Deuteronomychapter 22
30 verses · BSBDeuteronomy book hub →
Key verse
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
It stands in Nests, roof rails, mixtures, and fringes, verses 5 to 12.
The chapter
Chapter summary
Community laws. The brother's ox or sheep gone astray. Bring it home. The brother's ass fallen. Lift it up. Women's clothes on a man, men's on a woman. Abomination. The mother bird spared on the nest: ‘that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days’. Battlements on new house-roofs. No seed mixed in one vineyard, no ox and ass yoked together, no garment of wool and linen together. Fringes on the four quarters of thy vesture. Laws of virginity, adultery, rape, and the betrothed damsel. The tokens of virginity preserved by the parents, the elders at the gate as judges. The covenant community's fabric protected.
Context
Law · Moses · Deuteronomy overview
The world behind this chapter
Deuteronomy 22The history
The chapter is Moses speaking in the fortieth year, legislating for towns Israel will build rather than for the camp it is in. The house reading dates it to about 1406 BC, stated as a reading rather than a settled date. The place is the plains of Moab, and the life in view is village life across the river. The occasion is the settling of what a man owes a neighbour he can see from his own door, and then of the marriage cases tried in the gate. A first hearer knew that roofs were flat, reached by outside stairs, and in constant use for sleeping in hot weather, for drying grain and figs, and for work and company. The parapet of verse 8 is therefore a building rule, and the reason the verse gives for it is the blood a fall would bring on the house. A first hearer also knew that yoking an ox with a donkey injures both animals, since they differ in size and gait, and that the tassels of verse 12 marked an Israelite in a crowd. In the marriage cases the family of a slandered bride produced its evidence before the elders at the gate, so the trial was public and the accuser carried the first burden.
The rest of the history, and what it meant to them
What it meant to them
First hearers lived a few feet from their neighbours. This chapter made everyday negligence a covenant matter, from a wandering animal to an unguarded roof edge to a rumour about a young woman's honour. The tassels kept the point in view, since every Israelite went about wearing four reminders of the commandments. The field case at verses 25 to 27 also told them how the law would read a silence, since a cry nobody could have heard was taken in the woman's favour.
Sources cited
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
- This site's published exposition of Deuteronomy 22, in the store's exposition_notes
Where the chapter sits
Deuteronomy 22 falls in Second sermon, the law restated (chapters 5–26). The Decalogue repeated; the Shema; laws for the land, for worship, for kingship, for war, for the poor. The covenant's central exposition.
Before it: First sermon, retrospective, chapters 1–4. After it: Third sermon, blessings and curses, chapters 27–30.
The whole shape of Deuteronomy→The structure of this chapter
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
A. Bring your brother's ox back to himvv. 1-4
The chapter opens on lost property, and the phrase thou mayest not hide thyself falls in the middle of it. Exodus 23:4-5 gave the same duty about an enemy's ox and his ass, and here the animal belongs to a brother, so the obligation covers both ends of that range. Verse 2 adds the case where the owner is unknown, and the finder keeps the animal at his own cost until it is claimed.
Deuteronomy 22:1
“Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray - The same humane, merciful, and wise regulations which we met with before, Exo 23:4, Exo 23:5, well calculated to keep in remembrance the second grand branch of the law of God, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. A humane man cannot bear to see even an ass fall under his burden, and not endeavor to relieve him; and a man who loves his neighbor as himself cannot see his property in danger without endeavoring to preserve it.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:2
“And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee,....”
Deuteronomy 22:3
“The Jews say, "He that found the lost goods was to give public notice of them by the common crier three or four times," according to the usage with us; if the owner could not be found, he that found the goods might convert them to his own use; but (say some learned writers in this case) he would do very well to give the value of the goods to the poor.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Deuteronomy 22:3
“Thou mayest not hide thyself - Thou shalt not keep out of the way of affording help, nor pretend thou didst not see occasion to render thy neighbor any service. The priest and the Levite, when they saw the wounded man, passed by on the other side of the way, Luk 10:31, Luk 10:32. This was a notorious breach of the merciful law mentioned above.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:4
“Thou shall not see thy brother's ox or his ass fall down by the way,....”
