sublime and glorious passage from its proper object, and apply it to the Christian church, either on earth or in heaven, is to do positive violence to the word of God, and introduce a system of interpretation utterly destructive of the integrity of holy scripture. The passage which we have just transcribed with intense spiritual delight, applies only to the literal Zion, the: literal Jerusalem, the literal land of Israel. Let the reader see that he thoroughly seizes and faithfully holds fast this fact.
As to the church, her position on earth is that of an espoused virgin, not of a married wife. Her marriage will take place in heaven. (Rev. 19: 7, 8) To apply to her such passages as the above is to falsify her position entirely, and deny the plainest statements of scripture as to her calling, her portion, and her hope, which are purely heavenly.
Verses 18-21 of our chapter record the case of "a stubborn and rebellious son." Here again we have Israel viewed from another standpoint. It is the apostate generation for which there is no forgiveness. "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them; 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 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. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die; so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear and fear.
The reader may, with much interest, contrast the solemn action of law and government, in the case of the rebellious son, with the lovely and familiar parable of the prodigal son, in Luke 15. Our space does not admit of our dwelling upon it here, much as we should delight to do so. It is marvellous to think that it is the same God who speaks and acts in Deuteronomy 21 and in Luke 15. But oh! how different the action! how different the style! Under the law, the father is called upon to lay hold of his son, and bring him forth to be stoned. Under grace, the father runs to meet the returning son; falls on his neck and kisses him; clothes him in the best robe, puts a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; has the fatted calf killed for him; seats him at the table with himself, and makes the house ring with the joy that fills his own heart at getting back the poor wandering spendthrift.
Striking contrast! In Deuteronomy we see the hand of God, in righteous government, executing judgement upon the rebellious. In Luke 15 we see the heart of God pouring itself out, in soul-subduing tenderness, upon the poor repentant one, giving him the sweet assurance that it is His own deep joy to get back His lost one. The persistent rebel meets the stone of judgement; the returning penitent meets the kiss of love.
But we must close this section by calling the reader’s attention to the last verse of our chapter. It is referred to in a very remarkable way by the inspired apostle, in Galatians 3 "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."
This reference is full of interest and value, not only because it presents to us the precious grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in making Himself a curse for us, in order that the blessing of Abraham might come on us poor sinners of the Gentiles; but also because it furnishes a, very striking illustration of the way in which the Holy Spirit puts His seal upon the writings of Moses, in general, and upon Deuteronomy. in particular. All scripture hangs together so perfectly that if one part be touched you mar the integrity of the whole. The same Spirit breathes in the writings of Moses, in the pages of the prophets, in the four evangelists, in the Acts, in the apostolic epistles general and particular, and in that most profound and precious section which closes the divine Volume. We deem it our sacred duty (as it is, most assuredly, our high privilege) to press this weighty fact upon all with whom we come in contact; and we would, very earnestly, entreat the reader to give it his earnest attention, to hold it fast and bear a steady testimony to it, in this day of carnal laxity, cold indifference and positive hostility.
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 One general idea, viz. the sacredness of human life…
EXPIATION OF UNCERTAIN MURDER. TREATMENT OF A CAPTIVE TAKEN TO WIFE. RIGHTS OF THE FIRSTBORN. A REBELLIOUS, REFRACTORY SON TO BE JUDGED AND PUNISHED. A MALEFACTOR WHO HAS BEEN HANGED TO BE BURIED ERE NIGHTFALL.
One general idea, viz. the sacredness of human life and of personal rights, connects the laws in this chapter together, as well as connects them with the laws in the two preceding chapters.
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Vers. 1-9. If a body was found lying dead from a wound, and it was not known by whom the wound had been inflicted, the whole land would be involved in the guilt of the murder, unless it was duly expiated as here directed. First, the elders and judges (presumably of the neighboring towns; of Josephus, "Antiq." 4:8, 16) were to meet, the former as magistrates representing the communities, the latter as administrators of the law, and were to measure the distance from the body of the slain man to each of the surrounding towns, in order to ascertain which was the nearest. This ascertained, upon that town was to be laid the duty of expiating the crime.
Vers. 1-9. The preciousness of one human life in the sight of God.
The value of this paragraph can be duly appreciated only as the indifference with which pagan nations of old regarded human life is studied and understood. As a piece of civil legislation, it is far superior to anything in the code of the nations around at that time. Dr. Jameson remarks that in it we have undoubtedly the origin or the germ of modern coroners" inquests. The following points in it are worthy of note.
1. It is a rule to be observed when they should be settled in the land of Canaan.
2. It indicates that from the first, each human life should be regarded as an object of common interest to the whole people, and that it was to be one of their prime points of honor, that no human life could be tampered with without arousing national indignation and concern.
3. God would teach them, that if it should be found that any one"s life had been trifled with, it was a sin against Heaven as well as a crime against earth.
4. That this sin could be laid at the door of all the people if they were indifferent to the fact of its commission, and if they did not make full inquiry respecting it, and solemnly put it away from among them. At the back of this piece of civil legislation, yea, as the fount from which it sprang, we get this beautiful, sublime, and comforting truthEach human life an object of Divine concern.
I IN WHAT WAY HAS GOD MANIFESTED HIS CARE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL?
1. This passage is pregnant with blessed teaching thereon. We have:
(1) The fact of man"s ill-treatment of men recognized.
(2) Rebuked.
(3) Marked out as a brand of shame on any community which tolerates it.
(4) In demanding an account thereof, God foreshadows his own coming judgment.
1. The Lord Jesus Christ taught it in terms more beautiful, more clear. (Lu 12 Mt 18 Lu 15) How often does Christ lay stress on "one!
2. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ for every man, is a standing proof of every man"s worth before God; so the apostle argues. (2Co_5:16)
3. The Spirit of God stirreth in every man to move his sluggish nature that it may rise toward heaven. Materialism merges the man in his accidents. Pantheism drowns him in the All. Deism hides him in vastness. Ultramontanism smothers him in the Church. Caesarism makes the State all, the individual nothing. Christ rescues the one from being lost in the many, and cries aloud, "It is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
II WHAT SHOULD BE THE EFFECT ON US OF GOD"S CARE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL?
