The expiation of a secret murder. The marrying a captive. The eldest son must not be deprived of his birthright for hatred of his mother. A stubborn son is to be stoned to death. When one is hanged on a gibbet, he must be taken down the same day and buried.
How to seeke out a secrete murtherer. 10. wemen taken in battel may be maried, and afterwardes can not be sold nor made bond wemen. 15. The eldest sonne may not be depriued of his birthright for hatred of his mother. 18. A stubburne sonne must be stoned to death. 22. VVhen one is hanged on a gibbet, he must be taken downe the same day, and buried.
1When there shall be found in the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee, the corpse of a man slain, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder,Quando nella terra, che il Signore Dio tuo ti darà, avvenga che si trovi il cadavere d'un uomo ucciso, senza che sappiasi il reo dell'omicidio,VVHEN there shal be found in the Land, which our Lord thy God wil geue thee, the corps of a man slaine, and he that is guiltie of the murder is not knowneQuando inventum fuerit in terra, quam Dominus Deus tuus daturus est tibi, hominis cadaver occisi, et ignorabitur cædis reus, 2Thy ancients and judges shall go out, and shall measure from the place where the body lieth the distance of every city round about:Andranno i seniori tuoi, e i giudici, e misureranno le distanze di tutte le città, che sono all'intorno del luogo, dov'è il cadavere:thy ancientes, and iudges shal goe forth, and measure from the place of the corps the distance of euerie citie round about:egredientur majores natu, et judices tui, et metientur a loco cadaveris singularum per circuitum spatia civitatum: 3And the ancients of that city which they shall perceive to be nearer than the rest, shall take a heifer of the herd, that hath not drawn in the yoke, nor ploughed the ground,E i seniori di quella città, che troverassi essere più vicina, prenderanno una vitella di branco, che non avrà portato giogo, né rotta terra coll'aratro,and which they shal perceiue to be neerer then the rest, the ancientes of that citie shal take an heifer out of the heard, that hath not drawen yoke, nor ploughed the ground,et quam viciniorem ceteris esse perspexerint, seniores civitatis illius tollent vitulam de armento, quæ non traxit jugum, nec terram scidit vomere, 4And they shall bring her into a rough and stony valley, that never was ploughed, nor sown: and there they shall strike off the head of the heifer:E la condurranno in una valle incolta, e sassosa, la quale non sia stata arata giammai, né seminata: e ivi taglieranno il capo alla vitella:and shal bring her to a rough and stonie valley, that neuer was ploughed, nor receiued seede: and in it they shal strike of the necke of the heifer:et ducent eam ad vallem asperam atque saxosam, quæ numquam arata est, nec sementem recepit: et cædent in ea cervices vitulæ: 5And the priests the sons of Levi shall come, whom the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to bless in his name, and that by their word every matter should be decided, and whatsoever is clean or unclean should be judged.E si accosteranno i sacerdoti figliuoli di Levi eletti dal Signore Dio tuo pel suo ministero, e per dar la benedizione nel nome di lui, secondo il giudizio de' quali si finisce ogni affare, e si determina quel che sia mondo, o immondo;and the priestes the sonnes of Leui shal come, whom our Lord thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to blesse in his name, and at their word euerie matter dependeth, and whatsoeuer is cleane or vncleane must be iudged.accedentque sacerdotes filii Levi, quos elegerit Dominus Deus tuus ut ministrent ei, et benedicant in nomine ejus, et ad verbum eorum omne negotium, et quidquid mundum, vel immundum est, judicetur.
6And the ancients of that city shall come to the person slain, and shall wash their hands over the heifer that was killed in the valley,E si accosteranno i seniori della città al corpo morto, e laveranno le loro mani sopra la vitella uccisa nella valle,And the ancientes of that citie shal come to the slaine person, and shal wash their handes ouer the heifer, that was strooken in the valley,Et venient majores natu civitatis illius ad interfectum, lavabuntque manus suas super vitulam, quæ in valle percussa est, 7And shall say: Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.E diranno: Le nostre mani non hanno sparso questo sangue, né gli occhi nostri han veduto:and shal say: Our handes did not sheede this bloud, nor our eies seee it.et dicent: Manus nostræ non effuderunt sanguinem hunc, nec oculi viderunt: 8Be merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, O Lord, and lay not innocent blood to their charge, in the midst of thy people Israel. And the guilt of blood shall be taken from them:Sii propizio al tuo popolo d'Israele riscattato da te, o Signore, e questo sangue innocente non sia sopra il popol tuo d'Israele. Così non saranno più rei del sangue.be merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redemed o Lord, and impute not innocent bloud in the middes of thy people Israel. And the guilte of bloud shal be taken from them:propitius esto populo tuo Israël, quem redemisti, Domine, et ne reputes sanguinem innocentem in medio populi tui Israël. Et auferetur ab eis reatus sanguinis: 9And thou shalt be free from the innocent’s blood, that was shed, when thou shalt have done what the Lord hath commanded thee.E tu non renderai conto del sangue sparso dall'innocente, quando avrai fatto quel che ha comandato il Signore.and thou shalt be free from the innocents bloud, that was shed, when thou shalt haue done that which our Lord hath commanded thee.tu autem alienus eris ab innocentis cruore, qui fusus est, cum feceris quod præcepit Dominus. 10If thou go out to fight against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God deliver them into thy hand, and thou lead them away captives,Se tu sarai andato a combattere contro de' tuoi nimici, e il Signore Dio tuo gli avrà dati nelle tue mani, e gli avrai fatti prigionieri,If thou goe forth to fight against thyne enemies, and our Lord thy God deliuer them in thy hande and thou leade them away captiue,Si egressus fueris ad pugnam contra inimicos tuos, et tradiderit eos Dominus Deus tuus in manu tua, captivosque duxeris, 11And seest in the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and lovest her, and wilt have her to wife,E vedendo nel numero de' prigionieri una bella donna, le porrai affetto, e bramerai di averla per moglie:and seest in the number of the captiues a beautiful woman, and louest her, and wilt haue her to wife,et videris in numero captivorum mulierem pulchram, et adamaveris eam, voluerisque habere uxorem, 12Thou shalt bring her into thy house: and she shall shave her hair, and pare her nails,Tu la menerai a casa tua, ed ella si toserà la chioma, e si taglierà le unghie,thou shalt bring her into thy house: who shal shaue of her hare, and payre her nailes,introduces eam in domum tuam: quæ radet cæsariem, et circumcidet ungues, 13And shall put off the raiment, wherein she was taken: and shall remain in thy house, and mourn for her father and mother one month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and shalt sleep with her, and she shall be thy wife.E deporrà il vestito, col quale fu presa, e standosi in casa tua piangerà il padre, e la madre sua per un mese: e dipoi tu sarai suo marito, ed ella sarà tua moglie.and put of the rayment, wherein she was taken: and sitting in thy house, shal mourne her father and mother one moneth: and afterward thou shalt enter vnto her, and shalt sleepe with her, and she shal be thy wife.et deponet vestem, in qua capta est: sedensque in domo tua, flebit patrem et matrem suam uno mense: et postea intrabis ad eam, dormiesque cum illa, et erit uxor tua.
