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Deuteronomy

Deuteronomychapter 21

23 verses · BSBDeuteronomy book hub →

A.A heifer in the valley for unsolved bloodvv. 1-9

1 If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities. 3 Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work, 4 bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream. 5 And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault. 6 Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken, 7 and they shall declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for. 9 So you shall purge from among you the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

B.A captive woman given a month to mournvv. 10-14

10 When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife, 12 then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails, 13 and put aside the clothing of her captivity. After she has lived in your house a full month and mourned her father and mother, you may have relations with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

C.The unloved wife's son keeps his double portionvv. 15-17

15 If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son, 16 when that man assigns his inheritance to his sons he must not appoint the son of the beloved wife as the firstborn over the son of the unloved wife. 17 Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.

D.A stubborn and rebellious sonvv. 18-21

18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined, 19 his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown, 20 and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

E.Cursed is everyone that hangs on a treevv. 22-23

22 If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, 23 you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition
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Chapter summary

The unsolved murder, the captive wife, the rebellious son, and the hanging on a tree.

Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾

The unsolved murder, the captive wife, the rebellious son, and the hanging on a tree. A corpse in the field. The nearest city's elders break a heifer's neck at an unploughed stream; they wash their hands over it and testify that this blood is not theirs. A captive woman taken as wife. Thirty days of mourning; then a full wife, not to be sold. A firstborn of two wives. The beloved's son does not supplant the hated's son if he is the firstborn. A stubborn, rebellious son. The elders of his city stone him. A hanged man: ‘he that is hanged is accursed of God; his body shall not remain all night upon the tree’. Galatians 3:13 reads this verse to the cross.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Deuteronomy overview

  • A. 1–9 A heifer in the valley for unsolved blood
  • B. 10–14 A captive woman given a month to mourn
  • C. 15–17 The unloved wife's son keeps his double portion
  • D. 18–21 A stubborn and rebellious son
  • E. 22–23 Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
  • Deuteronomy 133 verses
    • Deuteronomy 13:5Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.
    • Deuteronomy 13:10Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
    • Deuteronomy 13:18because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments I am giving you today and doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.
    • Read Deuteronomy 13 →
  • Genesis 293 verses
    • Genesis 29:18Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
    • Genesis 29:20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
    • Genesis 29:33Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son as well.” So she named him Simeon.
    • Read Genesis 29 →
  • Job 212 verses
    • Job 21:21For what does he care about his household after him, when the number of his months has run out?
    • Job 21:31Who denounces his behavior to his face? Who repays him for what he has done?
    • Read Job 21 →
  • Deuteronomy 192 verses
4 more chapters this one speaks with
  • Deuteronomy 222 verses
    • Deuteronomy 22:19They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall remain his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
    • Deuteronomy 22:29then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.
    • Read Deuteronomy 22 →
  • 1 Chronicles 52 verses
    • 1 Chronicles 5:1These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.
    • 1 Chronicles 5:2And though Judah prevailed over his brothers and a ruler came from him, the birthright belonged to Joseph.
    • Read 1 Chronicles 5 →
  • Deuteronomy 161 verse
    • Deuteronomy 16:18You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
    • Read Deuteronomy 16 →
  • John 191 verse
    • John 19:31It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed.
    • Read John 19 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.