Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 24
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Deuteronomy 24
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Deuteronomy 24
"When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man`s [wife]. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, who took her to be his wife; her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before Jehovah: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." — Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (ASV)
Deuteronomy 24:1–4. DIVORCE.
Some uncleanness. —Evidently, mere caprice and dislike are not intended here. There must be some real ground of complaint. (See Margin.)
Let him write her a bill of divorcement. —Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives, is the Divine comment upon this. It is a distinct concession to the weakness of Israel—not the ideal standard of the Law, but the highest which it was found practicable to enforce. (See Matthew 19:2 and following.)
There are many other particular enactments in the Law of Moses of which the same thing may be said. The ideal standard of morality has never varied. There is no higher ideal than that of the Pentateuch. But the Law which was actually enforced, in many particulars fell short of that ideal.
If the latter husband hate her. —Rashi says here that “the Scripture intimates that the end of such a marriage will be that he will hate her.” He makes a similar remark on the marriage with the captive in Deuteronomy 21:0. The result of the marriage will be a hated wife, and a firstborn son of her, who will be a glutton and a drunkard.
Her former husband ... may not take her again ... and thou shalt not cause the land to sin. —The comment upon this, supplied by Jeremiah 3:1, is singularly beautiful. They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? Shall not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.
"When a man taketh a new wife, he shall not go out in the host, neither shall he be charged with any business: he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he hath taken." — Deuteronomy 24:5 (ASV)
Deuteronomy 24:5-25:19
VARIOUS PRECEPTS OF HUMANITY.
He shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business. —He shall not go forth in warfare, neither shall warfare come upon him in any form. In Numbers 4:23; Numbers 4:30 the service of the tabernacle is called its “warfare.”
He shall be free at home. —Literally, he shall be clear for his home; free from all charges, so as to belong to that.
"No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he taketh [a man`s] life to pledge." — Deuteronomy 24:6 (ASV)
The nether or the upper millstone. —Literally, the two millstones, or even the upper one.
A man’s life. —Literally, a soul. This word connects the two verses (Deuteronomy 24:6–7).
"If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee." — Deuteronomy 24:7 (ASV)
If a man be found stealing (a soul) any of his brethren ... —See Exodus 21:16.
Take heed in the plague of leprosy... . Remember what the Lord thy God did to Miriam. —The point here seems to be that though Miriam was one of the three leaders of Israel (I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam—Micah 6:4), yet she was shut out of the camp for seven days (Numbers 12:14) when suddenly stricken with leprosy.
There might be a tendency to relax the law in the case of great or wealthy persons. But this would be felt keenly by poorer lepers, who could obtain no exemption. Moses, whose own sister had suffered from the leprosy and had been treated according to the strict letter of the law, would never consent to any relaxation of it.
The priests the Levites. —The law of leprosy was one of the laws which the priests in particular were ordered to administer. Aaron looked on Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous. It seems impossible to maintain that the Levites in general are meant here. The writer evidently had personal knowledge of the case of Miriam. Had he or his first readers lived in later times, he would have explained his meaning more fully.
"When thou dost lend thy neighbor any manner of loan, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand without, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring forth the pledge without unto thee. And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge; thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before Jehovah thy God." — Deuteronomy 24:10-13 (ASV)
When you do lend. —The law in these verses is evidently the production of primitive and simple times, when people had little more than the bare necessaries of life to offer as security—their own clothing, or the millstones used to prepare their daily food, being almost their only portable property. .
It shall be righteousness. —LXX., it shall be alms, or mercy. In other words, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Jump to: