Deuteronomy 20

1. When thou goest out to battle.** The wisdom and mercy of the Hebrew laws of war will be best seen by contrasting them with those of other nations, which were, and in many cases still are, extremely barbarous. What would the Hebrew Lawgiver have said about poison gas and other methods of “civilised” warfare? Vers. 2-9 seem designed to forbid the general levies of men so common in Asiatic warfare, and to promote the best of all courage, a firm reliance upon Jehovah. Vers. 10, 11 discountenance indiscriminate slaughter, as well as pillage and slavery. The exception of the Canaanites from this rule (16, 17) was an act of Divine retribution for gross corruption. A moral plague-spot had to be removed.

6 hath not yet eaten at it. Heb., “not made it common,” i.e., taken it into common use. See Lev. xix. 23-25.

19 man’s life. Heb., “is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged?” The produce of the date-palm is the principal food of several Arabian and African tribes, who have been exposed to famine by the cruelty of invaders in cutting down those trees.