Deuteronomy 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6 7a 7b 8 9 10 11a 11b 12 13 14 15 16a 16b 17 18 19 20 21a 21b 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29a 29b 30 31 32 33 34
17:1 LO TIZBACH LA YHVH ELOHEYCHA SHOR VA SEH ASHER YIHEYEH VO MUM KOL DAVAR RA KI TO'AVAT YHVH ELOHEYCHA HU
לֹא תִזְבַּח לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ שׁוֹר וָשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בוֹ מוּם כֹּל דָּבָר רָע כִּי תוֹעֲבַת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ הוּא
KJ (King James translation): Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
BN (BibleNet translation): You shall not sacrifice to YHVH your god an ox or a sheep which has a blemish, or any type of imperfection; for that is an abomination to YHVH your god.
DAVAR RA: RA does indeed mean "evil", or at least "wicked", or simply "bad", but surely that is not the intention here. The blemish is a wart on the nose or a hare-lip, not a tendency towards criminal behaviour; but even this isn't the matter in hand. All creatures were made by this perfectionist deity (even the ebola virus and the malarial mosquito, even the ox with a wart on its nose and the sheep with a hare-lip), and so evil cannot be attributed, or else evil must be accepted as an equal attribute of the deity (in Judaism it is, in Christianity it is not, unless you follow the Cathars, the Manicheans, the Albigensians, gnostics who separated Good from Evil in a very different manner). The point is that YHVH understands that there are deficiencies, but he wants humans to seek out the perfections.
samech break
17:2 KI YIMATS'E VE KIRBECHA BE ACHAD SHE'AREYCHA ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA NOTEN LACH ISH O ISHAH ASHER YA'ASEH ET HA RA BE EYNEY YHVH ELOHEYCHA LA'AVOR BRITO
כִּי יִמָּצֵא בְקִרְבְּךָ בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֶת הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַעֲבֹר בְּרִיתוֹ
BN: If there be found in your midst, within any of your gates which YHVH your god is giving you, a man or a woman who commits what is considered evil in the eyes of YHVH your god, by transgressing his covenant...
But at the same time, there is evil, not so much in the physical realm of sacrificial animals as in the generally immoral realm of human beings. And just as humans are required to seek out the flaws in the sacrificial beasts, and reject them for the purposes of sacrifice, so they are required to seek out the wicked amongst their fellow humans, and deal with them as well. The point being that YHVH, like Voltaire, wants to create a land of milk and honey, which requires a beautifully cultivated garden - and you don't get a beautifully cultivated garden if you are unwilling to pull out the weeds and nettles.
BE EYNEY YHVH: is not "evil in the sight of" but "what is considered evil in the eyes of". Subtly different. And what is considered evil in his eyes may not be considered as such in ours; his concern, as made clear in the next verse, is unequivocal obedience to his covenant, and to his unique worship. Definitions of evil, on the other hand, shift like Zeitgeists.
17:3 VA YELECH VA YA'AVOD ELOHIM ACHERIM VA YISHTACHU LAHEM VE LA SHEMESH O LA YAREYACH O LE CHOL TSEVA HA SHAMAYIM ASHER LO TSIVITI
וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיַּעֲבֹד אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ לָהֶם וְלַשֶּׁמֶשׁ אוֹ לַיָּרֵחַ אוֹ לְכָל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוִּיתִי
KJ: And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
BN: And has gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the hosts of the heavens, which I have not permitted...
ACHERIM: This law is problematic theologically, because at other times YHVH is not simply depicted as, but clearly stated as the sun himself, and rules as ADONAI TSEVA'OT, the Lord of the Hosts of Heaven, which is to say the sun-god as the head of the constellations of the stars and planets. And given that this is his title and role throughout the books of the Prophets, even into Ezraic times (Chagai, Zechar-Yah and Mal'achi all name him as such), we can only conclude that this verse must be a post-Ezraic addition, at the time of the "coup" by YHVH, establishing himself as the Omnideity, and beginning the process of transformation of the cult from a mythological fertility cult to the Talmudic Judaism that would emerge after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. What date precisely? Not before the start of the Hasmonean era, but who can say precisely when after that.
YISHTACHU, as opposed to YISHTACHAVU; both from the same root, but a subtle distinction of meaning.
Does wishing a person MAZAL TOV ("may the stars align in your favour") count as an act of evil then?
17:4 VE HUGAD LECHA VE SHAMATA VE DARASHTA HEYTEV VE HINEH EMET NACHON HA DAVAR NE'ESTAH HA TO'EVAH HA ZOT BE YISRA-EL
KJ: And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
BN: And it be told to you, and you hear it, then you shall inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Yisra-El...
