Deuteronomy 20:10

When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it,.... This is to be understood of an arbitrary war, as Jarchi observes; which they engaged in of themselves, or were provoked to by their enemies;

When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it.

This seems to be understood not of the cities of the Canaanites, as is manifest from , who were under an absolute sentence of utter destruction, ,33 Deu 7:1,2; whence they are blamed that made any league or peace with them, ; but of the cities either of other nations who injured or disturbed them, or commenced war against them, or aided their enemies, or oppressed their friends and allies; or of the Hebrews themselves, if they were guilty or abettors of idolatry or apostacy from God, or of sedition or rebellion against authority, or of giving protection and defence to capital offenders. See Genesis 15 Jude 20 2 Samuel 20, &c.

Deuteronomy 20:10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.Ver. 10. Then proclaim peace unto it.] Heb., Shall call unto it for peace. This hath been the practice of most nations. The Romans sent their caduceum et hastam. The herald was commanded to throw his weapons on the enemy’ s ground, with this speech: Ego populusque Rom. hominibus Hermundulis bellum dico facioque: I and the people of Rome bid battle to the Hermunduli. Alexander the Great, when he besieged any city, would send his herald into it with a burning torch in his hand, to proclaim, that if any man would repair and submit himself unto him while that torch continued burning, he should be safe; otherwise they should expect nothing but fire and sword. Tamerlane, when he came against any place, first he hung out a white flag of grace, then a red, and lastly a black flag, to show that now there was no hope of mercy for them. φιλειο Yεοςπροσημαινειν; God loves to give warning, saith Herodotus, a heathen. And the Turks are of opinion that God would not prosper them in their assaults, except they first make to their enemies some offer of peace, how unreasonable soever, it forceth not. So they did at the last fatal siege of Constantinople. Gel., lib. xvi. cap. 4. Turk. Hist. Ibid., 344.

Deuteronomy 20:10-20. SIEGES.(10) When thou comest nigh . . . proclaim peace.—Not as the children of Dan did, who massacred the inhabitants of Laish without warning (Judges 18:27-28). Even in the wars of Joshua, the cities that “stood still in their strength” were generally spared (Joshua 11:13). (15) Thus—i.e., sparing the women and the little ones. (16-18) But of the cities of these people . . . thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth . . . that they teach you not to do after all their abominations.—Upon the inhabitants of these cities the Israelites executed the sentence of Jehovah. Their abominations are sufficiently indicated in Leviticus 18:24-28; Leviticus 20:23. These verses (16-18) are parenthetical; Deuteronomy 20:19 returns to the previous subject. (19) And thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life).—Literally, the passage seems rather to mean this, Is the tree of the field a man, that it should escape thee and enter into the siege? It will not run away and fight in the trenches as a man might do. What need is there to cut it down? This seems to be the view of the Targums, the LXX., and the Jewish commentators, besides modern authorities cited in the Variorum Bible. The destruction of the trees around Jerusalem was a notable feature of the Roman war.

Verse 10. Proclaim peace unto it.] Interpreters are greatly divided concerning the objects of this law. The text, taken in connection with the context, (see Deuteronomy 20:15-18), appears to state that this proclamation or offer of peace to a city is only to be understood of those cities which were situated beyond the limits of the seven anathematized nations, because these latter are commanded to be totally destroyed. Nothing can be clearer than this from the bare letter of the text, unless some of the words, taken separately, can be shown to have a different meaning. For the common interpretation, the following reasons are given. God, who knows all things, saw that they were incurable in their idolatry; that the cup of their iniquity was full; and as their Creator, Sovereign, and Judge, he determined to destroy them from off the face of the earth, "lest they should teach the Israelites to do after all their abominations," Deuteronomy 20:18. After all, many plausible arguments have been brought to prove that even these seven Canaanitish nations might be received into mercy, provided they, 1. Renounced their idolatry; 2. Became subject to the Jews; and, 3. Paid annual tribute: and that it was only in case these terms were rejected, that they were not to leave alive in such a city any thing that breathed, Deuteronomy 20:16.

10–18. Of the Capture of Heathen Cities Before besieging a city Israel shall offer peace, and if it surrenders its people shall be subject to service (Deuteronomy 20:10 f.). But if it will not, Israel shall lay siege, and having taken it, shall slay every male, but reserve women, children, cattle and spoil for booty (Deuteronomy 20:12-14), a milder form of the ḥ ?erem; so in the case of distant cities. But of the cities of the land, nothing that breathes is to be saved; to this severest form of the ḥ ?erem must all the seven nations be put (Deuteronomy 20:15-17), so that they teach not Israel their abominations (Deuteronomy 20:18).—In the Sg. address except for Deuteronomy 20:18, possibly an addition from Deuteronomy 7:4; Deuteronomy 7:25, etc. Cornill’s opinion (Einl.3 26) that all of 15–18 is secondary is too drastic: it is a fundamental principle of D not to allow mercy where there is any risk thereby to the purity of Israel’s religion. Steuern.’s milder suggestion, that the formulas in 14 which Jehovah thy God has given thee and 16 which … is to give thee for an inheritance and the list of nations in 17 (so too Meyer, ZATW i. 135) are editorial, is possible. On the question whether the law implies the survival of Canaanites when it was written see Introd. § 11. Characteristically D enjoins less rigorous measures in war than were usual at the time, but only when there is no danger of Israel being tempted by them to the worship of other gods. In modern Arab raids women and children are never touched and no prisoners are made. The men are killed if they defend their property or are left unharmed if they have nothing or are defenceless (Jennings-Bramley PEFQ 1908, 33; confirmed by other travellers). But Islam, like Israel, when waging war against peoples of another faith has not observed these equities.

Directions intended to prevent wanton destruction of life and property in sieges.

10. Proclaim peace unto it — The meaning of the passage seems to be, summon it to surrender without contest.