1. It should fill us with intense thankfulness that we are not lost in the crowd. (see Isa_40:27) We are so apt to say, "God has too much to do to think of us," that we need to meditate often on the words, "He careth for you.
2. It should impress us with the dignity of man. When God fences every man round with such a guard against ill treatment from others, it may well lead us to "honor all men.
3. It should teach us the solidarity of the race. The weal of one is a concern to all.
4. It should teach us to cultivate the spirit of a universal brotherhood. "Have we not all one Father?
5. It should lead us to aim at saving man. If God cares for all, well may we.
6. It should make us very indignant at any doctrines concerning the constitution and destiny of man, that would put him, or even seem to put him, on a level with the brute creation.
7. We should take every opportunity of warning men that, if ever they trifle with the interests and destinies of their brother man, God will call them to account at his bar. The voice of Abel"s blood cried unto God from the ground. If a neglected, mutilated, slain body of any one, however obscure, was found in Israel"s fields, they were responsible to the God of nations for inquiry and for expiation. No one is at liberty to cry, "Am I my brother"s keeper?" When he maketh inquisition for blood, he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. (see Ps 94) And terrible beyond all power of expression, will be the shame and dismay, at the bar of God, of those who have trifled with human interests, and who go into eternity laden with the guilt of their brothers" blood!
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR. Vers. 1-9. Atonement for unknown sin.
We have here a ritual applicable to cases where murder has not been expiated by the apprehension and execution of the murderer. The mystery has remained unraveled. The elders and judges, in such a case, are to come and measure which city is nearest the slain man, and the elders of that city are then required to take the heifer prescribed and make atonement, that the country may be delivered from the guilt of innocent blood. The heifer is to be one in the full vigor of life, which has not been wrought with, and consequently expressed in the fullest form the life-producing power to which the violent death stood as a contrast. She is to be taken down into a "rough valley," or, as the words (t; yae ljn) more accurately mean, "a perennial stream," and there is her neck to be struck off, and the blood thus violently shed is to pass away in the never-failing stream. While this is taking place, the eiders of the city are to wash their hands over her, in protestation of their innocence, and to pray for deliverance from the guilt, and it shall be forgiven them.
I AN UNDISCOVERED MURDER IS PROPERLY IMPUTED TO THE DISTRICT WHERE THE VICTIM HAS BEEN FOUND. In a well-ordered society life should be safe. When it is proved unsafe, society cannot plead "Not guilty." Locally, it must be allocated, and so the city nearest the victim has the crime imputed to it. The sense of guilt is distributed territorially, and the elders, or representatives of the people, are required to clear themselves by the special rite here described.
Sin has thus wider relations than to the individual who has committed it. It may lie at the door of a city, or of a neighborhood, and in their collective capacity they may be required to deal with it.
II THE DISTRICT THUS GUILTY THROUGH IMPUTATION IS MOST PROPERLY SUMMONED TO A RELIGIOUS SERVICE. It is surely a matter for general humiliation that such a crime could be secretly committed, and the murderer escape. It should lead to special religious exercises. It would be a very seemly thing if neighborhoods where great crimes have gone undiscovered were to unite in supplicating God"s mercy, in view of the guilt thus contracted.
III A WAY OF DELIVERANCE FROM THE IMPUTED GUILT IS GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED. It consisted of the following elements.
1. The violent death of an innocent and full-blooded animal. The cruel killing of the heifer was a repetition of the tragedy, and was well fitted to bring its guilt before them. Thus was a sense of sin deepened.
2. Its shed blood was carried away on the surface of the never-failing stream. In this beautiful, poetic way, the providential removal of innocent blood, did God convey the idea of removing the guilt from the district concerned.
3. Over the heifer so slain the elders were to wash their hands and protest their innocency. In this way the most solemn sanctions were associated with their plea of "Not guilty.
4. And they were further to intercede for the removal of the imputation against Israel. Only after this minute ritual had been gone through was the assurance of forgiveness pronounced by the priest.
IV IN THIS WAY WE DISCOVER A TYPIFICATION OF THE PARDON PROVIDED BY CHRIST. And here we do well to notice, as facts incapable of dispute
1. That people who are innocent have often to incur imputation along with the guilty. The children of evil-doers incur an evil repute, although they may be perfectly innocent. It is a law of society as at present constituted the innocent are grouped with the guilty.
2. Jesus Christ is One who has voluntarily accepted of the imputation of sin, though innocent, and suffered in consequence. Just as the innocent heifer was paraded with the guilty district, and alone suffered because of the committed and undiscovered sin, so Jesus takes up his position in the sad procession, and is the selected, yet voluntary, Victim.
3. The Holy Spirit, as a perennial stream, carries the sense and sight of blood-guiltiness away. For, without the Spirit"s help, the shed blood of Jesus might only increase human guilt; with his help it takes all the guilt away.
4. Those who wish pardon must not be too proud to ask for it. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." So have we the gospel vividly presented to us. R.M.E.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 1-9. Purification from guilt of an uncertain murder.
