Deuteronomy 21
Overview
21:1 The expiation of an uncertain murder;
21:10 The usage of a captive taken to wife;
21:15 The first-born is not to be disinherited upon private affection;
21:18 A rebellious son is to be stoned to death;
21:22 The malefactor must not hang all night on a tree. Verse 1Psalm 5:6, 9:12; Proverbs 28:17; Isaiah 26:21; Acts 28:4ReciprocalGenesis 9:5 - and at; Exodus 21:29 - his owner also; Numbers 35:33 - it defileth; 2 Samuel 3:28 - guiltless; 14:9 - and the king; 21:9 - before the Lord; 1 Kings 21:8 - the elders Verse 2Deuteronomy 16:18, 16:19; Romans 13:3, 13:4ReciprocalDeuteronomy 21:19 - and bring Verse 3anNumbers 19:2; Jeremiah 31:18; Matthew 11:28-30; Philippians 2:8ReciprocalLeviticus 4:15 - the elders Verse 4a rough valleyAs the word nachal signifies both a torrent, and the valley or glen through which it flows, nachal aithan may be rendered a rapid torrent. Many torrents in Judea are dry during a great part of the year; when not only their banks but their beds may be ploughed, and yield a crop. Hence there is no impropriety in specifying that such a place should be one that "is neither cared nor sown;" while the circumstance that the elders were to wash their hands over the heifer, whose head had been struck off into the stream, confirms this interpretation. The spot of ground where this sacrifice was made must be uncultivated, because it was considered as a sacrifice for the atonement of murder, and, consequently, would pollute the land.shall strike1 Peter 2:21-24, 3:18ReciprocalGenesis 45:6 - earing; Exodus 34:21 - earing; Isaiah 30:24 - ear the ground Verse 5for themDeuteronomy 10:8, 18:5; Numbers 6:22-27; 1 Chronicles 23:13 by their wordDeuteronomy 17:8-12; Malachi 2:7 wordHeb. mouthReciprocalLeviticus 9:22 - his hand; Numbers 3:16 - word; 6:23 - General; Deuteronomy 19:17 - General; 2 Chronicles 19:8 - the judgment; Ezekiel 42:13 - approach Verse 6wash their handsWashing the hands was anciently a symbolical action, denoting that the person was innocent of the crime in question. Job 9:30; Psalm 19:12, 26:6, 51:2, 51:7, 51:14, 73:13; Jeremiah 2:22; Matthew 27:24, 27:25; Habakkuk 3:1Reciprocal1 Timothy 1:9 - manslayers Verse 7Numbers 5:19-28; 2 Samuel 16:8; Job 21:21-23, 21:31-34; Psalm 7:3, 7:4ReciprocalMatthew 5:21 - and; 23:35 - upon; 27:24 - and washed Verse 8lay notNumbers 35:33; 2 Samuel 3:28; 2 Kings 24:4; Psalm 19:12; Jeremiah 26:15; Ezekiel 23:3, 23:24, 23:25; Jonah 1:14; Matthew 23:35; 1 Thessalonians 2:15, 2:16 unto thy peopleHeb. in the midstReciprocalDeuteronomy 9:26 - which thou hast brought forth; 19:10 - General; 1 Kings 2:31 - that thou; 2 Kings 21:16 - Manasseh; Psalm 67:1 - God Verse 9shalt thouDeuteronomy 19:12, 19:13 when thou shalt13:18; 2 Kings 10:30, 10:31Reciprocal1 Kings 2:31 - that thou; 2 Kings 21:16 - Manasseh; Psalm 106:38 - shed Verse 10thou goestDeuteronomy 20:10-16ReciprocalNumbers 31:18 - keep alive for yourselves Verse 11desireGenesis 6:2, 12:14, 12:15, 29:18-20, 34:3, 34:8; Judges 14:2, 14:3; Proverbs 6:25, 31:10, 31:30 thatNumbers 31:18ReciprocalExodus 21:8 - who hath; Isaiah 2:6 - and they; Daniel 11:37 - the desire Verse 12and she shallThis was in token of renouncing her religion, and becoming a proselyte to that of the Jews. This is still a custom in the East: when a Christian turns