14But if afterwards she please thee not, thou shalt let her go free, but thou mayst not sell her for money nor oppress her by might because thou hast humbled her.Che se in appresso non ti desse più nel genio, la rimanderai libera, e non potrai venderla per denaro, né opprimerla con prepotenza, perché tu la umiliasti.But if afterward she content not thy mynde, thou shalt let her goe free, neither canst thou sel her for money, nor oppresse her by might: because thou hast humbled her.Si autem postea non sederit animo tuo, dimittes eam liberam, nec vendere poteris pecunia, nec opprimere per potentiam: quia humiliasti eam. 15If a man have two wives, one beloved, and the other hated, and they have had children by him, and the son of the hated be the firstborn,Se un uomo avrà due mogli, l'una amata, l'altra malveduta, ed elle abbiano avuto da lui de' figliuoli, e il figlio di quella che è mal veduta sia il primogenito,If a man haue two wiues, one beloued, and the other hated, and they haue begotten children by him, and the sonne of the hated be the firstborne,Si habuerit homo uxores duas, unam dilectam, et alteram odiosam, genuerintque ex eo liberos, et fuerit filius odiosæ primogenitus, 16And he meaneth to divide his substance among his sons: he may not make the son of the beloved the firstborn, and prefer him before the son of the hated.Se ei vorrà dividere i suoi beni tra' suoi figliuoli, non potrà far primogenito il figliuolo della sua diletta, e preferirlo al figliuolo della malveduta:and he meaneth to diuide his substance among his sonnes: he can not make the sonne of the beloued the first borne, and preferre him before the sonne of the hated,volueritque substantiam inter filios suos dividere, non poterit filium dilectæ facere primogenitum, et præferre filio odiosæ: 17But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, and shall give him a double portion of all he hath: for this is the first of his children, and to him are due the first birthrights.Ma riconoscerà il figliuolo della malveduta per primogenito, e daragli una doppia porzione di tutto quello che ha: perocché egli è il primo de' suoi figliuoli, e a lui appartiene il diritto di primogenitura.but the sonne of the hated he shal acknowledge for the first borne, and shal geue to him of those thinges, which he hath, al duble: for this is the beginning of his children, & to this are dew the first brith rightes.sed filium odiosæ agnoscet primogenitum, dabitque ei de his quæ habuerit cuncta duplicia: iste est enim principium liberorum ejus, et huic debentur primogenita. 18If a man have a stubborn and unruly son, who will not hear the commandments of his father or mother, and being corrected, slighteth obedience:Se un uomo avrà generata un figliuolo contumace, e protervo, che non ascolta i comandi del padre, o della madre, e gastigato dispettosamente ricusa di obbedire:If a man begette a stubbourne and froward sonne, that wil not heare the commandementes of his father and mother, and being chastened, contemneth to be obedient:Si genuerit homo filium contumacem et protervum, qui non audiat patris aut matris imperium, et coërcitus obedire contempserit:
19They shall take him and bring him to the ancients of the city, and to the gate of judgment,Ei lo prenderanno, e lo condurranno davanti a' seniori di quella città, alla porta, dove si tien ragione,they shal take him, and bring him to the ancientes of his citie, and to the gate of iudgement,apprehendent eum, et ducent ad seniores civitatis illius, et ad portam judicii, 20And shall say to them: This our son is rebellious and stubborn, he slighteth hearing our admonitions, he giveth himself to revelling, and to debauchery and banquetings:E diranno loro: Questo nostro figliuolo è protervo, e contumace, si fa beffe delle nostre ammonizioni, non pensa ad altro, che a bagordi, dissolutezze, e conviti:and shal say to them: This our sonne is froward and stubborne, he contemneth to heare our admonitions, he geueth himself to comessation, and to ryote and banketinges:dicentque ad eos: Filius noster iste protervus et contumax est: monita nostra audire contemnit, comessationibus vacat, et luxuriæ atque conviviis: 21The people of the city shall stone him: and he shall die, that you may take away the evil out of the midst of you, and all Israel hearing it may be afraid.Allora il popolo della città lo lapiderà, ed ei morrà, affinché sia tolta di mezzo a voi l'iniquità, è tutto Israele udendo ciò sia in timore.the people of the citie shal stone him: and he shal die, that you may take away the euil out of the middes of you, and al Israel hearing it may be afrayde.lapidibus eum obruet populus civitatis, et morietur, ut auferatis malum de medio vestri, et universus Israël audiens pertimescat. 22When a man hath committed a crime for which he is to be punished with death, and being condemned to die is hanged on a gibbet:Quando un uomo avrà fatto un peccato da punirsi colla morte, e condannato a morire sarà stato appeso al patibolo,When a man hath offended so that he is to be punished by death, and being condemned to die is hanged on a gybbet:Quando peccaverit homo quod morte plectendum est, et adjudicatus morti appensus fuerit in patibulo: 23His body shall not remain upon the tree, but shall be buried the same day: for he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree: and thou shalt not defile thy land, which the Lord thy God shall give thee in possession.Non rimarrà sul legno il suo cadavere, ma sarà sepolto lo stesso dì: perocché è maledetto da Dio, chiunque è appeso al legno: e tu non dei contaminar quella terra, di cui il Signore Dio tuo ti avrà dato il possesso.his bodie shal not remaine vpon the tree, but the same day shal be buried: because he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree: and thou shalt not contaminate thy Land, which our Lord thy God geueth thee in possession.non permanebit cadaver ejus in ligno, sed in eadem die sepelietur: quia maledictus a Deo est qui pendet in ligno: et nequaquam contaminabis terram tuam, quam Dominus Deus tuus dederit tibi in possessionem.
21:1
Year of the World 2553, Year before Christ 1451.