Who is the "you" in this? It sounds like an informer network is being set up, with everyone expected to inform, and to do the police work. Or is it simply a statement of general human responsibility, a rejection of the concept of "passers by"?
17:5 VE HOTSEYTA ET HA ISH HA HU O ET HA ISHAH HA HI ASHER ASU ET HA DAVAR HA RA HA ZEH EL SHE'AREYCHA ET HA ISH O ET HA ISHAH U SEKALTAM BA AVANIM VA METU
KJ: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
BN: Then you shall bring that man or that woman, who has done this evil thing, to your gates; and you shall stone that man or that woman to death with stones.
And not just an informer network of self-appointed police officers, but a lynch mob into the bargain. But, again, this really does depend on who the "you" is. If it is simply Mosheh, or his successor as leader, or the clan-chiefs and the tribal princes, being instructed by YHVH, then we can probably assume the proper judicial process, with witnesses, courts, judges, rights of appeal etc described in the previous books of Torah ... however, this does appear to be Mosheh giving the instruction to his people. It conflicts with much that is given in the other books of Torah, but it is unquestionably a lynch-mob.
Does the stoning happen at the gate, inside the gate, outside the gate? How can we carry out an important commandment faithfully if we are not given precise instruction? (Do we simply march to the Capitol, and protest peacefully outside; or do we break down doors and windows to get inside, and then ransack the place? Tweet us more precisely, YHVH. Tweet us more precisely, Mosheh).
17:6 AL PI SHENAYIM EDIM O SHELOSHA EDIM YUMAT HA MET LO YUMAT AL PI ED ECHAD
KJ: At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
BN: At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he who is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
And who verifies the witnesses? See the next verse.
17:7 YAD HA EDIM TIHEYEH BO VA RISHONAH LAHAMITO VE YAD KOL HA AM BA ACHARONAH U VI'ARTA HA RA MI KIRBECHA
KJ: The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
BN: The hands of the witnesses shall be the first to be laid upon him, to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Or add more evil - easy enough to imagine a conspiracy of two or three witnesses, against someone they hate, or wish to ruin, bringing false testimony, and then taking extra pleasure from being the ones who cast the first stones.
pey break
17:8 KI YIPAL'E MIMCHA DAVAR LA MISHPAT BEYN DAM LE DAM BEYN DIN LE DIN U VEYN NEGA LA NEGA DIVREY RIVOT BI SHE'AREYCHA VE KAMTA VE ALITA EL HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR UHVH ELOHEYCHA BO
17:4 VE HUGAD LECHA VE SHAMATA VE DARASHTA HEYTEV VE HINEH EMET NACHON HA DAVAR NE'ESTAH HA TO'EVAH HA ZOT BE YISRA-EL
וְהֻגַּד לְךָ וְשָׁמָעְתָּ וְדָרַשְׁתָּ הֵיטֵב וְהִנֵּה אֱמֶת נָכוֹן הַדָּבָר נֶעֶשְׂתָה הַתּוֹעֵבָה הַזֹּאת בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
BN: And it be told to you, and you hear it, then you shall inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Yisra-El...
Who is the "you" in this? It sounds like an informer network is being set up, with everyone expected to inform, and to do the police work. Or is it simply a statement of general human responsibility, a rejection of the concept of "passers by"?
17:5 VE HOTSEYTA ET HA ISH HA HU O ET HA ISHAH HA HI ASHER ASU ET HA DAVAR HA RA HA ZEH EL SHE'AREYCHA ET HA ISH O ET HA ISHAH U SEKALTAM BA AVANIM VA METU
וְהוֹצֵאתָ אֶת הָאִישׁ הַהוּא אוֹ אֶת הָאִשָּׁה הַהִוא אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ אֶת הַדָּבָר הָרָע הַזֶּה אֶל שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֶת הָאִישׁ אוֹ אֶת הָאִשָּׁה וּסְקַלְתָּם בָּאֲבָנִים וָמֵתוּ
BN: Then you shall bring that man or that woman, who has done this evil thing, to your gates; and you shall stone that man or that woman to death with stones.
And not just an informer network of self-appointed police officers, but a lynch mob into the bargain. But, again, this really does depend on who the "you" is. If it is simply Mosheh, or his successor as leader, or the clan-chiefs and the tribal princes, being instructed by YHVH, then we can probably assume the proper judicial process, with witnesses, courts, judges, rights of appeal etc described in the previous books of Torah ... however, this does appear to be Mosheh giving the instruction to his people. It conflicts with much that is given in the other books of Torah, but it is unquestionably a lynch-mob.
