John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 20:19

"When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?" — Deuteronomy 20:19 (ASV)

When thou shalt besiege a city a long time. I have not hesitated to connect this precept to the Eighth Commandment. For when God places a restraint on the freedom to inflict injuries in the very heat of war, regarding the felling of trees, much more did He desire His people to abstain from all harmful acts in times of peace.

The essence is that although the laws of war opened the way for plunder and pillage, they were still to be careful, as much as possible, that the land, being desolated, would not be barren for the future. In short, plunder was to be taken from the enemy in such a way that the benefit to the human race would still be considered, and that future generations might still be nourished by the trees which do not quickly reach fruit-bearing age.

He commands them to spare fruit-trees, first of all, for this reason: because they supply food to all people, and thus the blessing of God is manifested in them. He then adds, as a second reason, that trees are exposed to everyone, by which He signifies that war should not be waged against them as it is against men.

This passage is indeed explained in various ways, but the interpretation I have chosen aligns very well and appears to be the correct one. For,¹⁶⁰ although the letter ה is demonstrative, according to the rules of grammar, and thus points to the enemy, yet, in my opinion, the sentence should be understood interrogatively. But מצור, matzor, signifies a bulwark rather than a siege.

God, therefore, indirectly rebukes the foolishness and madness of people who, when armed, exert their strength against a tree that does not move from its place but waits to meet them. Thus the open field is contrasted with the bulwark.

Meanwhile, God permits ramparts, palisades, and other siege engines to be made from trees that do not bear fruit, and only provides that the storm of war, which ought to be brief, should not strip the land of its adornments for many years. Still, no such strict rule is laid down that a fruit tree may not be cut down if necessity demands it; but God restrains the Israelites from yielding to destruction and devastation driven by anger and hatred, and in forgetfulness of the calls of humanity.

¹⁶⁰ S M. and the LXX. agree in regarding ה as interrogative here, hence S M. renders the clause, “Thinkest thou that the tree of the field is man that he must depart from thy face in the siege?” and he quotes Rabbi Solomon as giving a similar exposition. But he also quotes Aben-Ezra as rendering the clause in the same manner as our A V. The word מצור admits of either of the two interpretations quoted by C. — W