REGULATION CONCERNING VIOLENT DEATH WHERE THE MURDERER IS NOT KNOWN (DEUTERONOMY 21:1). While for convenience we are splitting up Moses' speech into parts it should be noted that it is our arrangement and not his. In fact as we have already noted chapter 19 connects back to what has gone before, but... [ Continue Reading ]
IV. FURTHER REGULATIONS CENTRAL TO THE MAINTENANCE OF SOCIETY AND THE MAINTENANCE OF FAMILY UNITY (DEUTERONOMY 21:10). The remainder of Deuteronomy 21 deals with what is to happen in certain cases concerning close relatives. Its stress is on the maintenance of family life in harmony, and on the hon... [ Continue Reading ]
TREATMENT OF AN UNLOVED WIFE AND THE RIGHT OF THE FIRSTBORN (DEUTERONOMY 21:15). The faltering love of a man for a beautiful captive leads on to the case where a man's love for a wife has waned. The stress is on fair treatment and harmony in the family. Analysis using the words of Moses: a If a m... [ Continue Reading ]
REBELLION AGAINST PARENTAL AUTHORITY (DEUTERONOMY 21:18). Parental concern for the son as revealed in Deuteronomy 21:15 now leads on to the case where a son is a rebellious troublemaker. Again the desire is to maintain the harmony of the family. In Deuteronomy 21:15 the father was seen as behaving... [ Continue Reading ]
DISPOSAL OF BODIES WHICH ARE ACCURSED (DEUTERONOMY 21:22). The thought of the stoning of a son who was worthy of death leads on to the question of what was done with the body of such a person. Analysis using the words of Moses: a And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to... [ Continue Reading ]