B. Nests, roof rails, mixtures, and fringes
1. (vv. 5-8)
Deuteronomy 22:5
“Now, if you will consider it well, that which nature herself abhors must be incongruous. For why do you not wish to be thought a man, seeing that you are born such? why do you assume an appearance which is foreign to you? why do you play the woman, or you, O woman, the man? Nature clothes each sex in their proper raiment. Moreover in men and women, habits, complexion, gestures, gait, strength and voice are all different.”
Ambrose of Milan· written before 397· Letters 61-70patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Deuteronomy 22:5
“To befriend a lawful escape or concealment it may be done, but whether for sport or in the acting of plays is justly questionable. Some think it refers to the idolatrous custom of the Gentiles: in the worship of Venus, women appeared in armour, and men in women's clothes; this, as other such superstitious usages, is here said to be an abomination to the Lord.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Deuteronomy 22:5
“That which pertaineth unto a man - i. e. not only his dress but all that especially pertains distinctively to his sex; arms, domestic and other utensils, etc. The distinction between the sexes is natural and divinely established, and cannot be neglected without indecorum and consequent danger to purity (compare 1Co 11:3-15).”
Deuteronomy 22:6
“These precepts are designed to cultivate a spirit of humanity. Compare Deu 25:4; Lev 22:28; and 1Co 9:9-10. Deu 22:8 The roofs of houses in Palestine were flat and used for various purposes. Compare Jos 2:6; 2Sa 11:2; Act 10:9, etc. A battlement was almost a necessary protection. It was to be, according to the rabbis, at least two cubits high (about 3 ft.).”
Deuteronomy 22:7
“Thou shalt - let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee - This passage may be understood literally. If they destroyed both young and old, must not the breed soon fail, and would it not in the end be ill with them; and by thus cutting off the means of their continual support, must not their days be shortened on the land? But we may look for a humane precept in this law.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:8
“When you build a house, you do not quit before building the protective parapet of the house. It is this parapet that prevents one who has ascended onto the house from falling. So it is with the house of the Word. Consequently those who fall because of unfinished buildings fall only from houses which lack the parapet. Those architects and builders bear the blame for such slaughters and falls.”
Origen of Alexandria· written before 253· COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6.7patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Deuteronomy 22:8
“When thou buildest a new house,.... Which is to be understood of a house to dwell in, not of a granary, barn, or stable, or such like, and every house that is not four cubits square, as Maimonides observes (f): then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof; in the Talmud (g) it is asked, what is the meaning of, or why is it said, "thy roof?" to except synagogues and schools; the gloss upon which is, synagogues, &c. do not belong to any single person, and besides are no dwelling place.”
Deuteronomy 22:8
“A battlement for thy roof - Houses in the East are in general built with flat roofs, and on them men walk to enjoy the fresh air, converse together, sleep, etc.; it was therefore necessary to have a sort of battlement or balustrade to prevent persons from falling off. If a man neglected to make a sufficient defense against such accidents, and the death of another was occasioned by it, the owner of the house must be considered in the light of a murderer.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Four rules with little in common on the surface, and the last of them shows what kind of law this is. A battlement on a new roof is required so that thou bring not blood upon thine house if any man fall from it, which makes building safety a question of guilt rather than of prudence. The bird's nest rule lets the mother go and takes the young, and it carries the promise attached to honouring parents at Exodus 20:12, that it may be well with thee and thou mayest prolong thy days.
2. (vv. 9-12)
Deuteronomy 22:9
“Now this and the following precepts, tho' in themselves small and trivial, are given, according to that time and state of the church, for instructions in greater matters, and particularly to commend to them simplicity in all their carriage towards God and man, and to forbid all mixture of their inventions with God's institutions in doctrine or worship.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:10
“Compare the marginal reference. The prohibition of Deu 22:10 was also dictated by humanity. The ox and the donkey being of such different size and strength, it would be cruel to the latter to yoke them together. These two animals are named as being those ordinarily employed in agriculture; compare Isa 32:20.”
3 more voices on this verse
Deuteronomy 22:10
“Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together,.... They might be used separately, but not together; nor was it uncommon in some countries for asses to be employed in ploughing as well as oxen. Pliny (h) makes mention of some fruitful land in Africa, which when it was dry weather could not be ploughed by oxen, but after showers of rain might be ploughed by a mean little ass; so Leo Africanus (i) says, the Africans only use horses and asses in ploughing.”
