Deuteronomio 24

VBL · Chapter 24/34

1Si un hombre se casa con una mujer, pero no está contento con ella porque descubre algo vergonzoso sobre ella, se le permite escribir un certificado de divorcio para ella, dárselo, y expulsarla de su casa.

2Supongamos que después de salir de su casa, se casa con otro hombre,

3y supongamos que el segundo hombre también termina odiándola, le escribe un certificado de divorcio, se lo da, y la envía fuera de su casa, o puede que él muera.

4El primer marido que se divorció de ella no puede volver a casarse con ella después de que se avergonzara, porque eso ofende al Señor. No traerás la culpa a la tierra que el Señor tu Dios te da para que la poseas.

5Si un hombre acaba de casarse, no debe ser enviado a la guerra ni obligado a cumplir ningún otro deber. Es libre de quedarse en casa durante un año y hacer feliz a su esposa.

6No aceptes un par de piedras de molino, o incluso sólo una piedra de molino superior, como garantía de una deuda, porque eso pondría la vida del prestatario en peligro.

7Cualquiera que sea sorprendido secuestrando a un compañero israelita debe ser ejecutado, ya sea que el secuestrador lo haga esclavo o lo venda. Deben eliminar el mal de entre ustedes.

8Cuando se trata de enfermedades infecciosas de la piel, asegúrense de seguir cuidadosamente todas las instrucciones de los sacerdotes levitas. Tengan cuidado de seguir las órdenes que les he dado.

9Recuerda lo que el Señor tu Dios le hizo a Miriam en el viaje al salir de Egipto.

10Si le prestas algo a alguien, no entres en su casa para tomar algún tipo de seguridad.

11Permanece afuera mientras ellos entran y te traen la seguridad.

12Si es un hombre pobre, puede dar su capa como promesa de pago, pero no debes guardarla al irte a dormir.

13Asegúrate de devolverlo antes de la puesta de sol, para que pueda dormir con su propia capa y gracias, y serás considerado como haciendo el bien por el Señor tu Dios.

14No maltrates a un sirviente asalariado, pobre y necesitado, sea israelita o extranjero que viva en uno de tus pueblos.

15Paga su salario todos los días antes de la puesta del sol, porque es pobre y depende de ellos. Si no lo hace, puede quejarse al Señor de ti, y serás encontrado culpable de pecado.

16Los padres no deben ser ejecutados por sus hijos, y los hijos no deben ser ejecutados por sus padres. Cada persona debe ser ejecutada por su propio pecado.

17No trates injustamente a los extranjeros o a los huérfanos; no tomes el manto de viuda como garantía de pago.

18Recuerden que una vez fueron esclavos en Egipto, y el Señor su Dios los rescató de ese lugar. Por eso te ordeno que hagas esto.

19Si cuando estás cosechando en tu campo te olvidas de una gavilla allí, no vuelvas por ella. Déjala para los extranjeros, los huérfanos y las viudas, para que el Señor tu Dios te bendiga en todo lo que hagas.

20Cuando sacudas los olivos para derribar las aceitunas, no vuelvas a pasar por encima de las ramas. Lo que queda es para los extranjeros, los huérfanos y las viudas.

21Cuando coseches las uvas en tu viñedo, no vuelvas a repasar las vides. Lo que queda es para los extranjeros, los huérfanos y las viudas.

22Recuerden que una vez fueron esclavos en Egipto. Por eso les ordeno que hagan esto.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses establishes the law of the certificate of divorce (forbidding a return to a former spouse after remarriage), a one-year military exemption for the newly married, a prohibition against taking essential survival tools as collateral, and various laws protecting workers, foreigners, orphans, and widows, including leaving the gleanings of the harvest for the needy.

Explanation

The law of the certificate of divorce, though it regulates a practice that already existed rather than instituting it, establishes important protections: it formalizes the process (requiring documentation, not informal abandonment) and forbids the first husband from reclaiming his wife after she has remarried, preventing manipulation or the treatment of the woman as property to be traded. The protection against taking 'the millstones' as collateral, tools used daily to grind grain and prepare basic food, shows a practical sensitivity about never depriving a family of the essential means of survival, even in the legitimate collection of a debt. The principle of leaving part of the harvest for the poor (forgotten sheaves, olives not gone over a second time, grapes not gleaned) institutionalized a simple but effective system of social assistance based on the agricultural produce itself, without the need for bureaucracy or centralized distribution of resources.