Does the stoning happen at the gate, inside the gate, outside the gate? How can we carry out an important commandment faithfully if we are not given precise instruction? (Do we simply march to the Capitol, and protest peacefully outside; or do we break down doors and windows to get inside, and then ransack the place? Tweet us more precisely, YHVH. Tweet us more precisely, Mosheh).
17:6 AL PI SHENAYIM EDIM O SHELOSHA EDIM YUMAT HA MET LO YUMAT AL PI ED ECHAD
עַל פִּי שְׁנַיִם עֵדִים אוֹ שְׁלֹשָׁה עֵדִים יוּמַת הַמֵּת לֹא יוּמַת עַל פִּי עֵד אֶחָד
BN: At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he who is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
And who verifies the witnesses? See the next verse.
17:7 YAD HA EDIM TIHEYEH BO VA RISHONAH LAHAMITO VE YAD KOL HA AM BA ACHARONAH U VI'ARTA HA RA MI KIRBECHA
יַד הָעֵדִים תִּהְיֶה בּוֹ בָרִאשֹׁנָה לַהֲמִיתוֹ וְיַד כָּל הָעָם בָּאַחֲרֹנָה וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִקִּרְבֶּךָ
KJ: The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
BN: The hands of the witnesses shall be the first to be laid upon him, to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Or add more evil - easy enough to imagine a conspiracy of two or three witnesses, against someone they hate, or wish to ruin, bringing false testimony, and then taking extra pleasure from being the ones who cast the first stones.
pey break
17:8 KI YIPAL'E MIMCHA DAVAR LA MISHPAT BEYN DAM LE DAM BEYN DIN LE DIN U VEYN NEGA LA NEGA DIVREY RIVOT BI SHE'AREYCHA VE KAMTA VE ALITA EL HA MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR UHVH ELOHEYCHA BO
כִּי יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ דָבָר לַמִּשְׁפָּט בֵּין דָּם לְדָם בֵּין דִּין לְדִין וּבֵין נֶגַע לָנֶגַע דִּבְרֵי רִיבֹת בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ וְקַמְתָּ וְעָלִיתָ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בּוֹ
KJ: If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose;
BN: If there arise a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between outcome and outcome, all of these likely to be matters of controversy within your gates; then you shall get up, and go up to the place which YHVH your god shall choose.
NEGA: "Stroke upon stroke"? LINGO'A means "to touch", so "stroke" is an odd choice by the translator anyway. Should this perhaps be, metaphorically speaking, "between stone and stone", in the sense of "does this deserve the death penalty, and if so by what method, and if not then what punishent is appropriate"?
Returning to the commentary on the earlier verses, this feels much more like Mosheh addressing the officially appointed leaders and judges and court officials - though at no point does the text make that unequivocal. Mosheh is presented as speaking to all the people, all the time, in one continuous statement. Context is everything.
17:9 U VATA EL HA KOHANIM HA LEVIYIM VE EL HA SHOPHET ASHER YIHEYEH BA YAMIM HA HEM VE DARASHTA VE HIGIDU LECHA ET DEVAR HA MISHPAT
KJ: And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:
BN: And you shall come to the Kohanim, to the Leviyim, and to whoever is the Judge in those days; and you shall ask them, and they shall decide for you what is to be the outcome in this case.
A kind of Supreme Court, but with a Shophet, which is a Judge as in the Book of Judges, rather than a Dayan, which it would be in a Beth Din (religious court) or een the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), who would presumably resolve the matter by throwing the divine dice, the Urim and Tumim, to find out YHVH's opinion. All of which reinforces my sense, in the last verse, that this chapter does not belong with the rest of Deuteronomy, but is a separate speech to the leadership.
17:9 U VATA EL HA KOHANIM HA LEVIYIM VE EL HA SHOPHET ASHER YIHEYEH BA YAMIM HA HEM VE DARASHTA VE HIGIDU LECHA ET DEVAR HA MISHPAT
וּבָאתָ אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם וְאֶל הַשֹּׁפֵט אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וְדָרַשְׁתָּ וְהִגִּידוּ לְךָ אֵת דְּבַר הַמִּשְׁפָּט
BN: And you shall come to the Kohanim, to the Leviyim, and to whoever is the Judge in those days; and you shall ask them, and they shall decide for you what is to be the outcome in this case.
