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Deuteronomy 20:18 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

18 That they teach H3925 you not to do H6213 after all their abominations, H8441 which they have done H6213 unto their gods; H430 so should ye sin H2398 against the LORD H3068 your God. H430

Cross Reference

Exodus 23:33 STRONG

They shall not dwell H3427 in thy land, H776 lest they make thee sin H2398 against me: for if thou serve H5647 their gods, H430 it will surely be a snare H4170 unto thee.

Deuteronomy 12:30-31 STRONG

Take heed H8104 to thyself that thou be not snared H5367 by following H310 them, after H310 that they be destroyed H8045 from before H6440 thee; and that thou enquire H1875 not after their gods, H430 saying, H559 How did these nations H1471 serve H5647 their gods? H430 even so will I do H6213 likewise. H1571 Thou shalt not do H6213 so unto the LORD H3068 thy God: H430 for every abomination H8441 to the LORD, H3068 which he hateth, H8130 have they done H6213 unto their gods; H430 for even their sons H1121 and their daughters H1323 they have burnt H8313 in the fire H784 to their gods. H430

Psalms 106:34-40 STRONG

They did not destroy H8045 the nations, H5971 concerning whom the LORD H3068 commanded H559 them: But were mingled H6148 among the heathen, H1471 and learned H3925 their works. H4639 And they served H5647 their idols: H6091 which were a snare H4170 unto them. Yea, they sacrificed H2076 their sons H1121 and their daughters H1323 unto devils, H7700 And shed H8210 innocent H5355 blood, H1818 even the blood H1818 of their sons H1121 and of their daughters, H1323 whom they sacrificed H2076 unto the idols H6091 of Canaan: H3667 and the land H776 was polluted H2610 with blood. H1818 Thus were they defiled H2930 with their own works, H4639 and went a whoring H2181 with their own inventions. H4611 Therefore was the wrath H639 of the LORD H3068 kindled H2734 against his people, H5971 insomuch that he abhorred H8581 his own inheritance. H5159

Exodus 34:16 STRONG

And thou take H3947 of their daughters H1323 unto thy sons, H1121 and their daughters H1323 go a whoring H2181 after H310 their gods, H430 and make H2181 thy sons H1121 go a whoring H2181 after H310 their gods. H430

Deuteronomy 7:4-5 STRONG

For they will turn away H5493 thy son H1121 from following H310 me, that they may serve H5647 other H312 gods: H430 so will the anger H639 of the LORD H3068 be kindled H2734 against you, and destroy H8045 thee suddenly. H4118 But thus shall ye deal H6213 with them; ye shall destroy H5422 their altars, H4196 and break down H7665 their images, H4676 and cut down H1438 their groves, H842 and burn H8313 their graven images H6456 with fire. H784

Deuteronomy 18:19 STRONG

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever H376 will not hearken H8085 unto my words H1697 which he shall speak H1696 in my name, H8034 I will require H1875 it of him.

Joshua 23:13 STRONG

Know H3045 for a certainty H3045 that the LORD H3068 your God H430 will no more H3254 drive out H3423 any of these nations H1471 from before H6440 you; but they shall be snares H6341 and traps H4170 unto you, and scourges H7850 in your sides, H6654 and thorns H6796 in your eyes, H5869 until ye perish H6 from off this good H2896 land H127 which the LORD H3068 your God H430 hath given H5414 you.

Judges 2:3 STRONG

Wherefore I also said, H559 I will not drive them out H1644 from before H6440 you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, H6654 and their gods H430 shall be a snare H4170 unto you.

1 Corinthians 15:33 STRONG

Be G4105 not G3361 deceived: G4105 evil G2556 communications G3657 corrupt G5351 good G5543 manners. G2239

2 Corinthians 6:17 STRONG

Wherefore G1352 come out G1831 from G1537 among G3319 them, G846 and G2532 be ye separate, G873 saith G3004 the Lord, G2962 and G2532 touch G680 not G3361 the unclean G169 thing; and G2504 I will receive G1523 you, G5209

Ephesians 5:11 STRONG

And G2532 have G4790 no G3361 fellowship G4790 with the unfruitful G175 works G2041 of darkness, G4655 but G1161 rather G3123 G2532 reprove G1651 them.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 STRONG

And G1161 if any man G1536 obey G5219 not G3756 our G2257 word G3056 by G1223 this epistle, G1992 note G4593 that G5126 man, and G2532 have G4874 no G3361 company with G4874 him, G846 that G2443 he may be ashamed. G1788

1 Timothy 6:5 STRONG

Perverse disputings G3859 of men G444 of corrupt G1311 minds, G3563 and G2532 destitute G650 of the truth, G225 supposing G3543 that gain G4200 is G1511 godliness: G2150 from G575 such G5108 withdraw thyself. G868

2 Timothy 2:17-18 STRONG

And G2532 their G846 word G3056 will eat G2192 G3542 as G5613 doth a canker: G1044 of whom G3739 is G2076 Hymenaeus G5211 and G2532 Philetus; G5372 Who G3748 concerning G4012 the truth G225 have erred, G795 saying G3004 that the resurrection G386 is past G1096 already; G2235 and G2532 overthrow G396 the faith G4102 of some. G5100