The explanation commonly given of this peculiar ceremony seems unsatisfactory. Keil"s view, that "it was a symbolical infliction of the punishment that should have been borne by the murderer, upon the animal which was substituted for him," is contradicted by the fact that, for deliberate murder, the Law, as he admits, provided no expiation, while the object of this ceremony was plainly in some way to remove blood-guiltiness. Fairbairn"s explanation (in his "Typology") is even more farfetched, that the heifer was "a palpable representative of the person whose life had been wantonly and murderously taken away." The key to the ceremony is, we think, to be sought for in another direction. The central idea is that a responsibility attaches to a whole community for crimes committed in its midst. The members of the community are implicated in the guilt of the murder till they absolve themselves by bringing the murderer to justice (vers. 8, 9). In the case here treated of, the murderer is unknown, and a rite is appointed by which the share of the community in his blood-guiltiness, which cannot be removed in the ordinary way, by executing justice on the criminal, is otherwise abolished. The heifer, in this view, represents neither the murdered man nor his murderer, but the people of the city, who seek to purge themselves from guilt by putting it to death. It is their own guilt they seek to get rid of, not the criminal"s. Expiation was not admitted for the actual murderer, but the responsibility for the crime, which, failing the visitation of justice on the criminal, devolved on the community for that, expiation was admitted. The animal, suffering vicariously, in full possession of its vital powers, while the elders of the city washed their hands over it, and declared their innocence of all knowledge of the murder, sufficed to secure that "the blood should be forgiven them forgiveness implying previous imputation. The valley, "neither eared norsown," was, in its desolation and sterility, a fit place for such a transaction, which, while it cleansed the city, left the curse upon the murderer, and indeed made the spot a sort of witness of his yet unexpiated guilt.
We learn:
1. That responsibility attaches to each and all in a community for crimes committed in its midst.
2. That the community is not absolved till every effort has been made to discover the perpetrators of crime and to bring them to justice.
3. That the punishment of murder is death.
4. That to ignore, connive at, or encourage crime in a community, involves the authorities in the criminality of the deeds connived at.
5. That all parties, the people (represented by the elders), the magistrates (judges), the Church (priests), are alike interested in bringing criminals to justice. J.O.
HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES Vers. 1-9. The creation of righteous, public sentiment.
The influence of man upon man is omnific; it touches him at every point. The potency of influence depends on character, rank, age, station. The character of kings is soon reflected on their courtiers. From this principle is born the adage, "Like priest, like people." Crimes proceed from depraved sentiment, and sentiment can be purified by righteous influence.
I CRIME COVETS CONCEALMENT. All crime is cowardly, base, mean. It fears the light. This may furnish a test for acts that lie near the boundary lines of morality, and admit of question. If the fierce light of righteous opinion is dreaded, the thing is already condemned. So lacking in fortitude and courage is the murderer, that he will seldom confess the truth unless conscience scourges him with intolerable remorse. Yet it is, in well-organized society, an exceptional thing if the murderer escapes. The movements of Divine providence usually furnish some clue to the red-handed man. Still, if amid the infirmities of human government the culprit should escape, he is amenable to another jurisdiction where concealment is impossible. Every crime shall eventually be seen in a blaze of noontide light.
II MAGISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY IS INDICATED. Crime is not merely injury against an individual, it is an assault upon society. If murder pass with impunity, no life will soon be safe. In the human race there is a solidarity of interest. Men constitute a family. Cities have a character as well as persons. The real leaders in society are laden with heavy responsibility. It is their paramount duty to foster healthy public sentiment; and if this sentiment does not penetrate far enough to prevent crime, it should penetrate far enough to detect crime. Every man can contribute something to influence public morals, and magistrates should lead the way.
III PUBLIC ABHORRENCE OF CRIME IS IMPRESSIVELY SHOWN. The minds of men are more impressed by deeds than by words, especially by symbolic acts surrounded by the sanctions of religion. It was of the first importance that the city elders should be beyond any suspicion of connivance with the deed. Therefore they must publicly purge themselves by solemn attestation. A valuable heifer was to be selected, and the elders were required to decapitate the victim a public protest that this would be their own desert if in any degree they had been accessories to the crime. The natural scene selected for this rite was significant. It was to be done in a rugged valley given over to barrenness or natural desolation; being an impressive picture of sin"s effect. Accompanying this solemn immolation this appeal of innocence to Heaven there was the most explicit utterance of words; so that the honor of the rulers might shine out clear and bright. Magisterial authority is founded on public regard. It was, moreover, a representative act. Every citizen spoke through these elders.
IV MEDIATION IS HERE FORESHADOWED. It is possible by our thoughtlessness to "become partaker of other men"s sins." We all share, in greater or lesser measures, in the guilt of the race. There are sins of ignorance, and to these a measure of culpability belongs. Evils might have been prevented if we had been more faithful. But, by God"s appointment, substitution is permitted. Other blood may be shed, by virtue of which we may be redeemed. "The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin;" nor can the blood of man. No material compensation can be made for moral wrong. But moral effects may be produced by substitution, which shall be equally just and more beneficent. As the priests of olden time were mediators between God and the Jews, so we have a Great High Priest, who is a real Mediator, having royal interest for us with God.
V PENITENCE AND PURITY ARE TWIN SISTERS. (See ver. 9.) There is an appeal for mercy: "Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel." Some measure of culpability must be felt in every solicitation of mercy. For mercy is that principle in God which conveys blessing when no merit exists. And if true penitence moves in the breast, it is the parent of reformation; its purpose is amendment. It seeks not only removal of burdens, but the destruction of the evil thing. In the hour of penitence, new love and new hate are born. Unless fruits of righteousness appear, penitence is only pretence. The sincere cry for mercy is always followed by "doing that which is right in the sight of the Lord. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v1 If one be found slain.
Deu_21:1-9
If one be found slain.
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Gods value of individual life
This narrative, says one, sets forth the preciousness of human life in the sight of God. Dr. Jamieson believes this singular statute concerning homicide is far superior to what is found in the criminal code of any other ancient nation, and is undoubtedly the origin or germ of the modern coroners inquests.
I. Discovered in the loss of one man. Only one missing! But God counts men as well as stars, and gathers one by one. Ancient philosophy and modern socialism overlook personality, and legislate for men in a mass. The individual exists only for the race, has no rights, and becomes a tool or slave of society. Christianity does not belittle man, but recognises and renews individuals, exalts them to responsibility, and appeals to them for right. Adam, where art thou?
II. Discovered in the injury to one man. One man was missing, but he was murdered. His blood, like that of Abel, Was crying for justice. Society was wounded in one of its members. An inquiry was demanded, and the reproach must be wiped away.