Calmet
Land. The Jewish doctors hence infer, that if the corpse was found hanging or drowned etc., or nearer a town of the Gentiles than one of the Israelites, this law did not oblige. They are so exact as to dispute whether the distance must be measured from the nose or from the naval of the deceased. (Selden, Syned. 3:7.) But the law shews us, that the author of the murder must be discovered, if possible, as the crime is so grievous as, in a manner, to defile the land, and draw down the vengeance of God, if it be carelessly left unpunished. (Calmet)
21:2
Calmet
Ancients and judges. After the strictest enquiry, if the murderer could not be discovered, the magistrates and senate of the neighbouring cities measured which city the corpse was nearest. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 4:8.) The Rabbins pretend that five of the Sanhedrim were commissioned to make this enquiry, along with the magistrates of the neighbourhood. Others think that the ancients were only the old men. The measuring took place only when the point was contested, and those cities are probably meant, which were of sufficient importance to have twenty-three judges fixed in them. (Calmet)
Haydock
It was presumed that the nearest had been guilty of greater negligence. (Haydock)
21:3
Grotius
Heifer, not above three years old, say the Rabbins. The pagans esteemed those victims more agreeable to the gods, which had not been yoked. Chermon observes, that the Egyptians rejected such as had been once "consecrated to labour." (Grotius)
Haydock
This circumstance might here indicate, that the murderer was a son of Belial, or "without yoke;" (chap 13:13.; Menochius) and the heifer was slain to shew what he deserved, and must expect if he be discovered. (Haydock)
21:4
Homer
Valley. In such places murders are most frequently perpetrated. Hebrew may signify, "a desert," deep or inaccessible torrent, (Haydock) on the side of which the heifer was to be slain, and its body was then, it seems, thrown into the water. The ancients first washed their hands over her. Thus the victim of malediction against those who break a covenant, is buried in a ditch, or cast into the sea. (Homer, Iliad I.)
Calmet
Was. Some translate the Hebrew "shall be," as if the place was to be hereafter considered as unclean and accursed. (Calmet)
Menochius
The roughness and depth of the valley, denote the hardness of the murderer's heart, and the depth of his malice. (Menochius)
Plut.[Plutarch
Strike off, or coedent, "cut the neck," (Haydock) at the top, without perhaps separating it entirely from the body. Blood was given for blood, and this was the chief design of the bloody sacrifices. For this reason, the Egyptians impressed a seal on the horns of the victim, representing a man kneeling, with his hands tied behind his back, as if ready to receive the stroke of death. (Plut.[Plutarch,?] Isis.)
21:5
Haydock
Judged. We see here again the great authority of the priests, Deuteronomy 17:9. Hebrew, "by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried," as the Protestants render it. (Haydock)
Haydock
Some understand by stroke, the leprosy, of which they were undoubtedly the judges. But it is better to explain it of all wounds, and even of death, (Calmet) concerning which Moses is here speaking. (Haydock)
Calmet
The Rabbins restrain the authority of priests as much as they can, to give greater power to their chimerical Sanhedrim. They pretend that here they had only to pronounce the blessing, ver. 8. Josephus ([Antiquities?] 4:8,) joins the magistrates with them in the whole ceremony. This awful meeting of so many people, tended to discover the authors of the murder, as all would naturally converse together on the subject, and each person declaring what he knew, some suspicions might at last be formed, which might by degrees lead to the detection. Josephus says rewards were proposed to any who might make a discovery. Draco decreed, that on the very day when a murder was announced, if the author was not known, the whole people (of Athens) should be purified. (Calmet)
21:6
Haydock
Wash. This was intended to testify that they were not guilty of the blood which had been shed, and that they wished to remove the punishment of it from themselves upon the head of the heifer, (Calmet) the representative of the unknown murderer. So Pilate conformed to this custom, when he condemned Christ on the bare accusation of the Jews; (Matthew 27:24) and the priest, at mass, washes his hands, as an emblem of that innocence, with which he ought to approach to the holy of holies. (Haydock)
Iliad I
Asterius was stricken with lightning, for touching the altar of Jupiter without having washed his hands. (Natal. Myth. 1:10. 14.) The pagans generally purified themselves with fumigations, or by sprinkling sea water upon their bodies. Achilles ordered the things which had been used to purify the Greeks, at the siege of Troy, to be thrown into the sea, as being unclean. (Iliad I.)
21:7
Calmet
It. Magistrates are in some degree responsible, if by their neglect the high roads are unsafe. (Calmet)
Worthington
They had testified that they had done their duty. (Worthington)
21:9
Calmet
And, etc. Hebrew, "Thou shalt put away," (Haydock) or "extinguish the voice of innocent blood," which otherwise would cry to heaven for vengeance, Genesis 4:10. In this sacrifice, (Calmet) though it deserves not the name, (Menochius) we may consider Jesus Christ suffering for the sins of others. (Calmet)
21:10
Haydock
Captives. Some Rabbins say this was only lawful in what they call voluntary wars, which the Lord had not commanded, as in those which were waged against the devoted nations, it was not permitted to reserve the women, even though they should embrace the true religion. Calmet seems to be of the same opinion in the preceding chapter, to which he even refers. But here he thinks, that upon their complying with the condition specified, they might be married, as Rahab was, and consequently this law must be considered as an exception to those general laws, which prohibit matrimony with those nations of Chanaan, which were otherwise ordered to be entirely destroyed, Deuteronomy 6:16. "We believe, says he, that if these women changed their religion, they might be espoused, of whatever nation they might be." He seems still to exclude the Chanaanite women, (chap. 23:3,) which variation of sentiment shews that the point is not to be easily decided. (Haydock)
21:11
Grotius
Lovest her. The Jewish doctors explain this of an action, which modesty disallows, and which they tolerate nevertheless in the first transports of victory; (Selden, Jur. 5:13,) though the pagans condemned it as unjust and contrary to reason. (Grotius, Jur. 3:4)
Plutarch
All know with what reserve Alexander treated the captive women; and the Romans banished one Torquatus, for having violated a prisoner of war. (Plutarch)
Calmet
Yet the Jews blush not to assert, that such liberties might be taken even with married women, as their former marriage with a pagan was by some deemed null, and by others thought to be dissolved. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 4:8) (Calmet)
Haydock
The law, however, seems only to allow the marrying of those who had no husbands before, as the women are only said to mourn for father and mother, ver. 13. (Haydock)
Tirinus
On these occasions the Chinese, and probably the Egyptians also, and the Roman matrons, formerly clothed themselves in white, while almost all other nations assumed black. (Tirinus)
21:12
Calmet
Hair. In mourning, people did the reverse to what they were accustomed to do in the days of joy. The men let their hair grow, the women cut this ornament of their head, a thing which the prophets often threaten, Isaias 15:23., and Jeremias 47:5, etc. (Calmet)
Calmet
Nails. Some would translate the Hebrew "she shall make her nails grow," as a mark of sorrow, perhaps usual among the pagans faciet ungues. But the Septuagint, Philo, etc. agree with the Vulgate; (Menochius) and the Hebrew may very well have the same sense. We must not judge of the idea which others have of beauty, by our own sentiments. Some women in America have long nails, and esteem them as marks of beauty and nobility; and in China, they let those of the left hand grow, and cut them in mourning. (Hist. Sin. 3:1.) The people of Mauritania take a pride in having long nails. (Strabo, xvii.) The Duke of Burgundy, not 300 years ago, was distinguished among the slain, before Nancy, in France, (Haydock) by the length of his nails; (Calmet) and, in ancient times, people never cut them in voyages at sea, unless to express their grief in extreme danger. Huic fluctus vivo radicitus abstulit ungues. (Propert. iii.; Petron.[Petronius?]) Why, therefore, might not these captives follow the same custom, as all depends on fashion? (Calmet)
21:13
Raiment. In mourning, people wore different clothes from what they did at other times, 2 Kings 14:2.