Revelation 18:3-5 STRONG

For G3754 all G3956 nations G1484 have drunk G4095 of G1537 the wine G3631 of the wrath G2372 of her G846 fornication, G4202 and G2532 the kings G935 of the earth G1093 have committed fornication G4203 with G3326 her, G846 and G2532 the merchants G1713 of the earth G1093 are waxed rich G4147 through G1537 the abundance G1411 of her G846 delicacies. G4764 And G2532 I heard G191 another G243 voice G5456 from G1537 heaven, G3772 saying, G3004 Come G1831 out of G1537 her, G846 my G3450 people, G2992 that G3363 ye be G4790 not G3363 partakers G4790 of her G846 sins, G266 and G2532 that G3363 ye receive G2983 not G3363 of G1537 her G846 plagues. G4127 For G3754 her G846 sins G266 have reached G190 G2853 unto G891 heaven, G3772 and G2532 God G2316 hath remembered G3421 her G846 iniquities. G92

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Deuteronomy 20

Commentary on Deuteronomy 20 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary


Introduction

Instructions for Future Wars - Deuteronomy 20

The instructions in this chapter have reference to the wars which Israel might wage in future against non-Canaanitish nations (Deuteronomy 20:15.), and enjoin it as a duty upon the people of God to spare as much as possible the lives of their own soldiers and also of their enemies. All wars against their enemies, even though they were superior to them in resources, were to be entered upon by them without fear in reliance upon the might of their God; and they were therefore to exempt from military service not only those who had just entered into new social relations, and had not enjoyed the pleasures of them, but also the timid and fainthearted (Deuteronomy 20:1-9). Moreover, whenever they besieged hostile towns, they were to offer peace to their enemies, excepting only the Canaanites; and even if it were not accepted, they were to let the defenceless (viz., women and children) live, and not to destroy the fruit-trees before the fortifications (Deuteronomy 20:10-20).


Verses 1-9

Instructions Relating to Military Service. - If the Israelites went out to battle against their foes, and saw horses and chariots, a people more numerous than they were, they were not to be afraid, because Jehovah their God was with them. Horses and chariots constituted the principal strength of the enemies round about Israel; not of the Egyptians only ( Exodus 14:7), and of the Canaanites and Philistines (Joshua 17:16; Judges 4:3; 1 Samuel 13:5), but of the Syrians also (2 Samuel 8:4; 1 Chronicles 18:4; 1 Chronicles 19:18; cf. Psalms 20:8).

Deuteronomy 20:2-4

If they were thus drawing near to war, i.e., arranging themselves for war for the purpose of being mustered and marching in order into the battle (not just as the battle was commencing), the priest was to address the warriors, and infuse courage into them by pointing to the help of the Lord. “ The priest ” is not the high priest, but the priest who accompanied the army, like Phinehas in the war against the Midianites (Numbers 31:6; cf. 1 Samuel 4:4, 1 Samuel 4:11; 2 Chronicles 13:12), whom the Rabbins call המלחמה משׁיח (the anointed of the battle), and raise to the highest dignity next to the high priest, no doubt simply upon the ground of Numbers 31:6 (see Lundius, jüd. Heiligth. p. 523).

Deuteronomy 20:5-7

Moreover, the shoterim, whose duty it was, as the keepers of the genealogical tables, to appoint the men who were bound to serve, were to release such of the men who had been summoned to the war as had entered into domestic relations, which would make it a harder thing for them to be exposed to death than for any of the others: for example, any man who had built a new house and had not yet consecrated it, or had planted a vineyard and not yet eaten any of the fruit of it, or was betrothed to a wife and had not yet married her, - that such persons might not die before they had enjoyed the fruits of what they had done. “ Who is the man, who, ” i.e., whoever, every man who. “ Consecrated the house, ” viz., by taking possession and dwelling in it; entrance into the house was probably connected with a hospitable entertainment. According to Josephus (Ant. iv. 8, 41), the enjoyment of them was to last a year (according to the analogy of Deuteronomy 24:5). The Rabbins elaborated special ceremonies, among which Jonathan in his Targum describes the fastening of slips with sentences out of the law written upon them to the door-posts, as being the most important (see at Deuteronomy 6:9 : for further details, see Selden, de Synedriis l. iii. c. 14, 15). Cerem is hardly to be restricted to vineyards, but applied to olive-plantations as well (see at Leviticus 19:10). חלּל , to make common, is to be explained from the fact, that when fruit-trees were planted ( Leviticus 19:23.), or vines set (Judges 19:24), the fruit was not to be eaten for the first three years, and that of the fourth year was to be consecrated to the Lord; and it was only the fruit that was gathered in the fifth year which could be applied by the owner to his own use, - in other words, could be made common. The command to send away from the army to his own home a man who was betrothed but had not yet taken his wife, is extended still further in Deuteronomy 24:5, where it is stated that a newly married man was to be exempt for a whole year from military service and other public burdens. The intention of these instructions was neither to send away all persons who were unwilling to go into the war, and thus avoid the danger of their interfering with the readiness and courage of the rest of the army in prospect of the battle, nor to spare the lives of those persons to whom life was especially dear; but rather to avoid depriving any member of the covenant nation of his enjoyment of the good things of this life bestowed upon him by the Lord.

