Deuteronomy 24 Study Notes

24:1-4 These verses presuppose that divorce in Israel was permitted, but they leave the circumstances of that permission open. The word for something indecent is not explained (though it is also found in v. 15). This led to the Jewish controversy Jesus speaks to in Mt 19:3-9. The point of the verses is that a man may not remarry a woman he has divorced if she has previously remarried (and been widowed or divorced). No reason is given for this prohibition, though perhaps it might have the effect of discouraging a husband from divorcing his wife on a whim. The point of the divorce certificate is to prove the woman is free to remarry. She is defiled (ritually unclean; v. 4) only with respect to remarrying her first husband. The issue here is not divorce per se.

24:5 This law is somewhat similar to 20:7. Both cases provide an opportunity for the birth of an heir. It also provides for the establishment of a strong and happy marriage.

24:6 The poor could not be required to promise as collateral items essential to life and well-being. A pair of grindstones for grinding food must not be demanded as security because human life depended on them. Taking just the upper millstone similarly rendered the pair unusable. There must be mercy as well as justice in applying the law (cp. vv. 12-13).

24:7 To steal a person’s freedom was judged as serious as stealing a person’s life. Also in the Code of Hammurabi 14, death is the penalty for kidnapping. See Ex 21:16. The warning to purge the evil is also found in 13:5.

24:8-9 The reference to Miriam recalls the incident when Aaron and Miriam challenged the God-ordained leadership of Moses. As a result Miriam was struck with a loathsome skin disease (Nm 12:10-12).

24:10-13 Taking something as security for a loan has already appeared in v. 6; Ex 22:26-27. Added here is the instruction to treat the debtor with respect. Counted as righteousness means that such behavior conforms to the stipulations of the covenant. See 2Co 9:10-15.

24:14-15 An employer must pay wages to the poor and needy every day. Otherwise, he would be answerable not to a mere human higher power but to the Lord himself.

24:16 Though Israelite families were tight knit (Jos 7:24-26), each family member must be put to death for his own sin. Jeremiah expanded on this principle when he observed that “In those days, it will never again be said, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ Rather, each will die for his own iniquity” (Jr 31:29-30; cp. Ezk 18).

24:17-22 The law was designed not just to punish the wicked but also to protect the helpless, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow. In the absence of governmental welfare programs in ancient Israel, the wealthy took responsibility for the less fortunate. As an example, if a farmer should forget a sheaf in the field he must leave it for the poor and landless to gather (cp. vv. 20-21). A famous illustration of this occurred in the story of Boaz and Ruth. Boaz, realizing he was next of kin to the unsuspecting Ruth, purposefully left scatterings of grain in his fields for her (Ru 2:15-18).