III. Discovered in the interest which the community should take in one man. Am I my brothers keeper? Formerly heavy fines were inflicted on districts to prevent the murder of Danes and Normans by exasperated Englishmen. We are members one of another; related one to another, and none of us can turn away like Cain.
IV. Discovered in the provision made for every mans salvation. Christ died for one and for all. It is not the will of God that one of these little ones should perish. If one sheep goes astray, the ninety and nine are left by the shepherd. He seeks the one that is lost, and its restoration brings greater joy than over all the remainder. Dost thou believe? (J. Wolfendale.)
Expiating unknown murder
We shall endeavour--
I. To explain the ordinance. In doing this we must notice--
1. Its general design. God intended by this law--
(1) To prevent the commission of murder.
(2) To provide means for removing guilt from His land.
2. Its particular provisions: the victim, the death, the place; the protestations and petitions of the elders.
II. To point out some lessons which may be learned from it.
1. The importance of preventing or punishing sin.
2. The comfort of a good conscience.
3. The efficacy of united faith and prayer. (C. Simeon, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL NOTES.—The reason for grouping these five laws, apparently…
CRITICAL NOTES.—The reason for grouping these five laws, apparently so different from one another, as well as for attaching them to the previous regulations is found in the desire to bring out distinctly the sacredness of life and of personal rights from every point of view, and impress it upon the covenant nation.—(Keil).
Deu_21:1-9. Expiation of unknown murder. Lying, fallen, then lying (Jdg_3:25). Deu_21:2. Elders. Representing citizens. Judges. Administrators of right. City. The nearest responsible for cleansing rites. The heifer, which had done no work, strong and of full growth, not ceremonially profaned by human use (cf. Exo_20:25), had to die instead of the murderer who could not be found. Deu_21:4. Rough. A valley through which water constantly flowed, suitable for cleansing. Eared. Neither ploughed nor sown. Deu_21:5. Priest. Whom Jehovah had chosen to serve Him, was present, not to conduct the affair but to see that the rite was duly performed and accredit it when done so. Deu_21:6. Wash. A symbolic act declaring innocence and repudiating connection with the crime. Deu_21:7. Answer for all the people. Merciful. Be propitiated towards us; lit., cover this guilt (Lev_1:4). Blood., i.e., bloodshed; the murder forgiven.
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Deu_21:10-14. A Captive Wife. Customary in ancient war for the victor to make a female captive a slave. Moses checks severities and shows superior treatment. Shave, pare, lit., prepare, by cutting her nails to proper size and form. (2Sa_19:25.) Both customary signs of purification (cutting the hair cf. Lev_14:8; Num_8:7). Symbols of passing out of the state of a slave into reception of fellowship with the covenant nation. This obvious by her laying aside prisoner’s clothes.—Keil. Bewail. This prescribed from motives of humanity that the woman might have time and leisure to detach her affections from their natural ties and prepare her mind for new ones.—Speak. Com. Merchandize, lit., treat her with constraint, or as a slave. Humbled in taking her captive and then refusing the place and honour of a wife.
Deu_21:15-17. The Right of the Firstborn. If a man had two wives, one beloved the other hated, loved less (cf. Leah and Rachel, wives of Jacob), the firstborn by the hated one must be treated as such. In the division of property he must have double (Deu_21:17), a portion equal to that of two; consequently the firstborn inherited twice as much as the other sons. Paternal authority could set aside these rights on just grounds (Gen_27:33), but must not do so from mere partiality.
Deu_21:18-21. Punishment of a disobedient son. Rebellious whom milder measures failed to reclaim. Elders, as magistrates of a domestic kind, received the accusation of parents and upheld their authority; but prevented private acts of injustice. Gate. He was stoned by all the men of the town and treated as a blasphemer. Rebellion against parental authority struck at the social fabric and must be severely punished.
Deu_21:22-23. Burial of those hanged. Sin, lit., a right of death; i.e., capital offence. Hanged. a curse of God, inflicted by God. Remain, the preceding command “to put away evil,” must now be observed. Defiled by exposing the corpse, especially the body of one guilty of such a crime as to deserve this fate (cf. Gal_3:13).
UNKNOWN CRIME.—Deu_21:1-9
Preceding laws indicate vigorous and effectual punishment of wilful murder. But if the murderer escaped they were not free, and the land was not unpolluted. A great ceremony was appointed to put away guilt and express detestation and innocence.
I. The criminal escaping. “Not known who hath slain him.” Crime may be committed in darkness and concealment. Men may evade laws most vigilant and severe, and think they can escape; but God’s providence brings dark deeds to light, and strange things have led to the detection of guilt. The earth may disclose her blood (Isa_26:21) in time; if not, the future will reveal the righteous judgment of God when that which is past will be required (Ecc_3:15).
II. The community responsible for his crime. Blame is attached to Israel in some form or other, and they had to cleanse themselves. Society is bound together for mutual help and good government. We are responsible not only for what we can do, but for what we can prevent. We must not only reform abuses and remove grievances, but prevent evils. Many among us are physically and morally dead. Have we done what we could to prevent death or restore to life? Is not our indifference a crime in the sight of God? “These ought ye to have done and not leave the other undone.”
III. The whole community should endeavour to prevent crime. A sense of responsibility should quicken its action. Immorality and outrages drive away capital, create discontent and insecurity. There must be no impunity of murder, no impunity of any public crime. All classes of the community are concerned. Elders, judges, and priests should be anxious for public purity. Society, with its governors and laws; governors commissioned from heaven, and laws rooted in the revealed will of God; not only claim, but enforce obedience. The land must be purged from blood by public confession, prayer, and righteous conduct. “So shalt thou purge away the guilt,” etc.
EXPIATION OF UNKNOWN MURDER
The sanctity of human life is still the leading thought, and when a corpse is found “lying in the field and it be not known who hath slain him,” the land is regarded as guilty before God (Deu_21:8) until a solemn rite of expiation be gone through. Deu_21:1-9 of this chapter prescribe the mode and form of this expiation, which, from the nature of the case, could take place only when the people were settled in Canaan, and so is prescribed first in Deuteronomy.—Speak Com.