Deuteronomy 20:8

The first intention only existed in the case of the timid (the soft-hearted or despondent). ימּס ולא , that the heart of thy brethren “ may not flow away ,” i.e., may not become despondent (as in Genesis 17:15, etc.).

Deuteronomy 20:9

When this was finished, the shoterim were to appoint captains at the head of the people (of war). פּקד , to inspect, to muster, then to give the oversight, to set a person over anything (Numbers 3:10; Numbers 4:27). The meaning “to lead the command” ( Schultz ) cannot be sustained; and if “ captains of the armies” were the subject, and reference were made to the commanders in the war, the article would not be omitted. If the shoterim had to raise men for the war and organize the army, the division of the men into hosts ( Zebaoth ) and the appointment of the leaders would also form part of the duties of their office.


Verse 10-11

Instructions Concerning Sieges. - Deuteronomy 20:10, Deuteronomy 20:11. On advancing against a town to attack it, they were “ to call to it for peace ,” i.e., to summon it to make a peaceable surrender and submission (cf. Judges 21:13). “ If it answered peace ,” i.e., returned an answer conducing to peace, and “ opened ” (sc., its gates), the whole of its inhabitants were to become tributary to Israel, and serve it; consequently even those who were armed were not to be put to death, for Israel was not to shed blood unnecessarily. מס does not mean feudal service , but a feudal slave (see at Exodus 1:11).


Verses 12-14

If the hostile town, however, did not make peace, but prepared for war, the Israelites were to besiege it; and if Jehovah gave it into their hands, they were to slay all the men in it without reserve (“with the edge of the sword,” see at Genesis 34:26); but the women and children and all that was in the city, all its spoil, they were to take as prey for themselves, and to consume (eat) the spoil, i.e., to make use of it for their own maintenance.


Verses 15-18

It was in this way that Israel was to act with towns that were far off; but not with the towns of the Canaanites (“ these nations ”), which Jehovah gave them for an inheritance. In these no soul was to be left alive; but these nations were to be laid under the ban, i.e., altogether exterminated, that they might not teach the Israelites their abominations and sins (cf. Deuteronomy 7:1-4; Deuteronomy 12:31). כּל־נשׁמה , lit., every breath, i.e., everything living, by which, however, human beings alone are to be understood (comp. Joshua 10:40; Joshua 11:11, with Deuteronomy 11:14).


Verse 19-20

When they besieged a town a long time to conquer it, they were not to destroy its trees, to swing the axe upon them. That we are to understand by עצהּ the fruit-trees in the environs and gardens of the town, is evident from the motive appended: “ for of them ( ממּנּוּ refers to עץ as a collective) thou eatest, and thou shalt not hew them down .” The meaning is: thou mayest suppress and destroy the men, but not the trees which supply thee with food. “ For is the tree of the field a man, that it should come into siege before thee? ” This is evidently the only suitable interpretation of the difficult words השּׂדה עץ האדם כּי , and the one which has been expressed by all the older commentators, though in different ways. But it is one which can only be sustained grammatically by adopting the view propounded by Clericus and others: viz., by pointing the noun האדם with ה interrog ., instead of האדם , and taking אדם as the object, which its position in the sentence fully warrants (cf. Ewald , §324, b . and 306, b .). The Masoretic punctuation is founded upon the explanation given by Aben Ezra , “Man is a tree of the field, i.e., lives upon and is fed by the fruits of the trees,” which Schultz expresses in this way, “Man is bound up with the tree of the field, i.e., has his life in, or from, the tree of the field,” - an explanation, however, which cannot be defended by appealing to Deuteronomy 24:6; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Ezekiel 12:10, as these three passages are of a different kind. In no way whatever can האדם be taken as the subject of the sentence, as this would not give any rational meaning. And if it were rendered as the object, in such sense as this, The tree of the field is a thing or affair of man, it would hardly have the article.

Deuteronomy 20:20

Only the trees which thou knowest that they are not trees of eating (i.e., do not bear edible fruits), mayest thou hew down, and build a rampart against the town till it come down ,” i.e., fall down from its eminence. For ירד as applied to the falling or sinking of lofty fortifications, see Deuteronomy 28:52; Isaiah 32:19. מצור , compressing or forcing down; hence, as applied to towns, במּצור בּוא , to come into siege, i.e., to be besieged (Deuteronomy 20:19; 2 Kings 24:10; 2 Kings 25:2). In Deuteronomy 20:20 it is used to denote the object, viz., the means of hemming in a town, i.e., the besieging rampart (cf. Ezekiel 4:2).