Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 23:13

And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

A paddle; the nature of which may be known from the use, which here follows.

Cover that which cometh from thee; partly, to prevent the annoyance of ourselves or others; partly, to preserve and exercise modesty and natural honesty; and principally, that by such outward rites they might be inured to the greater reverence of the Divine Majesty, and the greater caution to avoid all real and moral uncleanness, especially now when it was most necessary so to do.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon,…. A nail or spike, some kind of instrument to make a hole in the ground with, which was fastened to the sword upon their loins; which was to be instead of a spade or mattock to dig with:

and it shall be, when thou shall ease thyself abroad; without the camp, in the place appointed for that use, whenever nature required such an action to be performed;

thou shall dig therewith; with, the paddle, an hole in the earth: the Essenes used, according to Josephus, to make it a foot deep with a spade or mattock, and to everyone that was newly admitted among them, a little pickaxe was given for that purpose r:

and shalt turn back; having eased nature:

and cover that which cometh from thee; their dung, with the earth they dug out of the hole they made. This law was made to preserve modesty and decency becoming men, and not act like brute beasts, as well as cleanliness in the camp, and, the health of themselves and their fellow soldiers; and that, they might not be offensive to the smell, as well as pernicious to the health of one another; and especially for a reason that follows in De 23:14; so Maimonides s says, the intention of this law is especially cleanliness, and to avoid nastiness, filthiness, and impurities of every kind, that men might not be like the brute animals.

r De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 8. sect. 9. s Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 41.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Ver. 13. Thou shalt have a paddle, &c. See Fuller’s Miscellanea Sacra, lib. 6: cap. 5. The Turks, we are told, still use the same cleanliness in their camp. In all the intercourses of life, there cannot be too great a regard to natural decency, whereto this law has an immediate reference, as well as to health, to the awefulness of God’s presence, to charity and friendship, lest it should be an offence to any one: and besides, this outward discipline conveyed a moral instruction; warning them, if God was thus careful for external decency, how much more so would he be for that which is internal.

Note; 1. They who provoke God by their sins, can with little reason expect a blessing on their arms. 2. Cleanliness is next to godliness: a slut or a sloven is ever a slothful person; and neglect of decency and neatness, is not only want of sense, but want of grace. 3. The cleanliness of a camp is most conducive to the health of the army. 4. We should be ashamed to do an indecent thing to offend one another; how much more to do a wicked thing to offend God!

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Deu 23:13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Ver. 13. Thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp. ] Where he is both van and rear. Isa 52:12

And to give up thine enemies. ] Hence the Philistines were so frighted at the sight of the ark. “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them,” said those Egyptians. Exo 14:25

That he see no unclean thing. ] Hereby God taught his people holy conversation, that they should keep themselves from their iniquity, as David did Psa 18:23 – that is, from such sins as either by their constitution, calling, company, or custom, they are most prone to.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

paddle = blade.

weapon = staff.

wilt ease. Hebrew sit down. Beautiful Euphemy (App-6), when dealing with physical uncleanness, but plain speaking when dealing with moral uncleanness.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

wilt ease thyself: Heb. sittest down

cover that: Eze 24:6-8

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Deu 23:13. Cover To prevent the annoyance of ourselves or others; to preserve and exercise modesty; and principally that by such outward rites they might be inured to the greater reverence of the Divine Majesty, and the greater caution to avoid all real and moral uncleanness.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

23:13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and {g} cover that which cometh from thee:

(g) Meaning by this that his people should be pure both in body and soul.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes