Deuteronomy 21

The chapter belongs to the legal section of Deuteronomy that runs from chapter 12 through chapter 26. Following the regulations on warfare in Deuteronomy 20, it brings together various laws concerning homicide, the family, and execution.

Outline

• Verses 1–9 If a slain body is found lying in the field and the killer is unknown, the elders and judges determine which city is nearest. The elders of that city bring a heifer that has never borne a yoke down to a valley with running water and break its neck. Then, in the presence of the priests, the sons of Levi, they wash their hands over the heifer, declare that they have not shed this blood, and ask for forgiveness.
• Verses 10–14 If a man wishes to take one of the women captured in war as his wife, she shaves her head, pares her nails, puts off the garment of her captivity, and mourns her father and mother for a full month. If the husband later no longer delights in her, he may not sell her for money or treat her as a slave; he must let her go wherever she wishes.
• Verses 15–17 If a man has two wives and the son of the unloved wife is the firstborn, the father must acknowledge him as the firstborn and give him a double portion of the inheritance.
• Verses 18–21 A stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his parents is brought by them to the elders at the city gate, and the men of the city stone him.
• Verses 22–23 The body of an executed person hanged on a tree must be buried that same day, "for he that is hanged is accursed of God."

Key Verses

• Deuteronomy 21:23 "For he that is hanged is accursed of God." Paul quotes this verse in Galatians 3:13 to explain the cross of Christ.
• Deuteronomy 21:17 "By giving him a double portion." This provision safeguards the birthright regardless of the father's favoritism.

People and Places

No individuals are named in this chapter.

• Elders and judges: Men who oversee and judge the affairs of the city.
• The sons of Levi, the priests: Those who bless in the name of the LORD and settle legal disputes.
• City gate: The place where the elders held court in ancient Israel.

Points for Reflection

• Verses 22–23 and the cross: In its original context, this regulation concerns hanging the body of a person who has already been executed. The New Testament applies the expression to the death of Jesus. Galatians 3:13 is the most prominent example, and Acts 5:30 and 1 Peter 2:24 also use the word "tree."
• Washing of hands: This passage is often read alongside the scene in which Pontius Pilate washes his hands (Matthew 27:24), although Matthew does not directly quote this chapter.
• Application today: The laws concerning the female captive and the rebellious son raise ethical questions for modern readers, and several interpretations have been offered.
• Some regard them as protective regulations that restrained the customs of the time: the captive woman could not be sold at will, and the punishment of a son was entrusted not to the parents alone but to the judgment of the elders.
• Jewish rabbinic tradition is reported to include the view that the law of the rebellious son was never actually carried out.
• The Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter 19), in the Reformed tradition, holds that the judicial (civil) laws of Israel expired together with that nation.