21:14
Her. Nothing shews the weakness of the Hebrews more than this liberty, which the law was in a manner forced to allow, to prevent greater evils. The soldier who has married a captive, may abandon her, if he set her free, (Calmet) which was but a slight punishment for his inconstancy.
21:15
Matthew xix
Two wives. Moses never expressly (Haydock) sanctions polygamy; but he tolerates it frequently, as excused by custom, the example of the Patriarchs, etc.; a toleration which Christ has revoked, as contrary to the primary design of God, and the institution of matrimony. (Calmet) (Matthew xix.)
21:16
Haydock
Hated, or less loved. (Haydock)
Calmet
The inheritance goes to the first-born independently of the father's disposition, in order to prevent the disturbances which would otherwise have taken place in families, where the different wives would have been continually endeavouring to get their respective children preferred before the rest. David indeed assigned the throne to Solomon, to the exclusion of Adonias; but this was done by the command of God, 3 Kings 1:17. The regulation of Jacob, in favour of Joseph, was made prior to this law. The Jewish doctors inform us, that a father cannot disinherit any of his lawful heirs, except the judges ratify his sentence, while he is in health. But if he be dangerously ill, his verbal declaration will suffice, provided he appoint some one whom the law does not reject. For if he were to make a Gentile his heir, the will would be null. The testament must be made in the day time, for which they cite Ecclesiasticus 33:24. They say likewise that a father may, while living, give his effects to whom he pleases, and by this means disinherit his children; or he may give the succession to one of them, who is then considered as a tutor of the rest, and is bound to maintain them with necessaries till the year of jubilee, when each may claim his respective share. (Selden, Succes. c. xxiv.) But all these regulations seem to contradict the law. (Calmet)
21:17
Grotius
Double portion. If a person left six children, his effects were divided into seven equal parts, and the eldest son received two of them, though others think that he was entitled to one-half of the whole, (Calmet) in order to enable him to support the dignity of the family, (Haydock) and the greater expenses which he had to incur for sacrifices and solemn feasts. (Grotius)
Selden
If he were dead, his children or heirs were entitled to his portion. This was the prerogative of the first-born, 1 Paralipomenon 5:2. (Selden)
Haydock
The right to the priesthood, if they might have claimed it before the law, was now given to the family of Aaron. Females had no privilege above one another. They received equal shares, when there was no male issue, Numbers xxxvi. (Haydock)
First. Hebrew, "the beginning of his strength." See Genesis 49:3.
21:18
Calmet
Son. The Rabbins do not look upon children as bound by the law, till they be 13 years old. Their faults, before that age, are imputed to the father, and he is to be punished for them. When, therefore, a son has attained the competent years, the father makes attestation of it in the presence of ten Jews, declaring that he has instructed his son in the commandments, customs of the nation, and daily prayers; and that he now sets him at liberty to answer, in future, for his own faults, praying that God would enable him to lead a virtuous life. (Calmet)
21:19
Selden
Ancients. In considerable cities there was a tribunal of three, and another of 23 judges. The former took cognizance of the first accusation, and condemned the stubborn child to be scourged: but the latter sentenced him to be stoned in case of a relapse, provided both parents concurred in prosecuting their son, as they would not both surely be guided by passion. (Theodoret, q. 20.) The Rabbins, according to their custom, modify this law, and exempt girls, orphans, and boys under 13 years of age. (Selden, Syned.)
Haydock
Josephus ([Antiquities?] 16:17,) says that the parents laid their hands on the head of the undutiful, and then all the people stoned him. Moses has not specified the punishment of parricides, (Calmet) as he deemed it next to impossible. (Haydock)
Justinian
But we may hence judge how he would have chastised so heinous a crime. The Romans formerly sewed such wretches in a leathern sack, (Cic.[Cicero,?] Invent. ii.) but afterwards they enclosed with them a dog, a cock, a viper, and a monkey; and having first whipped them so as to fetch blood, placed them in a chariot drawn by black oxen, and hurled them into the sea or into some river. (Justinian)
Calmet
Solomon sentences those who contemn their parents to be the food of crows and eagles, Proverbs 30:17. No restraints were laid by the ancient Greeks on the authority of a father, as he was esteemed the most equitable judge. (Sopater, ap. Grotius) (Calmet)
21:22
Bonfrere
Gibbet. Whether the person was first killed, as the Jews assert, or he was left to die upon the gibbet, see Calmet's Diss. It is also a matter of doubt, whether he was nailed to the gibbet, or hung on it by a rope. (Bonfrere)
21:23
Calmet
Of God. Chaldean, "he has been fixed on the gibbet for sinning against God." Symmachus and Arabic, "he has blasphemed the Lord." Syriac, "the man who has blasphemed shall be hung." Only people accused of great crimes, such as blasphemy and idolatry, were condemned to this reproachful death, and prayers were not said for them in the synagogue, as they were for other persons, during the 11 months following their decease. (Calmet)
Haydock
They are not to be remembered before God. Their dead bodies are to be buried before sunset, that the country may not be defiled. The punishment itself is extremely infamous, and the name of God is often used by the Jews, to express something in the highest degree, as the cedars of God, etc. (Haydock)
Calmet
Some understand this passage, as if the body were not to be left on the gibbet, because man, being created to the likeness of God, he will not allow the body to be insulted. Homer (Iliad xxiv.) says that Achilles offered an insult to the earth, when he dragged the dead body of Hector round the walls of Troy. Others think, that the criminal having been treated with due severity, as accursed of God, his corpse must not be deprived of decent burial. Res sacra miser. The Jews refused this privilege to none but suicides, (Josephus, Jewish Wars 3:25,) while the Egyptians and Phoenicians suffered the bodies to rot upon the gibbet, whose inhumanity God here reproves. St. Paul reads this verse in a different manner both from the Hebrew and Septuagint, leaving out of God, and substituting, with the Septuagint, the words every one, and on a tree. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree, Galatians 3:13. St. Jerome remarks, that on this as well as on other occasions, he adheres to the sense, without following the express words of Scripture. He also observes, with Tertullian, that only those are declared accursed by the law, who are hung for their crimes; and as Jesus Christ suffered, not for any fault of his own, but being willing to appear in the character of one accursed, he has procured for us all blessings. (Calmet)
Worthington
In a mystical sense, that man is accursed who is obstinate in sin, hanging as it were on the tree, which was the occasion of our first parents' transgression. (Worthington)
Haydock
St. Jerome seems to think that the Jews have inserted of God, to intimate that Christ was accursed of him. (Haydock)
21:7
By this ceremonie and abiuration they purged them selues, that they were not negligent in doing iustice.
