Read Deuteronomy 23 and 24 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions for today’s chapters are:
Deu 23:1 {s} Assembly membership prohibited
Deu 23:2 {s} Assembly membership prohibited to 10th generation
Deu 23:3-6 {s} Assembly membership prohibited to 10th generation
Deu 23:7-8 {s} Assembly membership allowed in 3rd generation
Deu 23:9-14 {s} Do not defile the army camp
Deu 23:15-16 {s} An escaped slave shall not be returned to his master
Deu 23:17-18 {s} Wages of a harlot + price of a dog shall not be offered to YHVH
Deu 23:19-20 {s} Interest on loans
Deu 23:21-23 {s} Pay vows to YHVH
Deu 23:24 {s} Do not harvest your neighbor’s vineyard
Deu 23:25 {s} Do not harvest your neighbor’s standing grain
Deu 24:1-4 {s} Divorce and remarriage
Deu 24:5-6 {s} A wife’s happiness + a family’s livelihood
Deu 24:7 {s} Kidnapping a capital offense punishable by death
Deu 24:8-9 {s} Tzaraas, or the evil tongue
Deu 24:10-13 {s} Pledges, or surety for loans
Deu 24:14-15 {s} Wages of your hired men
Deu 24:16 {s} Do not put to death the innocent for the guilty
Deu 24:17-18 {s} Pledges of the poor
Deu 24:19 {s} The grain that is for the poor
Deu 24:20-22 {s} The fruit that is for the poor
Deu 23:1-14 completes the section begun yesterday explaining Do not commit adultery. For further reading: deu 22:30-23:8, the integrity of the assembly, and deu 21:10-23:14, seventh commandment chiastic structure.
Deu 23:15-24:7 explains the eighth commandment, Do not steal. My summary:
Deu 23:15-16 {s} An escaped slave shall not be returned to his master
Persons are intrinsically free by reason of their creation in the image of God, and therefore they are not to be considered property. Therefore, if a slave escapes his master and is not returned, no theft has occurred. For further reading: deu 23:15-16, escaped slaves
Deu 23:17-18 {s} Wages of a harlot + price of a dog shall not be offered to YHVH
Deu 23:19-20 {s} Interest on loans
Deu 23:21-23 {s} Pay vows to YHVH
The common theme among all of these, is Do not steal what is holy to the LORD. Vows are holy to YHVH, so not paying a vow is theft against YHVH. For further reading: deu 23:17-23, thefts against YHVH.
Deu 23:24 {s} Do not harvest your neighbor’s vineyard
Deu 23:25 {s} Do not harvest your neighbor’s standing grain
Do not steal your neighbor’s harvest, or the source of his income. For further reading: deu 23:24-25, theft of income.
Deu 24:1-4 {s} Divorce and remarriage
Common, unthoughtful divorce and remarriage defiles the land (vs. 4), and we are not to steal the integrity of the land in which we dwell. For further reading: deu 24:1-4, divorce and remarriage.
Deu 24:5-6 {s} A wife’s happiness + a family’s livelihood
Do not steal a wife’s happiness, and do not steal a family’s livelihood. For further reading: deu 24:5-6, do not steal the life of the family.
Deu 24:7 {s} Kidnapping a capital offense punishable by death
Kidnapping is the theft of a person, and as it is a capital crime, it is the only theft punishable by death in Torah. For further reading: deu 24:7, persons are not property. The chiastic structure for the eighth commandment is here.
Deu 24:8-9 explains the ninth commandment, Do not bear false witness. I say this, because the Hebrew word the English translators have translated as “leprosy,” is actually tzaraas, which means the evil tongue. For further reading: deu 24:8-9, tzaraas or the evil tongue. The chiastic structure for the ninth commandment is here.
Deu 24:10-22 begins the explanation of the tenth commandment, Do not covet. Together these paragraph divisions explain what is due the disadvantaged, and not to covet what is their due for yourself. For further reading: deu 24:10-22, what is due the disadvantaged.
The explanation of Ten Commandments concludes in tomorrow’s reading …
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