Deuteronomy 22:10
“Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass - It is generally supposed that mixtures of different sorts in seed, breed, etc., were employed for superstitious purposes, and therefore prohibited in this law. It is more likely, however, that there was a physical reason for this; two beasts of a different species cannot associate comfortably together, and on this ground never pull pleasantly either in cart or plough; and every farmer knows that it is of considerable consequence to the comfort of the cattle to put those together that have an affection for each other.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:10
“Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together--Whether this association, like the mixture of seeds, had been dictated by superstitious motives and the prohibition was symbolical, designed to teach a moral lesson (2Co 6:14), may or may not have been the case.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Deuteronomy 22:11
“Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts,.... The Jews say nothing is forbidden under the name of sorts but what is spun and wove, as it is said, "thou shalt not wear sheatnez", a thing that is carded, spun, and wove (l); which Ainsworth translates "linsie woolsie", and is explained by what follows: as "of woollen and linen together"; of which See Gill on Lev 19:19, whereas Josephus (m) observes, this was granted to the priests only to wear such garments.”
Deuteronomy 22:12
“Fringes - Or laces, or strings, partly to bring the commands of God to their remembrance, as it is expressed, Num. xv, 38, and partly is a public profession of their nation and religion, whereby they might be distinguished from strangers, that so they might be more circumspect to behave as became the people of God, and that they should own their religion before all the world.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Divers seeds in a vineyard, an ox and an ass under one yoke, wool and linen in one garment, and then fringes on the four quarters of the vesture. The first three keep kinds distinct and the text gives no reason for any of them, which is also how Leviticus 19:19 leaves them. Numbers 15:38-40 does explain the fringes, as a reminder of the commandments, and Matthew 9:20 and 14:36 have people reaching for the hem of Jesus' garment.
C. When a husband slanders his bridevv. 13-21
A husband who accuses his bride is answered by her parents bringing evidence to the elders in the gate, so the case is tried in public and the first burden falls on the accuser. If the charge fails he is chastised, fined a hundred shekels of silver, which is twice the fifty of verse 29, and he may never divorce her, so the woman is left provided for by the man who tried to be rid of her. If the charge holds the penalty is death, and the phrase used for the offence, wrought folly in Israel, is the one Genesis 34:7 used first and Judges 20:6 and 2 Samuel 13:12 use again.
Deuteronomy 22:13
“If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her. That is, marries a wife, and cohabits with her as man and wife, and after some time dislikes her, and is desirous of parting with her, and therefore takes the following wicked method to obtain it: this is to be understood of a virgin taken to wife, as the Targum of Jonathan explains it; and what follows confirms it.”
Deuteronomy 22:14
“And give occasions of speech against her,....”
Deuteronomy 22:15
“Tokens of the damsel’s virginity - This was a perfectly possible case in all places where girls were married at ten, twelve, and fourteen years of age, which is frequent in the East. I have known several instances of persons having had two or three children at separate births before they were fourteen years of age. Such tokens, therefore, as the text speaks of, must be infallibly exhibited by females so very young on the consummation of their marriage.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:16
“And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders,....”
Deuteronomy 22:17
“They shall spread the cloth, etc. - A usage of this kind argues a roughness of manners which would ill comport with the refinement of European ideas on so delicate a subject. Attempts have been made to show that the law here is to be understood metaphorically; but they so perfectly fail to establish any thing like probability, that it would be wasting my own and my reader’s time to detail them. A custom similar to that above is observed among the Mohammedans to the present day.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:18
“And the elders of that city shall take the man, and chastise him. Not with words, but blows. Jarchi interprets it of beating, and so does the Talmud (x); and both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan render it,"shall beat him;'' that is, with the beating or scourging of forty stripes, save one. (x) T. Bab. Cetubot, fol. 46. 1.”
Deuteronomy 22:19
“The fine was to be paid to the father, because the slander was against him principally as the head of the wife’s family. If the damsel were an orphan the fine reverted to herself. The fact that the penalties attached to bearing false witness against a wife are fixed and comparatively light indicates the low estimation and position of the woman at that time.”