I. The imputed guilt of murder. The law increased the horror of the crime. The administrators of law measured the distance from the slain man to the nearest city, and laid upon it the duty of expiation. A sense of guilt fills all classes of the community, and the people by their representatives cleanse themselves by appointed rites.
II. The solemn expiation of imputed guilt. When crime cannot be traced to it origin—when it is committed in open day and in defiance of law; it is most humiliating. All must purge themselves from suspicion and connivance. “Be not partakers of other men’s sins.”
1. By animal sacrifice. An heifer strong and vigorous, unaccustomed to the yoke and not profaned by labour had to be killed.
2. By public confession. The elders by a significant act repudiated the charge of bloodguiltiness and confessed their innocence.
3. By direct intercession. Mercy was implored for the cities and the nation. We have great need to cry to God for our land filled with iniquity and stained with guilt. “Be merciful O Lord to Thy people Israel” (Deu_5:8).
The important lessons of this expiation. The ceremony was public, impressive and admonitory.
1. The extreme guilt of murder. The people were to dread blood which defiled the hands which shed it. “Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean” (Isa_1:15-16); and crime which polluted the land in which it was committed.
2. The necessity of atonement for guilt. The crime was not passed in silence. The people were not permitted to be unconcerned. Justice must be done and satisfaction given.
3. The provision made by God for the pardon of guilt. Many think this is a symbol of atonement in Christ, to whom our guilt was imputed and in whom we receive pardon and peace. “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
GOD’S VALUE OF INDIVIDUAL LIFE.—Deu_21:1-9
“This narrative,” says one, “sets forth the preciousness of human life in the sight of God.” Dr. Jamieson believes this singular statute concerning homicide is far superior to what is found in the criminal code of any other ancient nation, and is undoubtedly the origin or germ of the modern coroners’ inquests. (Cf. Com. in loco.)
I. Discovered in the loss of one man. Only one missing! But God counts men as well as stars, and “gathers one by one.” Ancient philosophy and modern socialism overlook personality, and legislate for men in a mass. The individual exists only for the race, has no rights, and becomes a tool or slave of society. Christianity does not belittle man, but recognises and renews individuals, exalts them to responsibility, and appeals to them for right. “Adam, where art thou?”
II. Discovered in the injury to one man. One man was missing, but he was murdered. His blood, like that of Abel, was crying for justice. God’s image was defaced in humanity. Society was wounded in one of its members. An enquiry was demanded, and the reproach must be wiped away.
III. Discovered in the interest which the community should take in one man. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Formerly heavy fines were inflicted on districts to prevent the murder of Danes and Normans by exasperated Englishmen. We are members one of another; related one to another, and none of us can turn away like Cain.
IV. Discovered in the provision made for every man’s salvation. Christ died for one and for all. He is not willing that any should perish. It is not the will of God “that one of these little ones should perish.” “If one sheep goes astray, the ninety and nine are left by the shepherd. He seeks the one that is lost, and its restoration brings greater joy than over all the remainder.” “Dost thou believe?”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_21:4. The place where the remembrance of blood is, is not suited for cultivation and joy, but for sorrow and awe, and penitential desolation; it is an Aceldama!—Wordsworth. The spot of ground on which the sacrifice was made must be uncultivated, because it was to be a sacrifice to make atonement for the murder, and consequently would pollute the land. This regulation was calculated
(1) to keep murder in abhorrence,
(2) to make the magistrates alert in their office, that delinquents might be discovered and punished, and that public expense saved.—A. Clarke.
Deu_21:1-9. Expiating unknown murder. We shall endeavour—I. To explain the ordinance. In doing this we must notice—
1. Its general design. God intended by this law
(1) to prevent the commission of murder;
(2) to provide means for removing guilt from His land.
2. Its particular provisions: the victim, the death, the place; the protestations and petitions of the elders. II. To point out some lessons which may be learned from it.
1. The importance of preventing or punishing sin.
2. The comfort of a good conscience.
3. The efficacy of united faith and prayer.—C. Simeon.
THE CAPTIVE WOMAN.—Deu_21:10-14
When a female was taken from surrounding nations and not of the Canaanites and the victor, captivated by her beauty, contemplated marriage, a month was allowed to elapse, that she might bewail the loss of parents and become reconciled to her altered condition. Learn from this—
I. The Divine protection of woman. She was allowed to mourn, not to be abused, and might be set at liberty or become the wife of a Jew. The oppression of woman has been a crying evil in all countries. In the Old Testament we have hints concerning her equality, dignity and influence. But Christianity has exalted her to her lawful position as “the help meet” of man.
II. The mitigating power of love. Even in war woman may captivate by beauty and relieve by compassion. Man must control unlawful passion and defend the helpless. “Love rules the court and the camp,” removes mighty evils and wins great victories.
“What love can do, that dares love attempt.”—Shakespeare.
II. The consummation of honourable marriage. “She shall be thy wife,” not through lust but real love. “Marriage has always been the conclusion of love,” said Napoleon. Men should not be drifted into marriage, nor enter it with sordid motives. Mutual society, help and comfort, both in prosperity and adversity, is the chief end of marriage. “Marriage is honourable,” etc.
DIGNITY AND NEEDFUL DISCIPLINE
The captured slave had prospects of conjugal union. But time was to intervene, natural feeling respected, and the contemplated elevation gained by lawful steps.
I. Prospective elevation. A higher life and real dignity were before her. From a slave, mere property, she could become a Jewish mistress, invested with inalienated rights and shielded by sacred law. God’s providence opens wonderful prospects to meanest subjects and elevates them to rank and dignity. Woman’s creation indicates the benevolent purpose of God. She is not given for grovelling and selfish ends, which many philosophers and some professed Christians declare to be the chief design of her existence. Christianity elevates her to equal spiritual dignity, to be the mental and moral companion with man. She has yet to bless our homes, enrich our literature and rule our empires.
II. Needful discipline and delay. Delay often required, for haste in this matter is risky. Early marriage a curse. “Married in haste repent at leisure.”