21:23
Mystically, he is cursed that persisteth in sinne, as it were hanging on the tree, by which our first parents sinned
21:10
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 70.2
… He had read in Deuteronomy the command given by the voice of the Lord that when a captive woman had had her head shaved, her eyebrows and all her hair cut off, and her nails pared, she might then be taken to wife.
21:11
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 66.8
… He is the treasure which in the scriptures a man finds in his field. He is the peerless gem which is bought by selling many pearls. But if you love a captive woman, that is, worldly wisdom, and if no beauty but hers attracts you, make her bald and cut off her alluring hair, that is to say, the graces of style, and pare away her dead nails.
21:15
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 1.13
… says in the case of things originate, ‘All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be ,’ and, ‘In wisdom hast Thou made them all ;’ but in the case of sons which are generate, ‘To Job there came to be seven sons and three daughters ,’ and, ‘Abraham was an hundred years old when there came to be to him Isaac his son ;’ and Moses said
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Against the Arians. (Orationes contra Arianos IV.) 2.14.4
… Again, the Patriarch Jacob said to Joseph, ‘And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which became thine in Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine .’ And Scripture says about Job, ‘And there came to him seven sons and three daughters .’ As Moses too has said in the Law, ‘If sons become to any one,’ and ‘If he make a son
21:17
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 2.10
… And so in the temple of our body there are different degrees of merit. God does not dwell in all alike, nor does He impart Himself to all in the same degree. A portion of the spirit of Moses was taken and given to the seventy elders. I suppose there is a difference between the abundance of the river, and that of the rivulets.
21:18
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 12.9
… When, for instance, He gave commandment respecting the Sabbath; “On the seventh day thou shalt do no work;” He subjoined also the reason for this cessation. What was this? “Because on the seventh day God rested from all His works which He had begun to make.” And again; “Because thou wert a servant in the land of Egypt.”
21:21
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.18
… words in which the Psalm expresses his meaning, (he says,) “Be ye angry, and sin not;” “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness;” for (in the Psalm it is written,) “With the holy man thou shalt be holy, and with the perverse thou shalt be perverse;” and, “Thou shalt put away evil from among you.”
21:22
Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 10
… because cursed by God is every one who shall have been suspended on a tree; and ye shall not defile the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee for (thy) lot.”
21:23
St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 96
“For the statement in the law, ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree,’
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Against Heresies 3.18.3
… “Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died.” And again: “But now, in Christ, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” And again: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree.”
Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 10
Concerning the last step, plainly, of His passion you raise a doubt; affirming that the passion of the cross was not predicted with reference to Christ, and urging, besides, that it is not credible that God should have exposed His own Son to that kind of death; because Himself said, “Cursed is every one who shall have hung on a tree.”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 3.18
… “Cursed,” says He, “is every one who hangeth on a tree.”
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 5.3
… for the diversity is itself proposed by one and the same author. Why, however, “Christ was made a curse for us,” is declared by the apostle himself in a way which quite helps our side, as being the result of the Creator’s appointment. But yet it by no means follows, because the Creator said of old, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree,”
Tertullian † AD 220 Against Praxeas 29
… since, however, you convert Christ into the Father, you are chargeable with blasphemy against the Father. But when we assert that Christ was crucified, we do not malign Him with a curse; we only re-affirm the curse pronounced by the law:
Tertullian † AD 220 On Patience 8
… You wound that outrageous one more by enduring: for he will be beaten by Him for whose sake you endure. If the tongue’s bitterness break out in malediction or reproach, look back at the saying, “When they curse you, rejoice.” The Lord Himself was “cursed” in the eye of the law;
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 On the Incarnation of the Word 24
… 2. For if He came Himself to bear the curse laid upon us, how else could He have “become a curse,” unless He received the death set for a curse? and that is the Cross. For this is exactly what is written: “Cursed
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.11
94. For how could He, Who hath made days and times, be ignorant of the day? How could He not know the day, Who hath declared both the season of Judgment to come, and the cause? A curse, then, He was made not in respect of His Godhead, but of His flesh; for it is written: “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Commentary on Galatians 3
Ver. 13 . “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 7
… Truly it is a great and unspeakable thing, that He became a servant; that He underwent death, is far greater; but there is something still greater, and more strange; why? All deaths are not alike; His death seemed to be the most ignominious of all, to be full of shame, to be accursed; for it is written, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 14.1
… Whether Moses did this intentionally or not is your concern. Either way, he cannot be excused, or considered worthy of belief. His words are, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 32.5
… Thus, you do not admit as true or authoritative the declaration of the Old Testament, that every one that hangeth on a tree is accursed,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 38.25
… “And they cast Me forth, Thy Darling, even as a dead man in abomination.” Was it not enough that He was “dead”? wherefore “in abomination” also? Because He was crucified. For this death of the Cross was a great abomination in their eyes, as they did not perceive that it was spoken in prophecy, “Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
Theodoret of Cyrus † AD 458 Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Polymorphus” of the Blessed Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus 3
… for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.’”
