Deuteronomy
Chapter 23
Incest
No man shall take his father’s wife; let him not dishonor his father.
Law on the Purity of the Assembly
The man whose testicles are crushed and whose penis is cut shall not be admitted into the assembly of the Lord.
Nor shall the half-breed be admitted into the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation.
The Ammonite or Moabite shall never be admitted into the assembly of the Lord, even after the tenth generation,
because when you came forth from Egypt, they did not go out to meet you with bread and water. Still, instead, they hired Balaam, the son of Beor, from Pethor in Mesopotamia, to curse you.
But the Lord, your God, did not listen to Balaam and turned the curse into a blessing because the Lord loves you.
You shall never share your prosperity or happiness with these people.
You shall not regard the Edomite as abominable, for he is your brother, or the Egyptian, because you were a pilgrim in his land.
From the third generation, their descendants can be admitted into the assembly of the Lord.
Law on the Purity of the Camp
When you set out against your enemies, you shall keep yourselves from every evil act.
If there is among you a man who is not clean because of nocturnal emission, he shall go and stay outside the camp.
When evening comes, he shall bathe himself; after sunset, he may enter the camp.
You shall have a place outside the camp for your natural needs.
You shall bring a stick with your equipment to dig a hole and cover the excrement with the soil unearthed.
Because the Lord, your God, walks in the camp to protect you and give your enemy into your hands; your camp must be sacred, that the Lord may not see anything indecent in it; otherwise, he will turn away from you.
Law Concerning Runaway Slaves
You shall not turn over to his master the slave who ran away from his house and sought refuge with you.
He shall stay with you among your household, in the place he chooses in one of your cities, where it seems best for him. You shall not oppress him.
Various Laws
There shall not be among the daughters of Israel a consecrated prostitute or a consecrated homosexual among the sons of Israel.
You shall not bring into the house of the Lord, your God, a gift for prostitutes, or the wages of a dog, that is, a homosexual, to pay for the vow that you have made, for both of these are abominable in the eyes of the Lord.
You shall not lend with interest to your brothers in money, food, or anything else.
You can lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your brother, so that the Lord, your God, may bless you in all your undertakings in the land you are to possess.
If you make any vow to the Lord, you shall not be late in fulfilling it, for the Lord will indeed require it of you, and it would be charged as a sin against you.
If you abstain from making vows, you do not commit any sin.
Fulfill your promises, and if you make any vow, you shall offer what you have promised to the Lord.
If you go through your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you wish, but you may not bring any away.
If you pass through the wheat fields of your neighbor, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing wheat.
Commentaries
Sexual Relations.
Four cases are considered irregular in marriage. The first involves unjust accusations against the husband (13-19), which are punished with a fine paid to the father of the young woman for having defamed an Israelite virgin (19). Additionally, he must continue living with her and cannot dismiss her during his lifetime (19b). If the husband’s accusations prove true, the woman is to be stoned to death for having prostituted her father’s house (21). The primary concern here is the virginity of Israel, symbolized by the virginity of young Israelite women. The second case, also considered wicked, is adultery, where both parties are to die to eliminate the sin among the people (22). The third case is rape (23-29), which has two different aspects: 1. If the girl was engaged and caught with another in a crowded area, both are to die; she for not asking for help, and he for dishonoring his neighbor’s wife (24). If the girl was not engaged and was forcibly taken in an unpopulated area, the man must pay a fine to her father and take her as his wife, with no option of dismissing her ever (28f). The fourth case forbids having relations with the father’s wife (23:1); it’s assumed this refers not to the mother but to the stepmother, one of the wives of a polygamous father. In all cases, the main goal is to protect and uphold the virginity of Israelite girls, who symbolize the virginity of the people dedicated solely to the Lord, their spouse (cf. Hos 2:21f).
Law on the Purity of the Assembly.
These verses specify who should be allowed and who should be excluded from the Lord’s assembly. This law, which excludes certain Israelites and non-Israelites, is connected to 22:5.9.10.11 (cf. Lv 19:19). It is likely that the exclusion of individuals with mutilated or deformed genitals (2) does not relate to disease but rather to those who, through some religious practice, have castrated themselves. Also excluded are bastards “to the tenth generation” (3); children born from sacred prostitution, which is abominable to Israel (cf. 23:18f); and finally, those from peoples who are eternal enemies of Israel (4-9).
Of course, such a highly exclusive law does not fit the image of the compassionate and merciful God we see in the Bible and that, through Jesus Christ, has revealed himself as he truly is: a Father who welcomes and loves everyone without any distinction (cf. Acts 10:34f), who “makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust” (Mt 5:45).
Law on the Purity of the Camp.
Reflecting the purity of the Lord’s assembly, this law addresses individual purity (verses 10-12) and camp purity (verses 13-15). The basis for this law is rooted in God’s purity and holiness, as he “walks through the camp to give you victory” (verse 15), requiring all to be purified and sanctified. This highlights the close connection between God’s holiness and the holiness of those who serve him, especially in this case, an assembly primarily prepared for war.
Law Concerning Runaway Slaves.
A slave who escaped from his master’s house could not be returned; if he sought asylum, it was to be granted, allowing him to live wherever he chose without harm or exploitation. This law, already infused with the Gospel, reminds us of the attitude Paul adopted and requested of his friend Philemon regarding the slave Onesimus (cf. Phlm 8-20).
Various laws.
These laws generally fall into five main categories.
1. Socio-religious laws: the ban on sacred prostitution, which was common among the neighboring peoples of Israel (23:18f) and was generally connected to fertility and fecundity rituals (cfr. Lv 19:29; 1 Kgs 14:24; 15:12; 22:47; 2 Kgs 23:7); laws on vows (23:22-24; cf. Nm 30:1-16); the law forbidding the execution of children for their parents’ sins (24:16; cf. Ezek 18:1-20); and laws regarding ritual and cultic purity (24:8f; cf. Lv 13:1-14:54).
2. Socio-economic laws aimed at supporting the most vulnerable, including orphans, widows, and emigrants: law on the non-collection of interest (23:20; cf. 15:7-11; Ex 22:25; Lv 25:36f); law on the proper use of neighbors’ goods (23:25f); law on loans and pledges (23:20f; 24:6.10-13.17); law on loans and promises of pawn (23:20f; 24:6, 10-13.17); law on the use of a neighbor’s goods (23:20f; cf. Ezk 15:7-11; cf. Ex 22:25; Lv 25:36f); law about justice with the day laborer (24:14f); law regulating harvest gathering (24:19-22; cf. Lv 19:9f); law on weights and measures (25:13-16; cf. Lv 19:35f; Am 8:5; Mic 6:10f).
3. Socio-familial laws that govern family relationships arising from the institution of marriage include the law on divorce (24:1-4), the regulation of newlyweds (24:5), and the law requiring a brother-in-law to protect the widow, known as the law of levirate marriage (25:5-10; cf. Gn 38:8).
4. Penal laws regarding penalties and sentences for specific crimes: concerning kidnapping (24:7); related to criminal procedure (25:1-3.11f).
5. Socio-political laws that govern relations with specific groups, particularly the Amalekites (25:17-19).