Deuteronomy 22:20
“But if this thing be true,.... Which the husband of the damsel laid to her charge, that she was no virgin when married to him, and she had committed whoredom, of which there was plain proof: and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel; by her parents, or those who had the care of her; or no sufficient reason could be assigned for the want of them, through any family defect, or any disorder of her own; which, as Maimonides (z) says, the judges were to inquire into. (z) Hilchot Ishot, c. 11. sect. 12.”
D. Adultery, betrothal, and violence in the field
1. (vv. 22-24)
Deuteronomy 22:22
“This law we had before, Lev. xx. For a married man to lie with a single woman was not a crime of so high a nature, nor was it punished with death, because not introducing a spurious brood into families under the character of legitimate children.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Deuteronomy 22:23
“If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband,.... But not married, not as yet brought home to her husband's house, and the marriage consummated; for the Jews distinguish between being betrothed or espoused, and married; and generally there was some time between the one and the other. And a wife was obtained in this way by three things; by money, which was the most usual; and by writing, which was to be done before witnesses, and with her consent; and by copulation, which, though valid, was not so much approved of (a).”
Deuteronomy 22:24
“Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of the city,....”
1 more voice on this verse
Deuteronomy 22:24
“Now by this law it is intimated to us, (1.) That we shall suffer only for the wickedness we do, not for that which is done to us. That is no sin which has not more or less of the will in it.”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Adultery is capital for both parties and verse 22 names both of them twice. A betrothed woman is treated as married, and the city case turns on the fact that she cried not, being in the city, where a cry would have been heard. The next three verses take the same reasoning and run it the other way.
2. (vv. 25-27)
Deuteronomy 22:25
“And the man force her - A rape also, by these ancient institutions, was punished with death, because a woman’s honor was considered equally as precious as her life; therefore the same punishment was inflicted on the ravisher as upon the murderer. This offense is considered in the same point of view in the British laws, and by them also it is punished with death.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:26
“But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing,....”
Deuteronomy 22:27
“For he found her in the field,.... Which is a circumstance in her favour, from which it might he presumed that she was forced, and did not consent; for had the sin been committed by agreement, they would doubtless have betook themselves to another place: and the betrothed damsel cried as it might be concluded from the above circumstance she did, and as she herself declared, and which he could not gainsay, or however disprove: and there was none to save her; to help her against him, and deliver her out of his hands.”
In the field the man only dies. The statute says outright that there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death, and it gives its reason, that she cried and there was none to save her, so the absence of witnesses is read in her favour. It then classes the act with murder in so many words, as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter.
3. (vv. 28-30)
Deuteronomy 22:28
“If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed,....”
Deuteronomy 22:29
“Fifty shekels - Besides the dowry, as Philo, the learned Jew notes, which is here omitted, because that was customary, it being sufficient here to mention what was peculiar to this case.”
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:30
“A man shall not take his father's wife,.... Not marry her, whether his own mother, or a stepmother; or even, as Aben Ezra thinks, anyone that was deflowered by his father.”
2 more voices on this verse
Deuteronomy 22:30
“A man shall not take his father’s wife - This is to be understood as referring to the case of a stepmother. A man in his old age may have married a young wife, and on his dying, his son by a former wife may desire to espouse her: this the law prohibits. It was probably on pretense of having broken this law, that Solomon put his brother Adonijah to death, because he had desired to have his father’s concubine to wife, 1Ki 2:13-25.”
Adam Clarke· Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Deuteronomy 22:30
“And, probably, it is intended (as bishop Patrick notes) for a short memorandum to them carefully to observe all the laws there made against incestuous marriages, that being specified which is the most detestable of all; it is that of which the apostle says, It is not so much as named among the Gentiles, 1 Cor. v. 1 .”
Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The unbetrothed case ends in fifty shekels to the father and a marriage the man may never dissolve, and Exodus 22:16-17 sets beside it a father's right to refuse the match outright. Commentators differ over how far the two passages govern each other and over the force of the Hebrew verb rendered lay hold on her. The chapter closes on the prohibition of a father's wife, which is the case 1 Corinthians 5:1 finds in a church.
This page carries no textual note on Deuteronomy 22. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
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