Deuteronomy 21:15
in Deuteronomy 21If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated;
KJV
If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 21
Commentary
7 notes on this verseIf a man have two wives,.... Which is supposed, but not approved of, though permitted because of the hardness of men's hearts; for it was not so from the beginning, when only one man and one woman were created, and joined together in marriage; but as it was connived at, and become customary, a law is made to prevent confusion, and preserve order in families: one beloved and another hated; or less loved, yet continued his wife, and not divorced.
This site's exposition
If a man have two wives
on Deuteronomy 21:15-21
Both household laws take the matter out of the father's hands. The double portion is protected against a father's preference for a favoured wife's son, and the phrase used of the firstborn here, the beginning of his strength, is Jacob's phrase for Reuben at Genesis 49:3, spoken in the house where Genesis 29:31 says Leah was hated. Albert Barnes observes that a father could still set the birthright aside for cause, as Jacob did with Reuben, and that what this statute forbids is doing it out of partiality. A stubborn son is then brought by both parents to the elders in the gate and charged as a glutton and a drunkard, the pair of words at Proverbs 23:20, and the stoning is done by the men of the city, while the rabbinic tradition collected in tractate Sanhedrin narrows the conditions so far that it preserves the opinion that no such case ever came to trial.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And inasmuch as my discourse took as a proof of its assertion that passage in the Book of Deuteronomy which speaks of the man who had two wives, one beloved and the other hated, you seem to have felt much concern lest any one should suppose this man had taken to himself two souls, which is impossible.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It shows how Providence commonly sides with the weakest, and gives more abundant honour to that part which lacked; for the first-born son is here supposed to be hers that was hated; it was so in Jacob's family: because the Lord saw that Leah was hated, Gen. xxix.
Two wives - This practice, though tolerated, is not hereby made lawful; but only provision is made for the children in this case. Hated - Comparatively, that is, less loved.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Moses did not originate the rights of primogeniture (compare Gen 25:31), but recognized 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 it is forbidden here to do so from mere partiality.
One beloved, and another hated - That is, one loved less than the other. This is the true notion of the word hate in Scripture. So Jacob Hated Leah, that is, he loved her less than he did Rachel; and Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I Hated, that is, I have shown a more particular affection to the posterity of Jacob than I have to the posterity of Esau. See the note on Gen 29:31. From this verse we see that polygamy did exist under the Mosaic laws, and that it was put under certain regulations; but it was not enjoined, Moses merely suffered it, because of the hardness of their hearts, as our Lord justly remarks Mat 19:8.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
[AND IT SHALL BE, IF THOU HAVE NO DESIRE FOR HER,] THEN THOU SHALT LET HER GO WHITHER SHE WILL. The Rabbis have said thereon in the Sifre: 44 Sifre, Ki Theitzei. “But not to her fathers’ house.
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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִהְיֶ֨יןָ | tihyeina | they will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְאִ֜ישׁ | leish | to a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| שְׁתֵּ֣י | shetei | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| נָשִׁ֗ים | nashim | wives | H802 → | 781 times |
| הָאַחַ֤ת | haachat | the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| אֲהוּבָה֙ | ʾahuvah | [is] loved | H157 → | 211 times |
| וְהָאַחַ֣ת | vehaachat | and the one | H259 → | 971 times |
| שְׂנוּאָ֔ה | senuah | [is] hated | H8130 → | 146 times |
| וְיָֽלְדוּ־ | veyaldu- | and they will bear | H3205 → | 496 times |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| בָנִ֔ים | vanim | sons | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הָאֲהוּבָ֖ה | haahuvah | the loved [one] | H157 → | 211 times |
| וְהַשְּׂנוּאָ֑ה | vehasenuah | and the hated [one] | H8130 → | 146 times |
| וְהָיָ֛ה | vehayah | and he will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַבֵּ֥ן | haben | the son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַבְּכ֖וֹר | habekhor | the firstborn | H1060 → | 122 times |
| לַשְּׂנִיאָֽה׃ | laseniah | to the hated [wife] | H8146 → |
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תִהְיֶ֨יןָthey will belong
tihyeinaH1961 →3559 times
לְאִ֜ישׁto a man
leishH376 →1663 times
שְׁתֵּ֣יtwo
sheteiH8147 →768 times
נָשִׁ֗יםwives
nashimH802 →781 times
הָאַחַ֤תthe one
haachatH259 →971 times
אֲהוּבָה֙[is] loved
ʾahuvahH157 →211 times
וְהָאַחַ֣תand the one
vehaachatH259 →971 times
שְׂנוּאָ֔ה[is] hated
senuahH8130 →146 times
וְיָֽלְדוּ־and they will bear
veyaldu-H3205 →496 times
ל֣וֹto <the> him
lo
בָנִ֔יםsons
vanimH1121 →4930 times
הָאֲהוּבָ֖הthe loved [one]
haahuvahH157 →211 times
וְהַשְּׂנוּאָ֑הand the hated [one]
vehasenuahH8130 →146 times
וְהָיָ֛הand he will belong
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
הַבֵּ֥ןthe son
habenH1121 →4930 times
הַבְּכ֖וֹרthe firstborn
habekhorH1060 →122 times
לַשְּׂנִיאָֽה׃to the hated [wife]
laseniahH8146 →
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
Genesis 29:18Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
it leads to
- Hosea 12:12
Jacob fled to the land of Aram and Israel worked for a wife—for a wife he tended sheep.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 22:16–17
If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and sleeps with her, he must pay the full dowry for her to be his wife.
- Genesis 34:12
Demand a high dowry and an expensive gift, and I will give you whatever you ask. Only give me the girl as my wife!”
- Hosea 12:12
Through
Genesis 29:20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 13:7
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- Ephesians 5:2
and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
- Song of Solomon 8:6–7
Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest…
- Genesis 24:67
And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.
- 1 Corinthians 13:7
Through
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.
it leads to
- Genesis 34:25
Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.
- Genesis 34:25
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); Ambrose of Milan, Letters 31-40; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.