Mohammedan, his head is shaved, and he is carried through the city, crying, la eelah eela allah wemochammed resoolu 7 llahee, "There is no God but the God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God." 1 Corinthians 11:6; Ephesians 4:22 pare her nailsor, suffer to grow, Heb. make, or dress, Wea?sethah eth tzipparneyha, "and she shall make her nails;" i.e., probably neither paring nor letting them grow, but dressing or beautifying them as the Eastern women still do by tinging them with the leaves of an odoriferous plant called alhenna, which Hasselquist (p. 246) informs us, "grows in India and in upper and lower Egypt, flowering from May to August. The leaves are pulverized and made into a paste with water: they bind this paste on the nails of their hands and feet, and keep it on all night. This gives them a deep yellow, which is greatly admired by Eastern nations. The colour lasts for three or four weeks before there is occasion to renew it. The custom is so ancient in Egypt, that I have seen the nails of mummies dyed in this manner.Reciprocal2 Samuel 19:24 - dressed his feet; 1 Corinthians 11:5 - shaven Verse 13and bewailPsalm 45:10, 45:11; Luke 14:26, 14:27ReciprocalGenesis 50:3 - threescore; 2 Samuel 21:10 - from the; Hosea 3:3 - Thou shalt abide Verse 14thou shaltExodus 21:7-11 because thouDeuteronomy 22:19, 22:24, 22:29; Genesis 34:2; Judges 19:24ReciprocalEsther 2:14 - delighted Verse 15two wivesGenesis 29:18, 29:20, 29:30, 29:31, 29:33; 1 Samuel 1:4, 1:5ReciprocalDeuteronomy 24:1 - hath taken; 2 Chronicles 11:22 - made Abijah; 21:3 - gave them; Malachi 1:3 - hated; Luke 14:26 - hate; Romans 9:13 - hated Verse 161 Chronicles 5:2, 26:10; 2 Chronicles 11:19-22, 21:3; Romans 8:29; Philippians 4:8; Habakkuk 3:1, 3:1ReciprocalProverbs 19:14 - the inheritance; Malachi 1:3 - hated; Luke 15:12 - give Verse 17by givingGenesis 25:5, 25:6, 25:32, 25:34; 1 Chronicles 5:1, 5:2 that he hathHeb. that is found with himthe beginningGenesis 49:3; Psalm 105:36 the rightGenesis 25:31-34Reciprocal48:22 - given; Joshua 17:1 - the firstborn; 2 Kings 2:9 - a double portion; Isaiah 61:7 - your shame; Luke 15:12 - give; Habakkuk 3:1 - the firstborn Verse 18have a stubbornProverbs 28:24, 30:11, 30:17; Isaiah 1:2 obey the voiceDeuteronomy 27:16; Exodus 20:12, 21:15, 21:17; Leviticus 19:3, 21:9; Proverbs 15:5, 20:20; Ezekiel 22:7 when theyDeuteronomy 8:5; 2 Samuel 7:14; Proverbs 13:24, 19:18, 22:15, 23:13, 23:14, 29:17; Habakkuk 3:1-12:11 will notIsaiah 1:5; Jeremiah 5:3, 31:18; Ezekiel 24:13; Amos 4:11, 4:12Reciprocal2 Samuel 18:5 - Deal gently; Proverbs 1:8 - hear; 6:20 - General; 15:32 - heareth; 19:26 - wasteth; 23:22 - Hearken; Matthew 15:4 - He; Romans 1:30 - disobedient; Ephesians 6:1 - obey; Colossians 3:20 - obey Verse 19and bringDeuteronomy 21:2, 16:18, 25:7; Zechariah 13:3ReciprocalGenesis 22:17 - thy seed; 24:60 - thy seed; Deuteronomy 25:6 - that his name; Ruth 4:1 - to the gate; Job 29:7 - General; Proverbs 31:23 - in the; Jeremiah 38:7 - the king Verse 20he will notProverbs 29:17 he is a glutton19:26, 20:1, 23:19-21, 23:29-35ReciprocalDeuteronomy 19:19 - so shalt; Proverbs 15:32 - heareth; 23:21 - the drunkard; 30:11 - that curseth; Galatians 5:21 - drunkenness; Ephesians 5:18 - be not; 2 Peter 2:10 - despise Verse 21all the menDeuteronomy 13:10, 13:11, 