Deuteronomy 20:12
in Deuteronomy 20But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
KJV
And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd if it will make no peace with thee,.... Will not accept of terms of peace offered: but will make war against thee; come out and fight, or prepare to defend themselves: then thou shall besiege it; surround and block it up on all sides with their forces; the Jews say only on three sides, leaving one for any to flee and make their escape if they thought fit; See Gill on Num 31:7.
This site's exposition
When you approach a city to fight against it
on Deuteronomy 20:10-15
The order is peace first and siege second, and a city that accepts becomes forced labour, living under Israel rather than beside it. Moses had already done this at 2:26, sending words of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon.
This site's exposition
if they refuse to make peace
John Gill reports the Jewish tradition that a besieging army closed only three sides of the city. One side was left open for any who chose to flee. The siege follows a refused offer of peace.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Eaten of it - Hebrew. made it common, namely, for the use of himself and family and friends, which it was not, 'till the fifth year. Make captains - Or rather, as the Hebrew hath it, they shall set or place the captains of the armies in the head or front of the people under their charge, that they may conduct them, and by their example encourage their soldiers.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it--An important principle is here introduced into the war law of Israel regarding the people they fought against and the cities they besieged. With "the cities of those people which God doth give thee" in Canaan, it was to be a war of utter extermination (De 20:17, 18).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
“[Their surrender is not to be accepted] until they accept tribute and servitude upon themselves.” This is the language of Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi]. And in the Sifre the Rabbis have said: 340 Sifre, Shoftim.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַשְׁלִים֙ | tashlim | it will make peace | H7999 → | 116 times |
| עִמָּ֔ךְ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְעָשְׂתָ֥ה | veasetah | and it will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עִמְּךָ֖ | ʾimekha | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| מִלְחָמָ֑ה | milchamah | war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וְצַרְתָּ֖ | vetzarta | and you will lay siege | H6696 → | 38 times |
| עָלֶֽיהָ׃ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תַשְׁלִים֙it will make peace
tashlimH7999 →116 times
עִמָּ֔ךְwith you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 times
וְעָשְׂתָ֥הand it will make
veasetahH6213 →2628 times
עִמְּךָ֖with you
ʾimekhaH5973 →1050 times
מִלְחָמָ֑הwar
milchamahH4421 →320 times
וְצַרְתָּ֖and you will lay siege
vetzartaH6696 →38 times
עָלֶֽיהָ׃on it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.