Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 4:31 
Context4:31 (for he 1 is a merciful God), he will not let you down 2 or destroy you, for he cannot 3 forget the covenant with your ancestors that he confirmed by oath to them.
Deuteronomy 13:13
Context13:13 some evil people 4 have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities, 5 saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods” (whom you have not known before). 6
Deuteronomy 15:12
Context15:12 If your fellow Hebrew 7 – whether male or female 8 – is sold to you and serves you for six years, then in the seventh year you must let that servant 9 go free. 10
Deuteronomy 15:18
Context15:18 You should not consider it difficult to let him go free, for he will have served you for six years, twice 11 the time of a hired worker; the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.
Deuteronomy 21:14
Context21:14 If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go 12 where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell 13 her; 14 you must not take advantage of 15 her, since you have already humiliated 16 her.
Deuteronomy 22:7
Context22:7 You must be sure 17 to let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourself. Do this so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
Deuteronomy 34:4
Context34:4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 18 I have let you see it, 19 but you will not cross over there.”
1 tn Heb “the
2 tn Heb “he will not drop you,” i.e., “will not abandon you” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
3 tn Or “will not.” The translation understands the imperfect verbal form to have an added nuance of capability here.
4 tn Heb “men, sons of Belial.” The Hebrew term בְּלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) has the idea of worthlessness, without morals or scruples (HALOT 133-34 s.v.). Cf. NAB, NRSV “scoundrels”; TEV, CEV “worthless people”; NLT “worthless rabble.”
5 tc The LXX and Tg read “your” for the MT’s “their.”
6 tn The translation understands the relative clause as a statement by Moses, not as part of the quotation from the evildoers. See also v. 2.
7 sn Elsewhere in the OT, the Israelites are called “Hebrews” (עִבְרִי, ’ivriy) by outsiders, rarely by themselves (cf. Gen 14:13; 39:14, 17; 41:12; Exod 1:15, 16, 19; 2:6, 7, 11, 13; 1 Sam 4:6; Jonah 1:9). Thus, here and in the parallel passage in Exod 21:2-6 the term עִבְרִי may designate non-Israelites, specifically a people well-known throughout the ancient Near East as ’apiru or habiru. They lived a rather vagabond lifestyle, frequently hiring themselves out as laborers or mercenary soldiers. While accounting nicely for the surprising use of the term here in an Israelite law code, the suggestion has against it the unlikelihood that a set of laws would address such a marginal people so specifically (as opposed to simply calling them aliens or the like). More likely עִבְרִי is chosen as a term to remind Israel that when they were “Hebrews,” that is, when they were in Egypt, they were slaves. Now that they are free they must not keep their fellow Israelites in economic bondage. See v. 15.
8 tn Heb “your brother, a Hebrew (male) or Hebrew (female).”
9 tn Heb “him.” The singular pronoun occurs throughout the passage.
10 tn The Hebrew text includes “from you.”
11 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁנֶה (mishneh, “twice”) could mean “equivalent to” (cf. NRSV) or, more likely, “double” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). The idea is that a hired worker would put in only so many hours per day whereas a bondslave was available around the clock.
12 sn 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.
13 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates by the words “in any case.”
14 tn The Hebrew text includes “for money.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
15 tn Or perhaps “must not enslave her” (cf. ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT); Heb “[must not] be tyrannical over.”
16 sn 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 [NAC], 291).
17 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “be sure.”
18 tn Heb “seed” (so KJV, ASV).
19 tn The Hebrew text includes “with your eyes,” but this is redundant in English and is left untranslated.