21:2
2. THEY SHALL MEASURE FROM THE PLACE OF THE CORPSE, they shall reckon how many miles or paces the place of the corpse is distant from each of the neighboring cities. Note that the corpse is here attributed to the nearest city, because upon it rather than others falls the presumption that someone from it perpetrated the murder. Whence the elders of that city with the victim are commanded, verse 7, by public protestation to purge themselves from the crime, and from the vengeance of the crime, as those whose author they know not, so that by this means they may turn away God's wrath both from themselves and from their people. who also to punish, lest the guilt of one provoke the wrath of God against the whole assembly of Israel, as is said dist. XLV, can. XVIII. Finally, a third cause of this sanction was, that the author of the crime, if he were among them, might be discovered. For it is a certain natural miracle, as Abulensis says, that if the slayer come to the corpse of the slain, the wounds sweat blood, and this not only happens when someone has been recently slain, but also when many days have passed, indeed even from the bare bones themselves blood is wont sometimes to flow, as has been seen many times, God namely showing forth by this sign the author of so enormous a crime. For God is wont, even among the Gentiles, by wonderful judgment and indication to uncover and avenge homicide. Hence that voice of the Melitans to Paul, when he was attacked by a viper: "Vengeance suffereth him not to live," but pursueth him as it were a murderer unto death. Hear examples from the Gentiles. Macarius of Mytilene, a priest of Bacchus, seducing a guest into the temple slew him: shortly after his sons, wishing to imitate their father's sacrifices, one slew the other as it were a victim; the mother learning this, in her fury slew with a torch the son who remained and who had slain the other; the father the priest, knowing this, himself slew the mother his wife, and therefore being captured and confessing the crime before public punishment breathed out his soul in torments. Behold, God punished the homicide of the priest, the slaughter of the son, of the wife, and of the murderer himself: Aelianus is witness, lib. XIII. Two Arcadian friends came to Megara; one turned aside to his friend, the other to an innkeeper: the latter appeared by night to the former, asking him to come to his aid, because death was being prepared for him by the innkeeper; he arose; but thinking it to be a dream, soon lay down again. The other returned, asking that, if in life he would not help, at least he would not suffer his death to go unavenged: for he had been slain by the innkeeper, and his body thrown into a wagon lay hidden under dung: In the morning therefore, he said, stand at the gate, before the wagon goes out of the city, and you will find the corpse and the matter, as I relate. He did so, found the corpse and the innkeeper, the innkeeper paid the penalty. Here there is no doubt to be entertained but that that dream was sent to the friend by God, that the author of the homicide might be discovered. Cicero relates this, lib. I De Divinatione. Ibycus the Poet, when he fell upon robbers, about to be slain, chanced to beseech some cranes flying over. Some time later, when those same robbers were sitting in the forum, and the cranes flew over again, in jest they whispered to one another in the ear: The avengers of Ibycus are here. Those sitting nearby seized upon this remark with suspicion: especially since Ibycus had long been desired. Asked what those remarks meant, they answered hesitatingly and inconsistently. Subjected to torture they confessed the crime. And thus as it were by the indication of the cranes they paid the penalty to Ibycus, or rather perished by their own judgment. Thus Plutarchus, De Loquacitate. Pyrrhus the king on his journey came upon a dog, who was guarding the body of his slain master: and hearing that for three days he had endured there without food, nor departed, he commanded the corpse to be buried, and the dog to be taken with him, and care to be taken of it. A few days later the king was reviewing his troops, and soldiers were passing by as the king sat. The dog was present, quiet: who, as he caught sight of his master's slayers passing by, ran at them with barking and anger, then turning himself again and again toward Pyrrhus. And so they were seized immediately and upon questioning, when evidence had come from other sources, they confessed the murder and paid the penalty: thus Plutarchus De Animal. Compar. The dog of Hesiod of Ganyctoris Naupactius revealed the sons by whom Hesiod had been slain. Thus the same Plutarchus. Popielus, king of Poland, slew his uncles: soon mice bursting forth from the tombs of the slain attacked the king; nor could they be prevented from harassing him by fires made all around: so that at last he himself, deserted by his own men, and confessing that he was being struck by divine vengeance, was torn to pieces by those little beasts, as all writers of Polish affairs relate.
21:3
3. THE ELDERS OF THAT CITY (which is nearest to the slain body) SHALL TAKE A HEIFER OF THE HERD, WHICH HATH NOT DRAWN IN THE YOKE, which is to say, one that is strong and not broken by the labour of drawing a cart or plough, bearing a symbol and type of the innocence of him who was slain. 4. AND THEY SHALL BRING HER DOWN INTO A ROUGH AND STONY VALLEY. -- R. Joseph Kimchi thinks this valley is said to be rough, stony and uncultivated by prolepsis: namely, because it was going to be such. For that place was rendered sacred and accursed by the flesh of this expiatory heifer, scattered in it and putrefying there, so that it was not permitted to sow or cultivate it. But this opinion clearly contradicts the words of Scripture, for it says: "And they shall bring her down into a rough and stony valley, which hath never been ploughed, nor sown;" which words clearly signify what this valley is and has been, not what it is going to be. This heifer therefore was to be slain in a rough valley, because this is a symbol of the horror of murder. For all these things were commanded by God, to terrify that rude people and deter them from murder, through this external pomp as it were of sadness and funeral, and through an expiatory victim for murder, to which, since the perpetrator was hidden, the whole community appeared to be liable, as if it sustained such a member within itself, and had not sufficiently kept watch over its flock. AND THEY SHALL BREAK THE HEIFER'S NECK IN THE VALLEY, so that it might be signified that the murderer ought to be beheaded, if he were known, as well as he who conceals the murder, especially if he be one of these elders, namely from the magistracy.
21:5
5. ALL THE MATTER DEPENDS. -- Delete to pendet, with the following colon, as the Roman edition deletes it, as if to say: The elders of the city shall approach the priests, whose office it is to judge and decide all controversies and all uncleanness. 7. AND THEY SHALL SAY: OUR HANDS HAVE NOT SHED THIS BLOOD, NEITHER HAVE OUR EYES SEEN IT, as if to say: We know not the author of the murder; if we knew, we would certainly punish him. Note here: By "our hands have not shed," they signify not merely that the judges have not shed the blood with their own hands: for this would have been little and would not have sufficed for their innocence; but moreover that by their consent, or connivance, or dissimulation, or impunity, or other similar negligence they have given no cause to the murder. For a magistrate, who is bound by his office to keep the roads safe from assassins and to prevent slaughter, unless he does this, is guilty of it, even if he be not conscious of it. For to a private person saying, "I did not commit theft," the answer is made: "You will not feed the crows on the cross;" but more is required from a public person, such as a magistrate. Thus R. Solomon, Lyra and others.