1. In kindness to the woman. She was to receive considerate treatment. Incidents of war no excuse for undue licence. Kindness must be shown to all placed at our mercy. “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence.”
2. As a test to the man. Love cools and men become indifferent. This measure calculated to test the feeling. “If no delight in her, let her go whither she will.”
THE RIGHTS OF PRIMOGENITURE.—Deu_21:15-17
Moses did not originate these rights, but recognised them, since he found them pre-existing in the general social system of the East. Paternal authority could set aside these rights on just grounds (Gen_27:33), but is forbidden here to do so from mere partiality.—Sp. Com.
I. The rights of primogeniture defined. “A double portion of all that he hath.” As head of the family, the eldest son would be put into power and privilege, be heir of his father’s rank and wealth. He was not to be limited in his allowance, nor deposed from his authority. The Divine Ruler entrusts him with possessions and entails them by his will.
II. The rights of primogeniture upheld. Individual preferences and partialities are not to set aside the rights of the firstborn.
1. Rights upheld through successive marriage. When an Israelite had two wives together or in succession, one might be loved and the other hated (Deu_21:15). God might tolerate polygamy, but right must be upheld.
2. Rights upheld against human partiality. The influence of the second wife was later and more permanent. Justice must not bend to personal like or dislike. Amid divided affections and divided authority, God and not caprice must rule.
3. Rights upheld by Divine injunction. Man is changeable; entails discord, feud and litigation in his family; but God is just and impartial. He will protect our rights and vindicate our character. “He shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the first-born” (Deu_21:17).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_21:10-14. These regulations given
1. as a protest against common crimes in war.
2. As a check to unbridled passion.
3. As a protection to the defenceless. “Compare the Mosaic regulations concerning female slaves with the universal and abominable licentiousness of every heathen nation in their intercourse with slaves. Do not such regulations, at that early period, in an Asiatic nation, bespeak a wisdom and benevolence far superior to a mere human legislator?”—Graves.
Deu_21:15-17. Mischief of home partiality.
1. In the family itself—jealousy, strife and confusion.
2. In the distribution of property. Interest of some consulted to the detriment of others. Bitterness created and parental honour despised. “The right of the first-born. I. Consider the circumstances implied here. The first wife dead; her children living. She is forgotten in a new love. Her children slighted. The second wife living and loved. Her children take the chief place in the father’s love. II. Consider the Divine rule. The first-born not to lose their place through their mother’s fault, or their father’s new affection. Learn—Justice to rule over fatherly caprice. This old law needs often to be remembered.”—Biblical Museum.
THE REBELLIOUS SON.—Deu_21:18-21
In former verses parents were urged to be careful of the rights of children; now very suitably children must not forget their duty and withhold their respect from parents. But here is a common case, a sad picture of a rebellious son.
I. Parental authority defied. Young persons become wayward and self-willed. Domestic life loses its attraction, home is a prison, and unlawful demands are urged. “Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.” Then follow disobedience, rebellion and exile.
II. Parental authority failing in its purpose. Parental government is a creation of God and should be upheld with prudence, affection and firmness. Parents err in capricious and tyrannical government. Hence sometimes reaction—the father a fanatic, the son an nfidel; the father too severe, the son immoral and profligate. Children may be spoiled, disheartened and provoked. “My father treats me like a brute,” was the saying of a poor bright boy. But children fail in obedience and filial duty, bring dishonour and disgrace to parents. Wild sons become a father’s burden and a mother’s grief (Pro_10:1). Home government restrains not, parental discipline fails. Fathers like Howard in the lazaretto at Venice, and David in the palace, exclaims, “Oh, my son, my son!”
III. Parental authority upheld by the nation. A wicked son is a peril to society. Rebellion is considered a public crime, not a private wrong. Roman laws were severe against rebellious children; Athenians pronounced worthy of death those who beat their parents or suffered them to want in old age, and in China incorrigible children are delivered up to the magistrates. The law must be honoured and upheld. The State cannot sacrifice its authority and interests to drunkards and criminals.
ACCURSED OF GOD.—Deu_21:22-23
When a criminal was put to death and hanged on a tree, his body was not to remain exposed all night, but buried the same day. He died under the curse of God, and the land was not to be defiled by his exposure.
I. Hanging a disgraceful punishment. The body was exposed to insult and assault. Shameful deeds were kept in public memory, and the dead was a spectacle to the world. It was only inflicted on most infamous offenders. Cicero calls it a nameless wickedness. Its pain and disgrace were extreme.
II. Hanging a defilement of the land. “That thy land be not defiled.” The vices of the living and the bodies of the dead defiled the land (Numbers 35, 34).
1. Physically it would be defiled. In the hot climate its decomposition would injure the health and peril the life of others.
2. Morally, as the land of Jehovah, it would be polluted. Remembrance of crime would harden the heart and breed familiarity. Hence—
III. Hanging a warning to others. The punishment was designed to deter others. They saw the terrible consequences of guilt. Alas! “hanging is no warning,” and men leave the very gibbet or the gallows to commit their crimes.
IV. Hanging, a type of the death of Christ. The apostle distinctly refers to this in illustration of the shame and curse of the crucifixion. We were guilty and deserved death. Christ was put to “an open shame,” slain, and “hanged on a tree” (Act_5:35). “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made (having become) a curse for us” (Gal_3:13).
1. He became our substitute.
2. He was buried in the evening (Joh_19:31).
3. As the land was cleansed by removal of curse, so the conscience and the Church purified by Christ.
THE ACCURSED TREE
I. A shameful death awaits abominable crime. “Worthy of death” lit., if there be on a man a right of death, “he was hanged upon a tree.”
II. Public ignominy expressed in this shameful death. Penalty for crime, detestation of the perpetrator and the curse of God.
III. The desirability of taking away the memory of this shame. “He shall not remain all night,” take him down from the tree and bury him; blot out his name and remove the curse.