A kind of Supreme Court, but with a Shophet, which is a Judge as in the Book of Judges, rather than a Dayan, which it would be in a Beth Din (religious court) or een the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), who would presumably resolve the matter by throwing the divine dice, the Urim and Tumim, to find out YHVH's opinion. All of which reinforces my sense, in the last verse, that this chapter does not belong with the rest of Deuteronomy, but is a separate speech to the leadership.
17:10 VA ASITA AL PI HA DAVAR ASHER YAGIDU LECHA MIN HA MAKOM HA HU ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH VE SHAMARTA LA'ASOT KE CHOL ASHER YORUCHA
וְעָשִׂיתָ עַל פִּי הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ מִן הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה וְשָׁמַרְתָּ לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ
BN: And you shall carry out the sentence accordingly, which they shall declare to you from that place which YHVH shall choose; and you shall undertake to carry out whatever they instruct you...
This endless repetition of the unnamed and ungeographically-located "house that your god shall choose" can only be understood as the retroactive validation of the Temple in Yeru-Shala'im at the time of... perhaps even as early as Shelomoh (Solomon), but certainly by the time of Ezra and Nechem-Yah, when this text was first written down.
17:11 AL PI HA TORAH ASHER YORUCHA VE AL HA MISHPAT ASHER YOMRU LECHA TA'ASEH LO TASUR MIN HA DAVAR ASHER YAGIDU LECHA YAMIN U SMOL
עַל פִּי הַתּוֹרָה אֲשֶׁר יוֹרוּךָ וְעַל הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֲשֶׁר יֹאמְרוּ לְךָ תַּעֲשֶׂה לֹא תָסוּר מִן הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יַגִּידוּ לְךָ יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל
BN: According to the Torah which they will teach you, and according to the judgment which they will give you, so shall you do; you shall not deviate from the sentence which they shall declare to you, neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
17:12 VE HA ISH ASHER YA'ASEH VE ZADON LE VILTI SHEMO'A EL HA KOHEN HA OMED LESHARET SHAM ET YHVH ELOHEYCHA O EL HA SHOPHET U MET HA ISH HA HU U VI'ARTA HA RA MI YISRA-EL
וְהָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה בְזָדוֹן לְבִלְתִּי שְׁמֹעַ אֶל הַכֹּהֵן הָעֹמֵד לְשָׁרֶת שָׁם אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אוֹ אֶל הַשֹּׁפֵט וּמֵת הָאִישׁ הַהוּא וּבִעַרְתָּ הָרָע מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל
BN: And the man who is so arrogant that he refuses to heed the Kohen who is standing there, to minister before YHVH your god, or to the judge, that man shall die; and you shall exterminate the evil from Yisra-El.
VI'ARTA: A fourth word to add to our lexicon of destruction: Nichretah, Hashmadah, Ibud, and now Vi'arta. But then, there are many different kinds of nettles ruining the garden, and some need digging out, and some need pruning down, and some a gentle hoe is quite sufficient.
17:13 VE CHOL HA AM YISHME'U VE YIRA'U VE LO YEZIDUN OD
וְכָל הָעָם יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיִרָאוּ וְלֹא יְזִידוּן עוֹד
BN: And all the people shall hear, and fear, and no longer act arrogantly.
The notion, disproved by history a million times, that the death penalty serves as a deterrent against criminal behaviour, and as a spur to self-improvement. On the other hand, it beats having your garden taken over by the nettles.
samech break
17:14 KI TAVO EL HA ARETS ASHER YHVH ELOHEYCHA NOTEN LACH VIY'RISHTAH VE YASHAHVTAH BAH VE AMARTA ASIMAH ALAY MELECH KE CHOL HA GOYIM ASHER SEVIVOTAI
כִּי תָבֹא אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ וִירִשְׁתָּהּ וְיָשַׁבְתָּה בָּהּ וְאָמַרְתָּ אָשִׂימָה עָלַי מֶלֶךְ כְּכָל הַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבֹתָי
BN: When you come into the land which YHVH your god is giving you, and take possession of it, and live in it, and say: I shall set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me...
If this really is Mosheh, thinking ahead, then it is the most extraordinary surprise; he has established the tribal structure, with sheikhs and clan-chiefs; he has established the theocracy, with his own family its aristocrats; he has established the military and the judiciary; and he has placed YHVH on the throne of all this. Why would he even imagine a king, when "YHVH melech, YHVH malach, YHVH yimloch le olam va ed - YHVH rules, has ruled, will rule, eternally" - and the word for a king in Yehudit... is MELECH?