21:8
8. REPUTE NOT INNOCENT BLOOD IN THE MIDST OF THY PEOPLE, do not impute the slaying of this innocent one to the people of Israel, nor avenge it upon them. Some Hebrews think that the soul of the slain wanders about on earth and cries out for vengeance to heaven, until the magistrate punishes the murderer and removes him from the earth: then indeed that soul departs from the earth and seeks no further vengeance. But this opinion is judaizing. AND THE GUILT OF BLOOD SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM (the Elders of the people), in Hebrew, and the blood shall be forgiven them, that is, the guilt or penalty of shed blood. Thus namely, so that God does not punish the people, as if negligent in punishing murders; because they did what they could, and what the Lord commanded, to discover the murderer and to expiate the murder.
21:9
9. BUT THOU SHALT BE INNOCENT OF THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT. -- Moses here turns to the people themselves, because all Israel was held guilty of blood, whenever anyone was slain, unless through the elders of the neighbouring city, this inquisition and lustration was made: for by it they were absolved. Note: The slain is called innocent, who nevertheless could have been guilty and an aggressor: because according to the presumption of law, everyone is presumed to be good, unless the contrary is proved. Thus Abulensis.
Allegory: The Heifer and Christ Allegorically, the rough valley is the place of Calvary where Christ was crucified. Allegorically, this heifer signifies the flesh of our Redeemer, as Procopius and Rabanus say, which never drew the yoke of sin, and in a hard, untamed valley, and one most rough with the thorns of vices, namely in Jerusalem, was immolated: the priests wash their hands over it, that is, the holy Apostles and preachers, show that their works are clean in the passion of Christ; while the flesh of Christ, crucified by the Jews for the expiation of our sins, is preached by them; and while they confess themselves to be free from the impiety of the Jews, they shall obtain remission, as Cyril says in the Glaphyra. See Rabanus. Otherwise Rupertus explains these things.
21:11
11 and 12. IF THOU SEEST AMONG THE CAPTIVES A WOMAN BEAUTIFUL AND FAIR, AND SHALT DESIRE TO HAVE HER TO WIFE, etc. SHE SHALL SHAVE HER HAIR, AND PARE HER NAILS. -- These rites prescribed, says Cajetan, were in order that the harshness and unseemliness of the deed might be mitigated, namely that a Gentile woman should be taken as a wife in the people of God; and it was fitting that she herself should be sanctified by these lustrations as it were, so that she might be mingled with the holy people, having forgotten her nation and kindred. Tropologically, it is lawful for Christian teachers to take a Gentile woman as wife, that is, to adopt those things which are found taught or elegant among the Gentiles or heretics, provided however that they cut away those things which are harmful and superfluous. Thus St. Jerome, in his epistle to Magnus, Rupert and Rabanus, who however more aptly understands this of the soul, transferred from paganism to Christianity, from sin to grace; for, as the Gloss says from him, this Gentile woman is a sinful soul, which is beautiful because it is created in the image of God; but it is captive on account of sin: Christ seeks this woman as a bride, which in order that it may happen, she shaves her hair, that is, she puts away past vices through contrition; and she pares her nails, that is, the occasions of sin: yet she is permitted to weep for her father and mother for a short time, because recently converted she grieves that she is torn away from her former friendships and pleasures; but this grief being wiped away, she is joined to Christ the bridegroom. Thus Cyril in the Glaphyra, and St. Ambrose, book XXXV, epistle to Irenaeus. SHE SHALL PARE (in Hebrew she shall make, that is she shall adapt by paring) HER NAILS. -- The Rabbis therefore wrongly interpret she shall make, that is she shall allow her nails to grow, so that namely she may become deformed, and thus the desire of the victor for her may be extinguished or diminished, since she is a Gentile.
21:14
14. IF IT PLEASE NOT THY SOUL, if it shall not please thee. THOU HAST HUMBLED, thou hast corrected.
21:17
17. AND HE SHALL GIVE TO HIM OF ALL THAT HE HATH ALL DOUBLE. -- For the firstborn received a double portion of the inheritance. Thus Joseph received a double tribe, namely Ephraim and Manasse, and consequently a double inheritance in Chanaan, in place of Ruben the firstborn of Jacob, by lot. For double, in Hebrew it is pi scenaim, that is the mouth of two, that is a double portion; just as if the firstborn had two mouths, the other brothers single ones, which portions of the parental inheritance are to be fed and filled. Thus IV Kings II, 9, Eliseus asks of Elias by snatching, a double spirit of him. In Hebrew it is, let there be, I pray, in me the mouth of two of thy spirit, that is to say, I am as it were the firstborn among thy disciples, namely I am the first whom thou hast received into thy school and discipline; give to me therefore as to thy firstborn, that I may obtain a double greater power of thy spirit, before my fellow disciples and fellow soldiers. He does not therefore wish to surpass Elias his master, but his fellow disciples in spirit. Or rather, that is to say, Because I am thy firstborn and at the same time thy only-begotten (for thou hast no other disciples and ministers than me), make it so that I succeed to both thy spirit, namely of prophecy and of miracles. Whence Ecclesiasticus XLVIII, 13, it is said that in Eliseus the spirit of Elias was completed; thus Abulensis and Cajetan explain it there.
21:18
18. THEY SHALL BRING, etc. TO THE GATE OF JUDGMENT. -- For in the gates to which foreigners first came, as in certain public praetorias and tribunals, judgments were formerly made, as is evident from chapter XXII, 15; Job XXXI, 21; Proverbs XXXI, 23. "It was the custom of the ancients," says St. Gregory, book XIX of the Morals XIII, "that the elders should stand in the gate, and judge the causes of those entering, so that the people of the city would be so much more peaceful, as it was not permitted for those in discord to enter."