IV. Christ alone removes the curse. The best of men treated as one of the vilest, died the just for the unjust, “who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_21:20-21. The connection of gluttony and drunkenness. Both enslave the body, degrade the soul and abuse the gifts of God. “Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.” (Pro_23:20-21). Matthew Henry’s note is suggestive “He (impious son) is particularly supposed to be a drunkard or a glutton. This intimates either
1. that his parents did in a particular manner warn him against these sins, and therefore in these instances there was plain evidence he did not obey their voice. Lemuel had this charge from his mother (Pro_31:4). Note in the education of children, great care should be taken to suppress all inclinations to drunkenness, and to keep them out of the way of temptations to them; in order hereunto they should be possessed betimes with a dread and detestation of these beastly sins, and taught betimes to deny themselves. Or
2.—That being a glutton and a drunkard was the cause of his insolence and obstinacy to his parents. Note—Nothing draws men into all kind of wickedness and hardens them to it, more certainly and fatally than drunkenness does. When men take to drink they forget the law (Pro_31:5), even that fundamental law of honouring parents.”
Deu_21:22-23. Hangeth.
1. The world’s judgment.
2. The law’s penalty.
3. Christ’s treatment. “The law which required this answered all the ends of public justice, exposed the shame and infamy of the conduct, but did not put to torture the feelings of humanity by requiring a perpetual exhibition of a human being, a slow prey to the most loathsome process of putrefaction. How excellent are all these laws! How wonderously well calculated to repress crimes by shewing the enormity of sin! It is worthy of remark, that in the infliction of punishment, prescribed by the Mosaic law, we ever find that Mercy walks hand in hand with Judgment.—A. Clarke.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER. 21
Deu_21:1-7. One slain.
“Other sins only speak; murder shrieks out:
The element of water moistens the earth,
But blood mounts upward.”—J. Webster.
Deu_21:10-14. Beautiful woman. In great crises it is woman’s special lot to soften our misfortunes.—Napoleon I.
“The artillery of her eye.”—A. Cowley.
Deu_21:12. Head. The hair is one of the finest ornaments women have. Of old, virgins used to wear it loose, except when they were in mourning.—Luther.
Deu_21:15-17. Inherit. Education is of infinitely more importance to a son than the patrimony of his ancestors, or thousands of gold and silver. The latter is enjoyed in time only; the former goes with him into eternity.—Dr. Davies.
Deu_21:18. Son.
“Unhappy is the son
Who to his parents pays no ministry.” Euripides.
Stubborn. I never saw so much essence of devil put into so small a vessel.—Foster.
Deu_21:20. Glutton. A glutton will defend his food like a hero.—Napoleon I. Drunkard. All the crimes on earth do not destroy so many of the human race, nor alienate so much property, as drunkenness.—Bacon.
Deu_21:21. Stone him. The curse pronounced on Mount Ebal against him that setteth light by his father or his mother, still hovers around the rebellious child on his pathway through life, and the character developed by disobedience at home provokes in the world outside assault and revenge, quarrels and death.—Fred. Perry.
Deu_21:22-23. Death. Justice proportions the smart to the fault; so that we may behold the greatness of the offence in the fitness of the punishment.—W. Secker.
“Murder may pass unpunished for a time,
But tardy justice will o’ertake the crime.”
Dryden.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Expiation of Undetected Homicide. Marriage of Captive Women. Punishment…
Expiation of Undetected Homicide. Marriage of Captive Women. Punishment of a Rebellious Son
The last sub-section of the Second Discourse begins here, containing a variety of social and domestic regulations.
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1-9. The Expiation of Undetected Homicide. The cases of accidental and open, wilful murder have been already provided for in Deuteronomy 19. This passage treats the case of undetected homicide. Murder pollutes the land and must be expiated. When the murderer cannot be discovered the responsibility of making atonement rests with the city nearest to the scene of the crime. For the ancient Babylonian practice in such circumstances see art. 'Laws of Hammurabi.'
4. For rough valley read 'valley with running water,' and for strike off the heifer's neck read 'break the heifer's neck.' Eared means 'ploughed' as in Exo_34:21. The proper satisfaction for the crime of murder would be the death of the murderer: see Deu_19:13 but as he cannot be discovered, the heifer takes his place. The unworked heifer and the untilled land probably suggested complete severance from human life, and symbolised the unnaturalness of the crime of murder.
6. The washing of the hands is a protestation of innocence. Cp. the action of Pilate in Mat_27:24.
7. The elders, in the name of all the citizens, take an oath of purgation. The publicity and solemnity of the ceremony must have had a powerful effect upon the public conscience, and in some cases no doubt assisted in the discovery of the murderer.
10-14. On the Marriage of Captive Women. This rule does not apply to Canaanitish women, whom the Israelites were forbidden in any circumstances to marry: see Deu_7:3; Deu_19:16-18.
12. These are rites indicative of purification: see Lev_14:8; Num_6:9. The captive comes from a heathen people, and this ceremony symbolises the renouncing of her former life and her adoption into Israel.
13. The woman is to be honourably treated. Even if divorced she must not be sold as a slave but allowed to go back to her people.
15. Succession to hereditary property is a fruitful cause of discord in a family, as is also the favouritism of parents: cp. the case of Isaac and Rebekah (Gen_25:28). A polygamous society is specially liable to disturbance from these causes. Beloved and hated are relative terms, meaning simply that one is preferred to the other. For a similar use of the terms see Mal_1:2, Mal_1:3.
17. A double portion] The usual right of the firstborn. An estate was divided into a number of parts exceeding the number of children by one, and the extra share fell to the firstborn.
18. Children have rights, as the last passage shows, but they have also duties. The punishment of an incorrigible son is very severe. The State is regarded as having an interest in the proper upbringing of children and as exercising its authority when that of the parents is powerless: see on Exo_20:12; Exo_21:15, Exo_21:17.
