Deuteronomy 21:12

"and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her, and desire to take her as your wife,"

Key Reflection

In Deuteronomy 21:10, a commander of soldiers who captures a beautiful woman among the defeated enemy is given instructions on how to treat her. The verse sets up a scenario where the soldier is drawn to this woman and desires to take her as his wife. This cultural context reflects the laws governing relationships between men and women in ancient Israel, emphasizing the process by which a man could legally marry a captive woman he found attractive. Such a practice would have been common in Near Eastern societies of that time, where marriages could sometimes be arranged based on mutual attraction or a man's desire for a new wife.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

The shaving the head (a customary sign of purification,Leviticus 14:8;Numbers 8:7), and the putting away “the garment of her captivity,” were designed to signify the translation of the woman from the state of a pagan and a slave to that of a wife among the covenant-people. Consistency required that she should “pare” (dress, compare2 Samuel 19:24), not “suffer to grow,” her nails; and thus, so far as possible, lay aside everything belonging to her condition as an alien.

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