Fun facts

  • Jesus is questioned specifically about this divorce law in Matthew 19:7-8, answering that Moses permitted it 'because of the hardness of your hearts,' but that God's original ideal for marriage was different and higher, distinguishing between a regulatory concession and the divine ideal.
  • The story of Ruth gleaning in Boaz's field (Ruth 2) is the most famous practical application of the law of leaving the gleanings of the harvest for the poor and the foreigner mentioned here, showing this law being lived out concretely in the biblical narrative.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomio 24:1The law is not commanding the husband to divorce, it is regulating what was already happening: it requires a formal document of divorce and forbids the first husband from remarrying the woman after she has married another man. Jewish scholars debated for centuries what counted as an acceptable reason for that document.
  2. Deuteronomio 24:2It provides for the case of the divorced woman who marries another man.
  3. Deuteronomio 24:3It continues the scenario: if this second husband also rejects her, or dies, she becomes free again.
  4. Deuteronomio 24:4The final rule forbids the first husband from marrying her again, treating that reunion as defilement — a specific law with no clear parallel among other ancient peoples.
  5. Deuteronomio 24:5A newly married man was excused from war and from any other duty for a full year, to bring joy to “his wife.” It’s one of the few laws in the book thought out entirely for the well-being of the new marriage, not for war or worship.
  6. Deuteronomio 24:6A millstone for grinding grain could not be taken as collateral for a debt, because that would mean taking “a man’s life to pledge”: without it, a family could not make the flour for its own daily bread.
  7. Deuteronomio 24:7Kidnapping and selling a fellow Israelite as a slave is a capital crime, treated with the same gravity as other crimes that call for purging evil from among the people.
  8. Deuteronomio 24:8Regarding cases of leprosy, the instruction is to follow exactly what the Levitical priests teach, without deviating.
  9. Deuteronomio 24:9It cites the episode of Miriam, punished with leprosy in the wilderness, as a reminder of how serious these purity laws are.
  10. Deuteronomio 24:10When lending something to someone, the creditor may not go into that person’s house to seize the collateral by force.
  11. Deuteronomio 24:11The correct procedure is to wait outside, letting the debtor himself bring out the pledged item.
  12. Deuteronomio 24:12If the debtor is poor, the creditor must not go to sleep still holding his pledge.
  13. Deuteronomio 24:13The pledge — usually a piece of clothing — was to be returned by sunset, so the person could sleep wrapped in it.
  14. Deuteronomio 24:14A poor day laborer had to be paid on the same day, before sunset, because he depended on those wages to eat that night. A late payment wasn’t just bad manners, it was a risk of hunger.
  15. Deuteronomio 24:15The day laborer’s pay must be made on the same day, without delay, because he financially depends on it.
  16. Deuteronomio 24:16It establishes individual responsibility: no one is to be put to death for the crime of another family member.
  17. Deuteronomio 24:17It reinforces the legal protection of foreigners and orphans, and forbids taking a widow’s clothing as collateral for a debt.
  18. Deuteronomio 24:18Once again, the reason given is remembering their own experience of slavery in Egypt as the basis for treating the vulnerable well.
  19. Deuteronomio 24:19When gathering the harvest, the olives, or the grapes, the owner could not go back for what was left over or forgotten: that was deliberately left for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow to gather afterward. It’s the law of gleaning, a form of social assistance built into the harvest itself, without depending on direct charity.
  20. Deuteronomio 24:20The same practice applies to the olive harvest: not going back to strip what was left on the branches.
  21. Deuteronomio 24:21And also to the grape harvest: not going back over it, leaving what remains for those in need.
  22. Deuteronomio 24:22It closes the chapter repeating the usual reason: the memory of slavery in Egypt is what sustains these laws of generosity.

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