22, 23. And thou hang him] The hanging followed the execution. See on Num_25:4 and cp. Jos_10:26; 2Sa_4:12. The tree was a stake on which the dead body of the criminal was impaled, in token of infamy. The dead body must be taken down before nightfall because it is 'the curse of God.' The words rendered, he that is hanged is accursed of God, are somewhat ambiguous. They mean either he 'is accursed in the sight of God, i.e. cursed by God,' or 'is an insult or reproach to God.' Jewish commentators take them in the latter sense. The dead body pollutes the land and is an insult to God: it must therefore be taken down. St. Paul quotes the words in Gal_3:13 in the former sense, viz. that the fact of hanging is an evidence of the divine curse resting upon the person. The Jews of the apostle's time, like those of later times, argued from the 'offence of the cross.' Seeing that Jesus was hanged on a tree, He could not be the Son of God: He was manifestly the object of divine displeasure. St. Paul boldly admitted the fact, but reasoned differently from it. The curse, he said, was vicarious. Christ 'was made a curse for us,' thereby redeeming us from the curse of the Law.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 17. The Expiation of an Uncertain Murder and Various…
17. The Expiation of an Uncertain Murder and Various Instructions
CHAPTER 21
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1. The expiation of an unknown murder (Deu 21:1-9)
2. Concerning a wife, who had been a prisoner of war (Deu 21:10-14)
3. The right of the firstborn (Deu 21:15-17)
4. The punishment of a rebellious son (Deu 21:18-21)
5. The burial of one who hanged on a tree (Deu 21:22-23)
The expiation of an unknown murder seems to find an interesting application in the case of the nation itself. Bloodguiltiness is upon them for they cried “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” And the nation has suffered as the result of it. But there is a full expiation coming through Him who prayed for them on the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He died for them as the heifer (the type of Christ) died in the rough valley (the type of His deep humiliation) for the unknown murder. Then the prayer in verse 8 will be graciously answered, when Israel turns to the Lord in the day of His manifestation. “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.”
The woman captive desired by an Israelite for a wife could not be one of the Canaanitish races for they were to be all slain; but other Gentiles are meant. She was to be mercifully protected. Polygamy is taken in consideration in verses 15-17 and a law is given in view of it to guard against an abuse in favor of a beloved wife. The son of the hated wife, if he is the firstborn, cannot be defrauded of his birthright; he must receive the double portion. If we look deeper we shall find here too the dispensational lesson concerning Israel’s relation to Jehovah. Israel has been the unfaithful wife, but she will be reinstated in due time and receive the blessing promised unto her.
The stubborn and rebellious son, who is to be stoned to death, is but another type of the finally disobedient in Israel. While in the future the penitent and believing remnant of Israel will be reinstated in Jehovah’s favor and inherit the glorious things promised to them, the apostate part of that nation, going on in self-will and rebellion, will be cut off in judgment. The prophetic Word predicts such a stubborn and rebellious condition among the great mass of that people before the Lord comes. But the same judgment also falls upon the rebellious, disobedient among the Gentiles, those who profess to be children of God, but their disobedience shows that they are not.
The close of this remarkable chapter plainly refers to our blessed Lord and His work on the cross. Gal 3:13 quotes verse 23 and applies it to the Lord Jesus.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The Case of an Unknown Murder
The Case of an Unknown Murder
v. 1. If one be found slain in the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee to possess it, somewhere out in the open, on the soil, lying in the field, where the murderer had left or dragged him, and it be not known who hath slain him,
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v. 2. then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, namely, those of the neighboring cities and towns, the elders as the representatives of the congregation, and the judges as the exponents of law and order, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain;
v. 3. and it shall be that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city, shall take an heifer, a young cow, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke, one whose strength has in no way been broken by hard work;
v. 4. and the elders of that city, not merely because some citizen of their town would be suspected of the crime, but because blood-guiltiness was upon Israel generally, and therefore especially upon the places in the neighborhood of the murder, shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, a rocky gorge with a perennial stream, which is neither eared nor sown, where some barren strip was useless for agricultural purposes, and strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley, break her neck in symbolical representation of the punishment which should hare struck the murderer;
v. 5. and the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, some from the nearest city set aside for their residence; 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, according to their advice and decision, shall every controversy and every stroke be tried, they decide the quarrels and determine when a punishment by beating should be administered, as the representatives of the Lord they receive the statement of the elders and sanction their action;
v. 6. and all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley, as a symbolical declaration of innocence, Psa 26:6; Psa 73:13; Mat 27:24;
v. 7. and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it, they and their city were neither guilty of the crime, nor did they have any knowledge of its commission.
v. 8. Be merciful, O Lord, unto Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, namely, by leading them out of Egypt, and lay not innocent blood unto Thy people of Israel’s charge, they asked the Lord to cover over the guilt of blood and not lay the murder to their charge, since they were innocent of the blood that had been shed. And the blood shall be forgiven them, that is, the murder would not be placed to their account. Thus the share of guilt cleaving to their city was expiated.
v. 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. Cf Num 35:33. Doing right in the sight of God included also the proper punishment of the murderer, in case he should still be apprehended, for the rite here prescribed did not clear the criminal in the sight of God. His rule is that he who sheds men’s blood, by men shall his blood be shed.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues to speak to the people of Israel.
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If someone is found killed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "If someone finds a person whom someone else has killed" (See: Active or Passive)
lying in the field
The dead person is lying in the field.
it is not known who has attacked him
This can be stated in active form. AT: "nobody knows who attacked him" (See: Active or Passive)
they must measure to the cities
"they must measure the distance to the cities"
him who has been killed
This can be stated in active form. AT: "him whom someone has killed" or "the dead body" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Yahweh
God
possess
elder
judge
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3 21:1-9 The guilt of murder was usually removed through…
21:1-9 The guilt of murder was usually removed through the death of the murderer (19:11-13; Num 35:30-34). However, if the murderer was unknown, the guilt could still be removed by using this ritual.
21:1 In contrast to the word translated murder in the Ten Commandments (see study note on 5:17), the Hebrew verb here translated murdered (literally pierced through) indicates clear evidence that the death was not by natural causes.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.