^21:13discard the clothing she was wearing when captured,²² and stay²³ in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may have sexual relations²⁴ with her and become her husband and she your wife. ^21:14If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go²⁵ where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell²⁶ her;²⁷ you must not take advantage of²⁸ her, since you have already humiliated²⁹ her.

Laws Concerning Children

^21:15Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other,³⁰ and they both³¹ bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less loved wife. ^21:16In the day he divides his inheritance³² he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other³³ wife’s son who is actually the firstborn. ^21:17Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved³⁴ wife as firstborn and give him the double portion³⁵ of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power³⁶—to him should go the right of the firstborn.

^21:18If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail,³⁷^21:19his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city. ^21:20They must declare to the elders³⁸ of his city, “Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say—he is a glutton and drunkard.” ^21:21Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge out³⁹ wickedness from among you, and all Israel⁴⁰ will hear about it and be afraid.

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Footnotes

22 Heb “she is to … remove the clothing of her captivity” (cf. ); “discard her captive’s garb.”
23 Heb “sit”; , , “remain.”
24 Heb “go unto,” a common Hebrew euphemism for sexual relations.
25 Heb “send her off.” The Hebrew term שִׁלַּחְתָּה (shillakhtah) is a somewhat euphemistic way of referring to divorce, the matter clearly in view here (cf. Deut 22:19, 29; 24:1, 3; Jer 3:1; Mal 2:16). This passage does not have the matter of divorce as its principal objective, so it should not be understood as endorsing divorce generally. It merely makes the point that if grounds for divorce exist (see Deut 24:1–4), and then divorce ensues, the husband could in no way gain profit from it.
26 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by the words “in any case.”
27 The Hebrew text includes “for money.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
28 Or perhaps “must not enslave her” (cf. , , , , ); Heb “[must not] be tyrannical over.”
29 You have humiliated her. Since divorce was considered rejection, the wife subjected to it would “lose face” in addition to the already humiliating event of having become a wife by force (21:11–13). Furthermore, the Hebrew verb translated “humiliated” here (עָנָה, ’anah), commonly used to speak of rape (cf. Gen 34:2; 2 Sam 13:12, 14, 22, 32; Judg 19:24), likely has sexual overtones as well. The woman may not be enslaved or abused after the divorce because it would be double humiliation (see also E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy [], ).
30 Heb “one whom he loves and one whom he hates.” For the idea of שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) meaning to be rejected or loved less (cf. “disliked”), see Gen 29:31, 33; Mal 1:2–3. Cf. A. Konkel, 3:.
31 Heb “both the one whom he loves and the one whom he hates.” On the meaning of the phrase “one whom he loves and one whom he hates” see the note on the word “other” earlier in this verse. The translation has been simplified for stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy.
32 Heb “when he causes his sons to inherit what is his.”
33 Heb “the hated.”
34 See note on the word “other” in v. .
35 Heb “measure of two.” The Hebrew expression פִּי שְׁנַיִם (piy shénayim) suggests a two-thirds split; that is, the elder gets two parts and the younger one part. Cf. 2 Kgs 2:9; Zech 13:8. The practice is implicit in Isaac’s blessing of Jacob (Gen 25:31–34) and Jacob’s blessing of Ephraim (Gen 48:8–22).
36 Heb “his generative power” (אוֹן, ’on; cf. ). Cf. “the first fruits of his manhood”; “the first issue of his virility.”
37 Heb “and he does not listen to them.”
38 The and read “to the men,” probably to conform to this phrase in v. 21. However, since judicial cases were the responsibility of the elders in such instances (cf. Deut 19:12; 21:3, 6; 25:7–8) the reading of the is likely original and correct here.
39 The Hebrew term בִּעַרְתָּה (bi’artah), here and elsewhere in such contexts (cf. Deut 13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:9), suggests God’s anger which consumes like fire (thus בָעַר, ba’ar, “to burn”). See H. Ringgren, 2:203–4.
40 Some traditions read הַנִּשְׁאָרִים (hannish’arim, “those who remain”) for the ’s יִשְׂרָאֵל (yisra’el, “Israel”), understandable in light of Deut 19:20. However, the more difficult reading found in the is more likely original.