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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:17
A double portion; literally, a mouth of two; i.e. a portion (so "mouth" is used in 2 Kings 2:9; Zechariah 13:8) equal to that of two; consequently, the firstborn inherited twice as much as any of the other sons. Amongst…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:18-21
If a son was refractory and unmanageable by his parents, if, given to sensual indulgence, he would yield neither to reproof nor to chastisement,—the parents were to lay hold on him, and lead him to the ciders of the tow…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:18-21
A bad son a State peril. This is a very remarkable provision. It is based on the well-known fact that there are some who need a strong deterrent to keep them from being a plague and peril to a State, and also on the all…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:18-23
Parental authority enforced. It is plain that parents are to deal with their children to the best of their ability: but in case a stubborn and rebellious son would not hearken to father or mother, would not appreciate c…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:18-21
The rebellious son. A law of this kind, which left it to the parents themselves to impeach their disobedient son, while ordaining that, when the charge was proved against him, and it could be shown that the parents had…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:18-21
A slippery path to ruin. It is of the first importance that a child should begin life well. A twist in the young stem will develop into a gnarled and crooked tree. A slight divergence at the outset of a voyage may end i…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:20
He will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. Gluttony and drunkenness were regarded by the Hebrews as highly criminal. The word rendered by "glutton," however ( זוֹלַל, from זָלַל, to shake, to shake out…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:21
The penalty of such crimes was death; but the power of inflicting this was not among the Hebrews—as among some other ancient peoples, the Greeks and Romans, for instance—left with the father; the punishment could be inf…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:22
If a man have committed a sin worthy of death; literally, If there be on a man a judgment of death; if he lie under sentence of death. Hang him on a tree. This refers not to putting to death by strangling, but to the im…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:23
He that is hanged is accursed of God; literally, a curse of God. Some take this as meaning an insult to God, a contemning of him, "since man his image is thus given up to scorn and insult" (Rashi). But the more probable…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:1
Go astray; wandering at large. The Hebrew verb means primarily to seduce, draw aside, or entice (cf. Deuteronomy 13:6); and in the passive conveys the idea of wandering through being drawn away by some enticement. Hide…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:1-30
EXPOSITION REGULATIONS REGARDING CATTLE STRAYED OR THINGS LOST, THE APPAREL OF THE SEXES, THE TAKING OF BIRDS, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES. CONFUSIONS TO BE AVOIDED. FRINGES TO BE MADE ON VESTMENTS. PUNISHMENT OF WIF…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Moses repeats here the law formerly given (Exodus 23:4, Exodus 23:5), with additional details. Not only the ox or the ass that had strayed was to be taken and restored to its owner, but articles of raiment, and, in shor…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:1-4
The duty of cultivating neighborly kindness. It will be a valuable study in Divine ethics if we first of all show what it is which is here required of the Hebrews, and then, with the Mosaic teaching for a starting-point…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Love unfeigned. The precepts in these verses fairly anticipate the gospel love of one's neighbor, and even its inculcation of love to enemies (cf. Exodus 23:4, Exodus 23:5). Whatever authority the scribes in Christ's ti…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Consideration for man and beast. We have here such express directions given as should have made of the Israelites a most neighborly people. The finding of lost oxen, or sheep, or asses, or raiment, is here made to carry…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Brotherly service in daily life. In a healthy state, our souls should so overflow with love, that every neighbor should be regarded as a brother. If the esteem should not at first be reciprocated, our kindness would sof…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:4
An animal that had fallen was also to be lifted up, and the owner was to be assisted to do this. In Exodus, it is specially declared that both these services are to be rendered, even though the parties are at enmity wit…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:5
Man and woman. Woman has her rightful place and function in society. So has man his. Their places, while complementary, are distinct. In modern society, a variety of influences—competition in business, difficulty of fin…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:5
The philosophy of clothes. We have here particular directions as to the maintenance of the distinction of dress between the sexes. On the termination of what Carlyle calls "Adamitism," in his 'Sartor Resartus,' when thr…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:5
The divinely instituted distinction between the sexes was to be sacredly observed, and, in order to this, the dress and ether things appropriate to the one were not to be used by the other. That which pertaineth unto a…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:5
Against deceptions in dress. Truthfulness in act is as needful as truthfulness in speech. Our very dress is a manifesto of truth or of falsehood. God has stamped a visible distinction in the appearance of the human sexe…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:6-12
The minutiae of conduct. The Law descends to very slight points of conduct. It keeps in view that character is made up of the result of our actions in the million trivial details of life. "Trifles," said Michael Angelo,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 22:8
Still less was human life to be exposed to danger through neglect of proper precautions. The houses in Palestine, as in other parts of the East, had fiat roofs, and, as these were much frequented by the inhabitants for…