Deuteronomy 24

This chapter is part of the collection of laws that runs from Deuteronomy 12 through 26. Following Deuteronomy 23, it sets out various regulations concerning family life, economic dealings, and justice, and many of its provisions protect poor and vulnerable neighbors.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 If a man gives his wife a certificate of divorce and sends her away, and she becomes another man's wife and is later left alone again, her former husband may not take her back as his wife.
• Verse 5 A newly married man is not to go out to war or be assigned any other duty for one year.
• Verse 6 A millstone, as a means of livelihood, is not to be taken as a pledge.
• Verse 7 Anyone who kidnaps a fellow Israelite and enslaves or sells him is to be put to death.
• Verses 8–9 Cases of leprosy are to be handled according to the instruction of the Levitical priests, and the people are told to remember what happened to Miriam.
• Verses 10–13 When lending money, one is not to enter the borrower's house to take a pledge. A poor man's garment taken in pledge is to be returned by sundown.
• Verses 14–15 A poor hired worker, whether a fellow Israelite or a stranger (sojourner), is not to be oppressed, and his wages are to be paid the same day.
• Verse 16 Parents and children are not to be put to death for one another's sins; each is to die for his own sin.
• Verses 17–18 Justice is not to be perverted for the stranger or the fatherless, and a widow's garment is not to be taken as a pledge.
• Verses 19–22 At harvest, a forgotten sheaf and what remains of the olives and grapes are to be left for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

Key Verses

• Deuteronomy 24:1 "Let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand." This passage served as the basis for the debates over divorce in the time of Jesus and is addressed in Matthew 19:3–9. (Deuteronomy 24:1–4)
• Deuteronomy 24:16 "Every man shall be put to death for his own sin." This verse states the principle of individual responsibility. 2 Kings 14 records that King Amaziah followed this law. (Deuteronomy 24:16)
• Deuteronomy 24:19 "It shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow." This verse is the basis for the practice of gleaning.

People and Places

• Miriam: The sister of Moses and Aaron. Verse 9 refers to the incident in Numbers 12 in which she was struck with leprosy after speaking against Moses.
• Egypt: The land where Israel lived in bondage. Verses 18 and 22 both recall it as the reason for caring for the vulnerable.

Points for Reflection

• The meaning of "some uncleanness" in verse 1 was disputed even within Judaism in the time of Jesus. The school of Shammai is known to have read it narrowly as referring to a grave cause such as sexual immorality, while the school of Hillel read it as allowing broader grounds. Jesus said that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of the people's hearts, and he gave priority to God's intention at creation (Matthew 19:8). How this passage and Jesus' words should be applied today differs among denominations (Divorce and Remarriage).
• How verse 16 should be read alongside "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 20:5) is also discussed. Many interpreters hold that verse 16 is a regulation concerning human courts, and it is linked with Ezekiel 18:19–20. The verse is also frequently cited in debates over generational curse theology.
• The command to leave gleanings also appears in Leviticus 19:9–10. The account of Ruth gleaning in the field of Boaz (Ruth 2) is set against the background of this practice. The command to pay wages on time connects with the warning in James 5.