John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 21:10

"When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive," — Deuteronomy 21:10 (ASV)

When you go forth to war. The same thing is now commanded concerning wives as was previously commanded concerning meats. Concerning the Canaanites, who were destined and devoted to destruction, we have seen that the Israelites were prohibited from taking their women as wives, lest this connection should be an enticement to sin. But Moses now goes further, namely, that the Israelites, after obtaining a victory over other nations, should not marry any of the captive women unless they were purified by a solemn rite. This, then, is the essence: the Israelites should not defile themselves with profane marriages but, in this matter also, should keep themselves pure and uncorrupt, because they were separated from other peoples to be the special people of God.

Indeed, it was better that they should abstain altogether from such marriages. Yet it was difficult to restrain their lust to such an extent that they would not deviate from chastity in the slightest degree. From this we learn how much license conquerors allow themselves in war, so that there is no opportunity for perfect purity among them. Therefore, God so moderates His indulgence that the Israelites, remembering the adoption with which He had honored them, should not disgrace themselves but, even in the very fervor of their lust, should retain some religious devotion.

But the issue here is not unlawful rape; Moses only speaks of women who have been made captives by the right of war. For we know that conquerors have abused them with impunity because they had them under their power and dominion. But since many are led astray by the flatteries of their wives, God applies a remedy: namely, that the renunciation of their former life should precede their marriage, and that no one should be allowed to marry a foreign wife until she has first renounced her own nation.

The ceremony refers to this: that the woman should shave her head, cut her nails, change her garments, and mourn her father and her family for an entire month—namely, so that she may renounce her former life and pass over to another people.

Some of the rabbis twist the words to a different meaning, as if God would extinguish love in the minds of the husbands by disfiguring the women. For shaving the head greatly detracts from female beauty and elegance; and “to make the nails,” as the words literally mean, they understand as letting them grow, and the lengthening of the nails has a disgusting appearance. But their interpretation is refuted by the context, in which she is commanded to put off the clothing of her captivity.

But I have no doubt that their month of mourning, their shaven head, and the other signs are intended by God for their renewal, so that they may accustom themselves to different customs. And with the same objective, they are commanded to mourn their parents as if dead, so that they may bid farewell to their own people.

To this the Prophet seems to allude in Psalm 45:10, when he says, Listen, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear; forget also your own people, and your father’s house. For he implies that otherwise the marriage of a foreign woman with Solomon would not be pure and legitimate unless she relinquished her superstitions and devoted herself to God’s service.

Nor was it unnecessary that God should require the Israelites diligently to beware lest they should take wives who were still strangers to the pursuit of true religion, since experience most abundantly shows how fatal a snare it is. But although we are not now bound to this observance, yet the rule still holds true that men should not rashly ally themselves with women still devoted to wicked superstitions.⁵¹

⁵¹ Addition in Fr., “Pour s’envelopper en leur impiete."."