17:5; Leviticus 24:16 so shalt thouDeuteronomy 13:5, 13:11, 19:19, 19:20, 22:21, 22:24 all Israel13:11ReciprocalLeviticus 20:2 - the people; 24:14 - let all the; Joshua 7:25 - all Israel; Judges 20:13 - put away; 1 Kings 21:13 - they carried him; Esther 1:20 - throughout; Job 34:26 - in; Proverbs 19:25 - Smite; 21:11 - the scorner; 24:32 - I looked; 30:11 - that curseth; Ezekiel 31:14 - the end; Acts 5:5 - great; 1 Corinthians 5:13 - Therefore; 1 Timothy 5:20 - that others; 2 Peter 2:10 - despise; Revelation 2:23 - and all Verse 22Joshua 8:29, 10:26
So in Numbers 25:4, we read, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads (chief men) of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel." Among the Romans, in after ages, they hanged, or rather fastened to the tree ALIVE; and such was the cruel death of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 19:6, 22:26; 1 Samuel 26:16; Matthew 26:66; Acts 23:29, 25:11, 25:25, 26:31 worthy of deathHeb. of the judgment of death, The Hebrews understand this not of putting to death by hanging, but of hanging a man up after he was stoned to death; which was done more ignominiously of some heinous malefactors. We have the examples of Rechab and Baanah, who, for murdering Ish-bosheth, were slain by David's commandment, their hand and feet cut off, and then hanged up. 2 Samuel 4:12 thou hang21:6, 21:9; Luke 23:33; John 19:31-38ReciprocalGenesis 40:19 - hang thee; Judges 19:29 - with her bones; Esther 2:23 - hanged; John 12:32 - if; Romans 6:21 - for the; 1 Peter 2:24 - the tree
Verse 23he that is hanged is accursed of GodHeb. the curse of God, That is, it is the highest degree of reproach that can attach to a man, and proclaims him under the curse of God as much as any external punishment can. They that see him thus hanging between heaven and earth, will conclude him abandoned of both, and unworthy of either. Bp. Patrick observes, that this passage is applied to the death of Christ; not only because he bare our sins and was exposed to shame, as these malefactors were that were accursed of God, but because he was in the evening taken down from the cursed tree and buried - and that by the particular care of the Jews, with an eye to this law, John 19:31
in token, that now the guilt being removed, the law was satisfied, as it was when the malefactors had hanged till sun-set: it demanded no more. Then he, and those that are his, ceased to be a curse. And as the land of Israel was pure and clean when the body was buried, so the church is washed and cleansed by the complete satisfaction which Christ thus made. Deuteronomy 7:26; Numbers 25:4; Joshua 7:12; 2 Samuel 21:6; Romans 9:3; Galatians 3:13; 1 Corinthians 16:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21 thy landLeviticus 18:25; Numbers 35:33, 35:34ReciprocalGenesis 40:19 - hang thee; Joshua 8:29 - the king; 10:26 - hanged; 10:27 - they took; Judges 19:29 - with her bones; 2 Samuel 4:12 - hanged; 18:9 - taken up; 2 Kings 10:8 - until the morning; Esther 2:23 - hanged; 9:13 - let Haman's ten sons be hanged; Jeremiah 2:7 - ye defiled; Ezekiel 39:12 - cleanse; Mark 15:24 - crucified; Luke 23:33 - they crucified; John 12:32 - if; 18:32 - what; Acts 5:6 - General; 1 Corinthians 12:3 - accursed; Philippians 2:8 - the death; 1 Peter 2:24 - the tree