CHAPTER XXIV _The case of a divorced wife_, 1-4. _No man shall be obliged to undertake any public service for the_ _first year of his marriage_, 5. _The mill-stones shall not be taken as a pledge_, 6. _The man-stealer shall be put to death_, 7. _Concerning cases of leprosy_, 8, 9. _Of receivi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:3. _AND WRITE HER A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT_] These bills, though varying in expression, are the same in substance among the Jews in all places. The following, collected from Maimonides and others, is a general form, and contains all the particulars of such instruments. The reader w... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:4. _SHE IS DEFILED_] Does not this refer to her having been divorced, and married in consequence to another? Though God, for the hardness of their hearts, suffered them to put away their wives, yet he considered all after-marriages in that case to be pollution and defilement; a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:5. _WHEN A MAN HATH TAKEN A NEW WIFE_] Other people made a similar provision for such circumstances. Alexander ordered those of his soldiers who had married that year to spend the winter with their wives, while the army was in winter quarters. See Arrian, lib. i.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:6. _THE NETHER OR THE UPPER MILL-STONE_] Small hand-mills which can be worked by a single person were formerly in use among the Jews, and are still used in many parts of the East. As therefore the day's meal was generally ground for each day, they keeping no stock beforehand, he... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:8-5. _THE PLAGUE OF LEPROSY_] See on Leviticus 13:1... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:12. _AND IF THE MAN BE POOR, C._] Did not this law preclude pledging _entirely_, especially in case of the abjectly poor? For who would take a pledge in the morning which he knew, if not redeemed, he must restore at night? However, he might resume his claim in the morning, and h... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:15. _HE IS POOR, AND SETTETH HIS HEART UPON IT_] How exceedingly natural is this! The poor servant who seldom sees money, yet finds from his master's affluence that it procures all the conveniences and comforts of life, longs for the time when he shall receive his wages; should... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:16. _THE FATHERS SHALL NOT BE PUT TO DEATH FOR THE_ _CHILDREN, C._] This law is explained and illustrated in sufficient detail, Ezekiel 18:1 c.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:18. _THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A BONDMAN_] Most people who have affluence rose from comparative penury, for those who are _born_ to estates frequently squander them away; such therefore should remember _what_ their feelings, their fears, and anxieties were, when _they_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Deuteronomy 24:19. _WHEN THOU CUTTEST DOWN THINE HARVEST_] This is an addition to the law, Leviticus 19:9; Leviticus 23:22. The _corners_ of the field, the _gleanings_, and the _forgotten sheaf_, were all the property of the poor. This the Hebrews extended to any part of the fruit or produce o... [ Continue Reading ]