Deuteronomy 21:12
in Deuteronomy 21then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
KJV
Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
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This verse in Deuteronomy 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseShe shall shave her head - This was in token of her renouncing her religion, and becoming a proselyte to that of the Jews. This is still a custom in the East; when a Christian turns Mohammedan his head is shaven, and he is carried through the city crying, la alahila allah we Mohammed resooli Allah; “There is no God but God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God.” Pare her nails - ועשתה את צפרניה veasethah eth tsipporneyha, “she shall make her nails.” Now whether this signifies paring or letting them grow, is greatly doubted among learned men.
This site's exposition
When you go to war against your enemies
on Deuteronomy 21:10-14
A captive woman is brought into the house and given a full month to shave her head, put aside her captive's clothing and mourn her parents. Adam Clarke takes the shaving as leaving her former religion, and Matthew Henry as a check on desire. If the man is not pleased with her she goes free unsold, and Albert Barnes limits the war to nations outside Canaan.
This site's exposition
She must shave her head
Calvin names the rabbis who read the order to shave her head as a way to spoil her beauty and cool the man's desire, and he answers them from the change of clothing in verse 13. He reads every sign as a farewell to her people. Origen made the woman an image of pagan learning, cleansed before use.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house,....
Quisquid amas cupias non placuisse nimis--We should moderate our affection for those things which we are tempted to love inordinately. Or rather, (2.) This was done in token of her renouncing idolatry, and becoming a proselyte to the Jewish religion.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The shaving the head (a customary sign of purification, Lev 14:8; Num 8:7), and the putting away “the garment of her captivity,” were designed to signify the translation of the woman from the state of a pagan and a slave to that of a wife among the covenant-people. Consistency required that she should “pare” (dress, compare 2Sa 19:24), not “suffer to grow,” her nails; and thus, so far as possible, lay aside everything belonging to her condition as an alien.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“She shall ‘let them grow,’ [the reason being] that she should become repulsive.” This is Rashi’s language which accords with the words of Rabbi Akiba, 3 Sifre, Ki Theitzei. and so did Onkelos explain it [“and she shall let her nails grow”].
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Rabbis have commented in the Sifre: 15 Sifre, Ki Theitzei 213 and Yebamoth 48b. “You have no privilege in her except cohabitation.” By this the Rabbis meant to say that betrothal with money or a writ. This is a document stating.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַהֲבֵאתָ֖הּ | vahavetah | and you will bring her | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תּ֣וֹךְ | tokh | [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| בֵּיתֶ֑ךָ | beitekha | house your | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְגִלְּחָה֙ | vegilechah | and she will shave | H1548 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רֹאשָׁ֔הּ | roshah | head her | H7218 → | 599 times |
| וְעָשְׂתָ֖ה | veasetah | and she will attend to | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צִפָּרְנֶֽיהָ׃ | tzipareneiha | finger-nails her | H6856 → |
וַהֲבֵאתָ֖הּand you will bring her
vahavetahH935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תּ֣וֹךְ[the] middle of
tokhH8432 →418 times
בֵּיתֶ֑ךָhouse your
beitekhaH1004 →2046 times
וְגִלְּחָה֙and she will shave
vegilechahH1548 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
רֹאשָׁ֔הּhead her
roshahH7218 →599 times
וְעָשְׂתָ֖הand she will attend to
veasetahH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צִפָּרְנֶֽיהָ׃finger-nails her
tzipareneihaH6856 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 4:22to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
it leads to
- Romans 6:6
We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
- Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set…
- James 1:21
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
- 1 Peter 2:1–2
Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
- Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
- Romans 6:6
Through
Numbers 6:9If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day.
it leads to
- Numbers 6:18
Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering.
- Acts 18:18
Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria,…
- Numbers 6:18
Through
Leviticus 14:9On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he…
it leads to
- Numbers 6:9
If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day.
- Numbers 6:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Calvin, Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 7.6.7.