Old Testament Commentary - Deuteronomy 20

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 20 Laws revealed for selection of soldiers and making of war—Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites shall be utterly destroyed.
1 WHEN thou goest out to ^abattle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and ^bchariots, and a people more than thou, be not ^cafraid of them: for the ^dLORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people. 3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; 4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to ^afight for you against your enemies, to save you.
5 ¶ And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man is he that hath planted a ^avineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. 7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a ^awife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.
8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is ^afearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart ^bfaint as well as his heart. 9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.
10 ¶ When thou comest nigh unto a city to ^afight against it, then proclaim ^bpeace unto it. 11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that *all the people that is* found therein shall be ^atributaries unto thee^a**, and they shall serve thee.	*11^a all the people that is* found therein shall be tributaries unto thee** This is a softening of the commandment to destroy and/or remove all from off the land. Since Moses is the one who proclaimed both acting as God's prophet, we presume that the Lord did give both conditions. Certainly not all the people where destroyed but just how many actually became 'tributaries' unto Israel is not exactly clear either except where and that which did continue to war with Israel such as the Philistines. And though many of those who did remain in and among Israel did likely subject themselves to Israel, others did not and those 'others' Israel also did not destroy, like those whom David did war against in taking Jerusalem because the tribe of Benjamin never did act against it. And though the many who did conform to being tributaries, they seem to have maintained their own gods, and in this did they tend to corrupt Israel unto Israel's destrution, first the '10 tribes', then Judah as well.
12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: 13 And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: 14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt ^aeat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 But of the ^acities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: 17 But thou shalt utterly ^adestroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: 18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
19 ¶ When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (^afor the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege: 20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for ^ameat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.