Chapter Twenty-Four
Divorce and Forbidden Remarriage
24:1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the LORD. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.
If a woman is married to a man who finds some indecency in her (Hebrew ‘ěr·wāṯ’,[1] referring to nakedness, is used here as an idiom for indecent or improper behavior)[2] he can divorce her by writing a divorce decree. She is free to marry again, however, if she does and that man no longer loves her, he too can divorce her. If he does divorce her, or dies, the previous husband may not take her as his wife again, for she has been defiled (Hebrew ‘hǔṭ·ṭǎm·mā’·ā(h)’,[3] made unclean, impure). It is unclear as to why she is considered defiled to the previous husband only, many readers attempt to equate the act as being adulterous, while that would be true under some circumstances, it would not always apply in every scenario.
Allowance of divorce should never be considered an approval by God since marriage in the Bible is treated as the highest and most intimate of personal relationships. This “allowance” comes with a cost, a man cannot return to a divorced wife after she remarries, which may minimize any spontaneous or impulsive desire for the man to divorce his wife. It is also believed that some of the Canaanites practiced the sharing of mates during several pagan rituals. The practice of “wife-swapping” would make marriage less sacred and thereby would be considered an abomination before God.
It is interesting to note that since the marriage and divorce had potential serious ramifications of bringing sin upon the community, an entire tractate of the Talmud was dedicated to the “writ of divorce,” known as the Tractate Gittin. Here is an excerpt from Jacob Neusner’s commentary and introduction to the tractate:
Because the formation, transmission, and preservation of life constitute the critical issue with which the law is concerned, it understands that the purpose of a woman’s consecration to marriage is to produce children. Gittin takes for granted that both parties must concur in the consecration to marriage, which consecration is a “sanctification” or “setting apart,” indeed, a “making holy” for a particular purpose. More particularly, the woman being betrothed to the man agrees on that occasion that she intends to carry out the responsibilities that her betrothal is meant to make possible. The sanctification of a woman accordingly takes place when the woman consents. Her consent means that she is available for that man and is not otherwise consecrated nor prohibited by rules of consanguinity or incest. Designating a woman as “holy” or “set apart” for a particular man requires the woman’s participation through her assent. Put in the negative, unlike a beast sanctified for the altar, a woman enters the relationship of sanctification only when she agrees to do so. The consecrated relationship thus involves affirmative intentionality on the part of both parties.[4]
Another Set of Miscellaneous Regulations - Part One
24:5 “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.
Similar to the rule given in Deuteronomy 20:7 regarding men who were betrothed to marry, this regulation requires newly married men to stay at home during the time of war. After marriage the person is exempt from going to war and any other public duty (Hebrew phrase essentially means “all things”). He is free to do whatever he wants and enjoy life with his wife for one year. This would allow time for them to begin a family.[5]
24:6 “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.
Loans and the repayment of loans is a recurring theme in this section of miscellaneous regulations (see verses 10-13, 17). Here no one is to take an essential item in a person’s life such as a mill (Hebrew ‘rē·ḥǎ’·yim’,[6] two stones used to grind grain by hand) or an upper millstone (Hebrew ‘rā’·ḵěḇ’,[7] the upper stone of a larger mill used to grind several materials) for repayment of a loan. The comparison is made to taking a life, leaving the person without means to eat.
24:7 “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
If a man kidnaps a fellow Israelite to be a slave or to sell them (wording can refer to a ransom), they are considered to be a thief and must be executed when found, thereby removing the evil from the land (see also Exodus 21:16).
24:8 “Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.
The identification and subsequent treating of skin diseases is an important part of the book of Leviticus (see chapters 13 and 14). The Hebrew word ‘ṣā·rǎ’·’ǎt’[8] is most often translated as leprous or leprosy, however, it can refer to several skin diseases.[9] Undoubtedly following the procedure described in Leviticus, the priests would direct the people of Israel what to do if they contracted any skin disease.
Moses then relates this to an incident many years earlier when both his sister Miriam and his brother Aaron opposed him, as a result Miriam became leprous (see Numbers 12:1-16). They repented of their actions and words before Moses and after Moses pleaded with God, Miriam was healed. Some believe this is a warning to not gossip or disobey God, however, it is more likely a reminder to those that do contract a skin disease to see a priest.
24:10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.
After a loan is made and it was time to collect, the creditor was to go to the house of the borrower and stand outside and wait for them to bring the pledge out to them. The reason for this procedure is not given. There have been several possible explanations suggested as to why this procedure was mandated, including to minimize any potential confrontation or fighting, save the borrower from any further humiliation or embarrassment in front of his family, or keep the creditor from taking other items in the house for payment.
The reference to the creditor sleeping in someone else’s sleepwear is probably not to be interpreted literally. If the borrower suffers from poverty and offers his sleepwear for collateral, which was apparently a common practice (see Exodus 22:25-26), the creditor was to return the garment to the person to sleep in at night, which would then be returned to the creditor in the morning. This act of compassion would be considered righteousness before God (see also Job 22:6; Proverbs 20:16; 27:13; Amos 2:6-8).
24:14 “You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.
Wages for work done were to be given to the worker on the same day (as required in Leviticus 19:13). Moses now emphasizes that if a worker is poor and destitute regardless if they are a foreigner or an Israelite, they are to be paid that day before the sun goes down, as they need that money to live on each day. Otherwise, the worker would complain against them to YHWH and be guilty of sin.
24:16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear that each person is responsible for their own sin. Parents are not to be punished for the sin of their children, nor are the children to be punished for the sin of their parents (as cited in 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chronicles 25:4 and indirectly applied in Jeremiah 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:20). This concept is not to be confused with the judgments or punishment from God due to sin directed against Him (for example see Deuteronomy 5:9; 13:12-15; Joshua 7:24-25; Judges 21:5-10; 2 Samuel 21:1-9).
The use of the statement that each person shall be put to death for their own sin sounds like an extreme example to convey this point. While not offered necessarily as a threat, the truth remains, death came into this world as the result of sin (see Genesis 2:17 3:6-7; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). However, the apostle Paul would remind us that, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
24:17 “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, 18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
Moses reminds the people of Israel that justice was to be applied equally to all people, including those visiting or traveling through town or to those that are orphans. They were also not to take a widow’s garment in payment or collateral for a loan. The people of Israel were to remember that they were once slaves (people with no rights) in Egypt and YHWH brought them out to their own land. God is commanding them to treat everyone with respect and dignity.
24:19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
Moses outlines three potential scenarios to aid the poor or otherwise destitute: leaving a sheaf of grain in the field; leaving some olives on the trees after picking olives to produce oil; and leaving some grapes on the vine after gathering grapes from the vineyard. In each scenario he is telling them that they should leave remnants for sojourners, orphans, and widows, so they can eat.[10] Again he reminds them that they need to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 6172.
[2] See Considerations under Genesis 2:25 regarding marriage.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 2930.
[4] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 11b, pp. iii–iv). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[5] See commentary under Deuteronomy 20:5-9 regarding other potential reasons for the exemption.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 7347.
[7] Strong’s Hebrew 7393.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 6883.
[9] See commentary above Leviticus 13:1-8.
[10] See commentary under Leviticus 19:9-10, see also Leviticus 23:22.