The Pulpit Commentary — Deuteronomy — Section 340

cf. Jo•ephns, • Antiq.,' iv. S. 16) were to which thev represented (of, P1. uvl. 6; meet. t h<' form<'r n.s mRgi~trates representing lxxiii. 13; Matt. xnil. 24). lh<' C'nmmnnit.ies, the l11tter RS RdministrRtors Vere. 7, 8.-'l'his act thoy were to o.o- of the lnw, 11nd WC'?e to me11sure the dist-nnco C'ompany with I\ solemn declnmliou of their from the body of thC' slRin man to ellC'h of innocence of this crime, nud of their euttro ignorance of the perpetre.tor of it; cmd with tbe ~urronnding towns, in order to 11soertllin nn earnest cry to God thnt the sin which whi<'h wus the nearest. This usccrtnined, had been done might be forgiven. Be meroi- upon tbnt town wn.s to be J11id the duty of flll ... unto; be propitiated towo.rds (Jitemlly, cxpiatin!! the <'rime. 7 couer, 'F?V..? "1Q.~ ; for the phrase, .,11~, see Yer. 3.-An heifer, whioh bath not been Lev. i. 4). And la:, not ilmooent blood; the wronght with, and whioh ha.th not drawn blood of the innocent mcm who has been in the yoke; A young cow which had not slain. bl'Cn r,'ndcred unfit for oonsecre.tion, nor had Ver. 9.-In this way they were to deliver its \'ital force impaired, by being subjected themselves n.s a nation from blood-guiltiness. t0 forced Jabour (cf. Numb. xix. 2). "Expiation was mo.de by the killing of the Yer. 4.-.& rough valley; literally, a transgressor when he oould be found (eh, ,tream qf -perpetuity, a perennial stream (cf. xix. 13; Numb. xxxv. 33); when he was not Ps. lxxiv. 15, Authorized Version, "mighty known, by the process here described. Of ri \'<'I'S; " Amos v. 24); but here rather the oourse, if afterwo.rds he were apprehended, rnlley or wady through which a stream he would suffer the peno.lty :li.e had inouned" flowed, as is e.-ident from its being described (Knobel); so also Keil, Herxheimer, eto., us neither ea.red-that is, ploughed (literally, after the Talmud (' Sota,' ix. 7). 1cro11ght, tilled)-nor aown; a place which had not been profe.n<>d by the he.nd of Vers. 10-14.-If an Israelite saw among mnn. but was in o. ste.te of nature. "This captives taken in war a woman fo.ir of aspect, rq::ulation o.s to the Joco.lity in which the and loved her, and took her to be bis wife, act of expiation was to be performed was he was to allow her a full month to mourn probably founded on the idea that the water her lost kindred, o.nd become accustomed to of the brook-\'o.lley would suck in the blood o.nd clean it nwny, ,Llld that the blood sucked her new condition, before he consummated in by the earth would not be brought to his union with her. This refers to ce.ptives ligbt ago.in by the ploughing and working from other ne.tions than those of Canaan, of the soil" (Keil). Strike o:tf the heifer's with whom the Israelites were to form no neck there in the valley; rather, break the alliance, and whom they were not to tcLke liciier's 11eck. As this wo.s not au net of captive, but either wholly destroy or render sacrifice, for which the shedding of bJooa would ha.-e been required, but simply' a tributary (cf. eh. vii. 3; Numb. ui. I, etc.; ~~·mbolicul r,·presento.tion of the inflict,on of Josh. xi. 19). death on the undisco.-ered murderer, the Ver. 12.-She shall llhave her head, and ar.imal wo.s to be killed by breaking its neck pare her nails. The shaving of the heRd (cf. fuod. xiii. 13). and the paring of the no.ils, n.s well as the Yer. 5.-A.nd the priests the BOD.II of Levi putting off of the garments worn when taken 6h.all come near. The presence of the priests captive, were signs of purification, of separo.- at this ~eremony wo.s due to their position tion from former heathenism, prepo.ro.tory t,, us the serrnut, of Jehovo.h the King of reception among the covenant people of Israel. on whom it dernh-ed to see that all Jehovo.h (cf. Lev. xiv. 8; Numb. viii. 7). was done in a.ny matter as his Law prescribed. Pare her nails; literally, make or prepare The priests present were probably those her nails, i.e. by cutting them down to a from tLe nearest Lcvitieal town. And by proper size and form (cf. 2 Sam. xix. 25, their word shall every controvamy and where the same word is used of dressing the every stroke be tried ; litcrall y, A 11,d upon feet o.nd trimming the beo.rd). The Targmn tl,eir .,,outh sl,all be e,:ery strife and every of Onkelos takes this in quite an opposite ,trul:e, i.e. by their jndgment tlie character sense, rendering, as in the margin of the of tuc a.et shed} be determined, nud as they Authorized Version, "suffer to grow," and dccidt so shnll tbe mntter stand (cf. eh. x. the rabbins who adopt this meaning suppose 8 ; nii. 8). In the present case the presence that the design of the prescription was that of tl,e priests o.t the transaction gave it the woman, being rendered unlovely, the unction as n,lid. man might be deterred from taking her to Yer. G.-The eldere of that oity. The be his wife. But this is. o.llogether alien d<lers, Ly !he siguiticnnt o.ct of washing their from the spirit o.nd scope of the passnge. hutJde, iudicllicd that they threw off from Ver. 1::1,-The re.iment of her oe.ptivity; tht:m, utterly n,pudiatcd, the chargll of I.e. tLe miment she haJ on wheu to.ken bloocl-g,ultinC11s on the pll.l't of the town oaptive; this she was to lay uide, tjlat 1ue OS, XXI, 1-23.] THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. 3-39