Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 25:11

When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:

11, 12. Of Reckless Assault

The woman who, even to help her husband, grasps the secrets of another Israelite wrestling with him shall have her hand cut off. Peculiar to D, and in the Sg. address with brother as in other Sg. passages; but with an opening, and an accumulation of conditions similar to those in other laws probably borrowed by D. The additions may be the superfluous a man and his brother ( Deu 25:11, R.V. one with another) and thine eye shall not pity ( Deu 25:12, cp. Deu 7:16). Strive, rather are wrestling (as in E, Exo 21:22; cp. Exo 2:13, Lev 24:10, 2Sa 14:6). Secrets, lit. pudenda, only here. The position of the law just here may be due to the catchword his brother, cp. Deu 25:9.

This very special case is probably meant to be typical of others (cp. Deu 19:5). The punishment is the only mutilation prescribed by D apart from the jus talionis (Deu 19:21). It is usually supposed to have had its origin at a time when such an act was the violation of a very sacred taboo. In ammurabi, 202 205, there are (if the translation can be relied on) parallel crimes. Mutilation is also decreed there for other crimes.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

When men strive together, one with another,…. Quarrel with one another, and come to blows, and strive for mastery, which shall beat, and be the best man:

and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him; perceiving that his antagonist has more skill or strength, or both, for fighting, and is an more than a match for her husband, who is like to be much bruised and hurt; wherefore, to save him out of the hands of the smiter, she goes up to them to part them, or take her husband’s side:

and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets; or privy parts; in Hebrew his “shameful” parts x, which through shame are hidden, and modesty forbids to express in proper terms; and such is the purity of the Hebrew language, that no obscene words are used in it; for which reason, among others, it is called the holy tongue. This immodest action was done partly out of affection to her husband, to oblige his antagonist to let go his hold of him; and partly out of malice and revenge to him, to spoil him, and make him unfit for generation, and therefore was to be severely punished, as follows.

x “verenda ejus”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version; “pudenda ejus”, Piscator.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

“But in order that the great independence which is here accorded to a childless widow in relation to her brother-in-law, might not be interpreted as a false freedom granted to the female sex” ( Baumgarten), the law is added immediately afterwards, that a woman whose husband was quarrelling with another, and who should come to his assistance by laying hold of the secret parts of the man who was striking her husband, should have her hand cut off.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Verses 11, 12:

“Strive together,” natsah; the term denotes physical violence, see Exo 2:13; Exo 21:22; Leviticus 24; Leviticus 10; 2Sa 14:6.

“Secrets,” mebushim, “parts of shame,” from bosheth, “shameful thing.” The text is the only occurrence of the term in Scripture. Here it denotes the genital organs.

If a wife attempted to aid her husband in a fight, and laid hold of the adversary’s genitals, the penalty was severe: the courts ordered that her hand be cut off. In later years, the rabbis commuted this to a fine of the calculated value of the hand.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

This Law is apparently harsh, but its severity skews how very pleasing to God is modesty, whilst, on the other hand, He abominates indecency; for, if in the heat of a quarrel, when the agitation of the mind is an excuse for excesses, it was a crime thus heavily punished, for a woman to take hold of the private parts of a man who was not her husband, much less would God have her lasciviousness pardoned, if a woman were impelled by lust to do anything of the sort. Neither can we doubt but that the judges, in punishing obscenity, were bound to argue from the less to the greater. A threat is also added, lest the severity of the punishment should influence their minds to be tender and remiss ill inflicting it. It was indeed inexcusable effrontery, willfully to assail that part of the body, from the sight and touch of which all chaste women naturally recoil.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(19) PROTECTION FROM ANOTHERS WIFE (Deu. 25:11-12)

11 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets; 12 then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 25:11, 12

444.

How prudish to fail to translate a plain word meaning testicales! Why do this? What is wrong with facts?

445.

Why such a stringent measure in this action?

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 25:11, 12

11 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband out of the hand of him who is beating him, and puts out her hand, and seizes the other man by the private parts;
12 Then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her.

COMMENT 25:11, 12

It was undoubtedly wrong for two Israelites to engage in fisticuffs as a means of settling a matter, but this did not justify either mans wife (apparently the one losing the fight) to use such a method of breaking it up, The mans very life and reproductive abilities were at stake.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

11, 12. When men strive According to Van Lennep ( Bible Lands, p. 630, note) this is “explained by the fact that wrestlers are habitually on the alert to avail themselves of the chance to disable an antagonist by the means interdicted in this passage. The prohibition implies that the practice was common.”

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Correct Weights and Measures

v. 11. when men strive together one with another, become engaged in fisticuffs, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets,

v. 12. then thou, the constituted authority, shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her. This precept was here inserted in order to guard against a false freedom and familiarity of the female sex toward those of the opposite sex.

v. 13. Thou shalt not have in thy bag, usually a large leather sack or purse, divers weights, a great and a small, a set of large stones for purchases, a set of small ones for sales. This could be done both where stones and where scraps of iron were used by the merchants.

v. 14. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small, a large ephah or dry measure for purchases, a small ephah for sales.

v. 15. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, each one, whether in the shop or in the house, complete, whole, holding just the amount which it was supposed to hold, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have, that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee, in the matter of receiving temporal blessings, Deu 4:26; Deu 5:16.

v. 16. For all that do such things, in making use of dishonesty in any form, and all that do unrighteously, any one guilty of deliberate wrong-doing, are an abomination unto the Lord, thy God. But this consideration shown the neighbor at home was not to degenerate into a false weakness and indulgence toward enemies whose extermination the Lord had decided upon.

v. 17. Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt, Exo 17:8;

v. 18. how he met thee by the way, namely, at Rephidim near Horeb, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. The inhumanity practiced by the Amalekites in thus injuring and destroying the stragglers of the Israelitish army showed that there was no fear of God in their ranks.

v. 19. Therefore it shall be when the Lord, thy God, hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee for an in heritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it. Cf 12:10; Exo 17:14; Deu 9:7. Israel, acting as God’s agent, carried out this command at the time of Saul, 1 Samuel 15.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

For the honor of women, we should hope this precept was seldom violated, or the punishment made necessary.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 25:11-12

11If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, 12then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.

Deu 25:11 his genitals Again, this shows the significance of inheritance rights in ancient Israel!

Deu 25:12 you shall cut off her hand This is the only specific mutilation mentioned in the Mosaic legislation. Exact eye for eye (Lex talionis) judgment in this case was not possible. Later Judaism interpreted this as give restitution for, which they applied to many Mosaic texts.

you shall not show pity This phrase is repeated in several contexts (cf. Deu 7:16; Deu 13:8; Deu 19:13; Deu 19:21; Deu 25:12; and a similar phrase in Deu 7:2). God’s law, not human emotion, must be carried out.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

to deliver her husband: Rom 3:8, 1Ti 2:9

Reciprocal: Exo 21:18 – men

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

25:11 {e} When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:

(e) This law imputes that godly shamefacedness is preferred: for it is a horrible thing to see a woman past shame.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Unfair defense by a wife 25:11-12

God forbade an Israelite woman from gaining unfair advantage of her husband’s adversary in hand-to-hand fighting. This is a rare example of punishment by mutilation in the Pentateuch (cf. Exo 21:23-25; Lev 24:19-20; Deu 19:21).

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)