21:21
21. THE PEOPLE SHALL STONE HIM, namely after the examination and sentence of the judges.
21:22
22 and 23. WHEN, etc. HE SHALL BE HANGED ON A GIBBET, etc. THE SAME DAY HE SHALL BE BURIED; BECAUSE HE IS CURSED BY GOD THAT HANGETH ON A TREE. -- In Hebrew it is, because the curse of God is he that is hanged; Symmachus, because he is hanged for a blasphemy against God; others, because he is hanged for a reproach against God. You will ask why? The Jews fable that, before the burial of the corpse, the soul cannot come to its rest, nor be led by angels into the chamber of God, but meanwhile is vexed and afflicted by troops of demons. But these are their idle tales. Therefore Andreas Masius answers first, in Joshua VIII, 28, that the suspended body ought immediately to be buried, because it is reckoned to contaminate the earth, in that men, the inhabitants of the earth, are informed by this spectacle with the most impious and pernicious opinion of mortal death, whereby they see human bodies in the place of beasts. But this reason is more acute than more genuine. Secondly, the Abulensian: To hang, he says, malefactors, because it is an act of justice, by which the guilty is punished, hence it redounds to the glory of God: but if the corpse of the hanged man remain on the cross, now he is not punished who is hanged, as being already dead, but his body only, which bears some image of God in the human and upright countenance. Only the image of God then remains, which is punished: but this redounds to the injury and ignominy of God; wherefore the corpse of the hanged man ought immediately to be buried. But this reason too is more subtle than more solid: and it applies not only to the hanged, but to any dead, and to corpses. I say therefore with Cajetan that cursed is here taken for execrable. For God wished indeed the most heinous criminals (whose punishment was hanging) to be utterly blotted out from the earth, so that not even their corpses should remain as a punishment, as is wont to happen in those who are given to the flames. Moreover that, "lest the land be contaminated," as the Chaldean hints, is an explanation of the preceding. For as Scripture everywhere says that the land is contaminated by wicked men, so when something of theirs remains, as are their corpses, the land is still reckoned unexciated and contaminated. Hence Christ hanging on the cross is called by the Apostle, Galatians III, 13, "a curse," because, as Rupert says, God transferred the curses of the human race upon Christ, namely while Christ took upon himself the infamous and execrable death of the cross for us, "so that Christian liberty should fear not only no death, but also no kind of death, as Jewish servitude did," says St. Augustine, lib. Against Adimantus, cap. XXI, and lib. XIV Against Faustus, cap. XLI, and Tertullian, lib. On Patience, cap. VIII: "The Lord," he says, "himself is cursed in the law, and yet he alone is blessed. Therefore let us servants follow the Lord, and let us be cursed patiently, that we may be able to be blessed." But note here that this law properly speaks of the guilty and the wicked, as is evident, not of the innocent, such as Christ was: thus Eucherius in the Question here; see what is said on Galatians III, 13. Note: This was a judicial law, and therefore has now been abrogated by the law and death of Christ. Hence now, nor are the hanged cursed before others guilty, nor are they buried the same day; but for days, months and years they hang on the gibbet, to the terror of other malefactors.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
21:1
… concerning the Nazirite vow; the Nazirite vow of women and of slaves (9 chapters). e) Sōtāh ("woman led astray"): a woman suspected of adultery (Num. 5, 11 ff.); it also deals with the heifer to be killed in the case of homicide by unknown persons (Deut. 21, 1-9); the signs foretelling the coming of the Messiah; various degrees of holiness and of piety (9 chapters). f) Gīrīn ("divorces", plural of gērī): documents for divorcing one's wife …
21:5
Aaron (Heb. 'Ahărān, of uncertain etymology)
… The "blessing" in the name of God (Num. 6:23-27) is reserved to A. and to his sons, as a priestly prerogative (Gen. 14:18 ff.; Deut. 10:8; 21:5).
21:9
Jewish public prayer, besides the sacrifices, included the reading of the Bible, of which there is the command in Deut. 21:9 ff. and the solemn application in Eid. 8:2 ff. It began, it seems, with reading for each Sabbath the corresponding verses of Lev. 23, as is gathered from the Miñāh 4, and then to each …
21:15
… 49:3; Deut. 21:17), in ancient families held a place of privilege over his brothers; he inherited a double portion and the father's place as head of the lineage; a privilege that could be lost (Esau, Reuben) or transferred by the father to another son (Deut. 21:15 ff.). …
Polygyny, by the fact that it is not opposed to the primary end of marriage, can exist by explicit divine dispensation as happened in the Old Testament (cf. Gen. 16:2; 21:12; Deut. 21:15). As to the time when this dispensation began, there are no definite and certain data in the Bible; the common opinion is that until the flood monogamy was in force, at least de iure, …
21:17
Eliseus ('Elīlā' = "God Saves")
… of Elijah (2 Kings 3:11; cf. ch. 2) for about 6 years (2 Kings 1:17), at the latter's death he inherited his mantle and two thirds of the charismatic virtue (2 Kings 2:9 ff. Heb.), that is, the portion that in an inheritance belonged to the firstborn (Deut. 21:17). As heir and successor of Elijah he was immediately recognized by the so-called "disciples of the prophets," who had him as their head (2 Kings 2:12-15; cf. 6:1-7).
… In polygamy there could be several firstborn; the firstborn, in relation to the father, "firstfruits of his strength" (Gen. 49:3; Deut. 21:17), in ancient families held a place of privilege over his brothers; he inherited a double portion and the father's place as head of the lineage; a privilege that could be lost (Esau, …
21:21
15, 5), for divination, magic (Lev. 20, 6.27; Deut. 18, 10 ff.), for blasphemy (Lev. 24, 14), for the profanation of the Sabbath (Ex. 31, 14 f.; Num. 15, 35), for the stubborn disobedience of a son toward his parents (Deut. 21, 21), for the fornication of a young woman and for adultery (ibid. 22, 21 ff.).
21:22
The execution took place outside the camp or the city (Lev. 24, 14-23); the witnesses had to throw the first stones, the people completed the torture (Lev. 24, 14; Deut. 13, 10 [Vulg. 9]). Sometimes the corpse of the executed person was hung on a pole and thus left until evening (Deut. 21, 22 f.). Regarding these particulars, Jewish tradition is more explicit. …
21:23
… seen from these citations that for A. the bereich (the "beginning") of Gen. 1, 1, was the Son (for this exegesis in patristic literature, cf. A. Harnack, in Texte und Untersuchungen, I, III, Leipzig 1883, p. 130 ff.), and that A. knew the text of Deut. 21, 23, in a Greek translation which Jerome (In Gal. 3, 13) compared with the interpretation of Aquila; but it is not true that A. cited the translation of Aquila, which Origen would have noticed. …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.