Deuteronomy 24:6
in Deuteronomy 24Do not take a pair of millstones or even an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that would be taking one’s livelihood as security.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.
KJV
No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe nether or the upper mill-stone - Small hand-mills which can be worked by a single person were formerly in use among the Jews, and are still used in many parts of the East. As therefore the day’s meal was generally ground for each day, they keeping no stock beforehand, hence they were forbidden to take either of the stones to pledge, because in such a case the family must be without bread. On this account the text terms the millstone the man’s life.
This site's exposition
If a man is newly married
on Deuteronomy 24:5-9
Verses 6 and 7 both guard a man's life. A millstone taken in pledge takes “one’s livelihood”, and kidnapping is capital, as Exodus 21:16 had said.
This site's exposition
a pair of millstones
Each day's grain was ground that morning, so a man whose upper millstone was taken as security had no bread by evening. Wesley extends it to every tool of a man's livelihood.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
PateriusEXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, DEUTERONOMY 16 · Written before 606.
proposed
To take (accipere) means "to take away." Thus those birds that are eager to seize other birds are called hawks (accipiter). Paul says, "For you bear it, if anyone consumes you, if anyone takes you." The same would be true if he said, if anyone …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Mill-stone - Used in their hand-mills. Under this, he understands all other things necessary to get a livelihood, the taking away whereof is against the laws both of charity and prudence, seeing by those things alone he can be enabled both to subsist and to pay his debts.
No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge,....
This teaches us to consult the comfort and subsistence of others as much as our own advantage. That creditor who cares not though his debtor and his family starve, nor is at all concerned what become of them, so he may but get his money or secure it, goes contrary, not only to the law of Christ, but even to the law of Moses too.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge--The "upper" stone being concave, covers the "nether" like a lid; and it has a small aperture, through which the corn is poured, as well as a handle by which it is turned. The propriety of the law was founded on the custom of grinding corn every morning for daily consumption.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַחֲבֹ֥ל | yachavol | anyone will take as pledge | H2254 → | 27 times |
| רֵחַ֖יִם | rechayim | a hand-mill | H7347 → | |
| וָרָ֑כֶב | varakhev | and an upper millstone | H7393 → | 119 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נֶ֖פֶשׁ | nefesh | a life | H5315 → | 754 times |
| ה֥וּא | hu' | that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| חֹבֵֽל׃ ס | chovel | [is] taking as pledge | H2254 → | 27 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַחֲבֹ֥לanyone will take as pledge
yachavolH2254 →27 times
רֵחַ֖יִםa hand-mill
rechayimH7347 →
וָרָ֑כֶבand an upper millstone
varakhevH7393 →119 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נֶ֖פֶשׁa life
nefeshH5315 →754 times
ה֥וּאthat
hu'H1931 →1879 times
חֹבֵֽל׃ ס[is] taking as pledge
chovelH2254 →27 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
Luke 12:15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
- 1 Timothy 6:6–10
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
- Psalms 119:36–37
Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
- Proverbs 15:16
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
- Proverbs 16:16
How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
- Hebrews 13:5
Through
Revelation 18:22And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 26:13
So I will silence the sound of your songs, and the music of your lyres will no longer be heard.
- Jeremiah 25:10
Moreover, I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
- Ezekiel 26:13
Through
Deuteronomy 20:19When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat…
it leads to
- Matthew 3:10
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
- Matthew 3:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies14
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; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Paterius, EXPOSITION OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, DEUTERONOMY 16.