I apologize for the long gap in time since the last blog. I have been occupied with many things. But I am determined to increase the pace and also catch up with your comments and questions.

With the previous blogs in mind, let’s revisit Deuteronomy 21:10-14:
“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, 12 and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.”

When viewed in light of today’s ethical standards, the instruction here seems ethically deficient. But it was not written to our day, it was written to a much earlier time, with horrendous standards for the treatment of women in the context of war. In light of ancient war practices, the guidance Israel received from God in this passage can be seen as a remarkably redemptive advance on ancient practices.

First of all, allowance is made for the captive woman to mourn her situation. She is separated from her home, her family and familiar associations. It is highly likely that her parents were killed and even possible that she was forced to witness that. The cutting of hair, trimming of nails, and change of clothing were drastic acts typical of intense mourning. Although she is a pagan, the divine guidance gives voice to the woman’s pain. William Webb imagines the captive woman saying to herself: “My world is torn apart, joy and beauty are removed from me.” The actions described are a visible expression of the woman’s inner sorrow.

The text requires a month-long waiting period before the Israelite soldier can marry her and engage in sexual intercourse. One week was the norm for mourning in the Ancient Near East. Allowance for a month was an act of compassion toward the captive woman. Given the post-battle trauma of the situation, a month is not enough, but it is a clear advance over ancient practices.

The text requires the soldier to engage in an Israelite marriage covenant before he can have sex with her. Obviously, this means that there is no allowance for battlefield rape, as practiced by most ancient cultures. Marriage would provide the captive woman protection and benefits within Israelite society, regardless of how the marriage turned out (Exod 21:10-11). And should things not go well, the soldier is not allowed to sell her as a slave. She is a free, Israelite woman now. Such consideration for the position and feelings of the woman in such a situation is amazing in its context.

On top of that, the text shows a serious concern for the captive woman’s honor. She is not just a piece of property, to be used as the Israelite soldier wishes. If the marriage doesn’t work out, both the sex and the divorce dishonor her (she is no longer a virgin). This passage, read in its larger, ancient context, shows that God was deeply disappointed at the poor treatment of women in the ancient world (laid out in graphic terms in previous blogs).

As noted in the work of William Webbs, Deuteronomy 21:10-14 portrays an incremental, redemptive ethic. God is leading them in the right direction, as fast as they are capable or willing to go. God’s goal, in directions like these, is better treatment of captive women. Does Deuteronomy 21 reflect God’s ideal? Absolutely not. God’s ultimate ethic is far higher than what is expressed here. But We catch a glimpse of God’s ultimate ethic in the way Jesus treated women in the four Gospels. I think of stories like the woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11) and Mary of Bethany (John 12:1-8). See also the story in Luke 7:36-50. God is leading the human race toward His ultimate ethnic, one small step at a time.