Deuteronomy 28:57
in Deuteronomy 28the afterbirth that comes from between her legs and the children she bears, because she will secretly eat them for lack of anything else in the siege and distress that your enemy will inflict on you within your gates.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
KJV
And toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 28
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet,.... Or her secundine, "her afterbirth", as in the margin of our Bibles; so the Targum of Jonathan and Aben Ezra interpret it.
This site's exposition
The tender and delicate woman among you
on Deuteronomy 28:56-57
The woman of verse 56 is described before her act is named, so delicate that she would not set the sole of her foot upon the ground. Her eye turns evil toward her husband, her son and her daughter, the same three degrees of nearness the man's case listed at verse 54. Verse 57 adds that the eating is done secretly, the one detail the man's case did not carry. The chapter states the case and leaves it standing without comment.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Which she shall bear - Or, which she shall have born, that is, her more grown children. She shall eat them - This was fulfilled more than once, to the perpetual reproach of the Jewish nation. Never was the like done either by Greek or Barbarian.
This threatening was fulfilled in the letter of it, more than once, to the perpetual reproach of the Jewish nation: never was the like done either by Greek or barbarian, but in the siege of Samaria, a woman boiled her own son, 2 Kings vi. And it is spoken of as commonly done among them in the siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, Lam. iv.
What is too barbarous for those to do that are abandoned of God! [2.] Sickness is another common effect of a strait and long siege, and that is here threatened: Sore sickness, and of long continuance,
The blessings are here put before the curses, to intimate, 1. That God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy: he has said it, and sworn, that he would much rather we would obey and live than sin and die. It is his delight to bless.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Such were the dreadful extremities to which the inhabitants during the siege were reduced that many women sustained a wretched existence by eating the flesh of their own children. Parental affection was extinguished, and the nearest relatives were jealously, avoided, lest they should discover and demand a share of the revolting viands.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Toward her young one - and toward her children which she shall bear - There seems to be a species of tautology in the two clauses of this verse, which may be prevented by translating the last word, שליתה shilyathah, literally, her secondines, which is the meaning of the Arabic sala, not badly understood by the Septuagint, χοριον αυτης, the chorion or exterior membrane, which invests the fetus in the womb; and still better translated by Luther, the after-birth; which saying of Moses strongly marks the deepest distress, when the mother is represented as feeling the most poignant regret that her child was brought forth into such a state of suffering and death; and 2dly, that it was likely, from the favorable circumstances after the birth, that she herself should survive her inlaying.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּֽבְשִׁלְיָתָ֞הּ | uveshilyatah | and on afterbirth her | H7988 → | |
| הַיּוֹצֵ֣ת׀ | haiyotzet | which goes forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מִבֵּ֣ין | mibein | from between | H996 → | 407 times |
| רַגְלֶ֗יהָ | ragleiha | feet her | H7272 → | 247 times |
| וּבְבָנֶ֙יהָ֙ | uvevaneiha | and on children her | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תֵּלֵ֔ד | teled | she will bear | H3205 → | 496 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֹאכְלֵ֥ם | tokhlem | she will eat them | H398 → | 810 times |
| בְּחֹֽסֶר־ | bechoser- | in lack of | H2640 → | |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | everything | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בַּסָּ֑תֶר | basater | in <the> secrecy | H5643 → | 36 times |
| בְּמָצוֹר֙ | bematzor | in [the] siege | H4692 → | 25 times |
| וּבְמָצ֔וֹק | uvematzok | and in [the] distress | H4689 → | 6 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָצִ֥יק | yatzik | he will bring distress | H6693 → | 11 times |
| לְךָ֛ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֹיִבְךָ֖ | ʾoyivkha | enemy your | H341 → | 282 times |
| בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ | bishareikha | in gates your | H8179 → | 374 times |
וּֽבְשִׁלְיָתָ֞הּand on afterbirth her
uveshilyatahH7988 →
הַיּוֹצֵ֣ת׀which goes forth
haiyotzetH3318 →1067 times
מִבֵּ֣יןfrom between
mibeinH996 →407 times
רַגְלֶ֗יהָfeet her
ragleihaH7272 →247 times
וּבְבָנֶ֙יהָ֙and on children her
uvevaneihaH1121 →4930 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תֵּלֵ֔דshe will bear
teledH3205 →496 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תֹאכְלֵ֥םshe will eat them
tokhlemH398 →810 times
בְּחֹֽסֶר־in lack of
bechoser-H2640 →
כֹּ֖לeverything
kolH3605 →5413 times
בַּסָּ֑תֶרin <the> secrecy
basaterH5643 →36 times
בְּמָצוֹר֙in [the] siege
bematzorH4692 →25 times
וּבְמָצ֔וֹקand in [the] distress
uvematzokH4689 →6 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יָצִ֥יקhe will bring distress
yatzikH6693 →11 times
לְךָ֛to <the> you
lekha
אֹיִבְךָ֖enemy your
ʾoyivkhaH341 →282 times
בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃in gates your
bishareikhaH8179 →374 times
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
Isaiah 49:15“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!
it leads to
- Psalms 103:13
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
- Isaiah 44:21
Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are My servant, O Israel. I have made you, and you are My servant; O Israel, I will never forget you.
- Matthew 7:11
So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
- Jeremiah 31:20
Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares…
- Hosea 11:1
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
- Psalms 103:13
Through
Genesis 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
it leads to
- Numbers 24:17
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Psalms 60:7
Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
- Numbers 24:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.