But for Ezra and Nechem-Yah, re-establishing Yehudah in the 4th century BCE, having the Redactor create this text, history is full of kings, from Shelomoh (probably the first) until Tsedek-Yah (Zedekiah), the last before their time...
17:15 SOM TASIM ALEYCHA MELECH ASHER YIVCHAR YHVH ELOHEYCHA BO MI KEREV ACHEYCHA TASIM ALEYCHA MELECH LO TUCHAL LATET ALEYCHA ISH NACHRI ASHER LO ACHICHA HU
שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בּוֹ מִקֶּרֶב אַחֶיךָ תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ לֹא תוּכַל לָתֵת עָלֶיךָ אִישׁ נָכְרִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא אָחִיךָ הוּא
KJ: Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
BN: You shall set as a king over you one whom YHVH your god shall choose; one from among your kinsmen you shall set as king over you; you may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your kinsman.
SOM TASIM: An unusual grammatical construction, given that both words come from the same root, meaning "to put"; it almost feels like that Yiddish mannerism, that Yiddish-Shmiddish mannerism I should say. And with the same resigned shrug: "if you really must have a king..."
17:16 RAK LO YARBEH LO SUSIM VE LO YASHIV ET HA AM MITSRAYEMAH LEMA'AN HARBOT SUS VA YHVH AMAR LACHEM LO TOSIPHUN LASHUV BA DERECH HA ZEH OD
רַק לֹא יַרְבֶּה לּוֹ סוּסִים וְלֹא יָשִׁיב אֶת הָעָם מִצְרַיְמָה לְמַעַן הַרְבּוֹת סוּס וַיהוָה אָמַר לָכֶם לֹא תֹסִפוּן לָשׁוּב בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה עוֹד
BN: Only he shall not build himself an enormous stable, for the purpose of breeding racehorses, nor cause the people to return to Mitsrayim, because YHVH has said to you: From this time forth, you shall never again go back that way.
YARBEH: My translation is intended entirely seriously. The sport of kings began in Egypt, several centuries after Mosheh it is true, but already an established notoriety of Egyptian rulers by the time of Ezra and Nechem-Yah. For more detail on the introduction of the horse into Egypt, click here. Then take a look at 1 Kings 4:20-28.
Does this mean a physical return to Egypt, or a metaphorical return to its Phaoronic practices? Remember that it was Yoseph who is attributed in the Torah with instituting those practices (Genesis 41:28 ff). And if a physical return to Egypt was unacceptable to YHVH, does this render the Alexandrian Jewish community, the ones who translated the Tanach into Koine Greek as the Septuagint... you can ask the rest of that question for yourself. And don't bother to look in Maimonides for an answer; he was living in Cairo, which was what Yoseph's On (Heliopolis) grew into, when he wrote his Mishneh Torah and his Guide For The Perplexed. Heretics, blasphemers, reprobate sinners all of them!
So clearly it has to mean a metaphorical return to its Phaoronic practices.
11:17 VE LO YARBEH LO NASHIM VE LO YASUR LEVAVO VE CHESEPH VE ZAHAV LO YARBEH LO ME'OD
KJ: Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
BN: Nor shall he take for himself numerous wives, and thereby have his heart distracted. Nor shall he build himself a private treasury of silver and gold.
Laws, especially prohibitions, are not usually made without a context. There is no need to make hurricane glass a legal obligation in a land-locked country, but earthquake-proofing in California is entirely sensible. So YHVH and Mosheh come up with laws about kings, though there is no intention of Mosheh himself, or Yehoshu'a his successor, or the tribal elders who have been created, or the Kohanim who have been established, becoming kings themselves, or being replaced by such. Yet the law is deemed necessary. We can take it as retroactive validation once again, or we can take it as a presumption by YHVH and Mosheh that there will be a king once the land is fully settled. Even more interesting is the presumption that the king will be despotic, corrupt and satyriacal, and therefore the need to put a fence around the kingdom, so to speak, before he is even crowned - or in the case of Yisra-El, anointed.
And now take a look at 1 Kings 11:1-5, where the wording is precisely parallel, both for the wives and for the heart turning away.
17:18 VE HAYAH CHE SHIVTO AL KIS'E MAMLACHTO VE CHATAV LO ET MISHNEH HA TORAH HA ZOT AL SEPHER MI LIPHNEY HA KOHANIM HA LEVIYIM
KJ: And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which isbefore the priests the Levites:
BN: And let it be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Torah on a scroll, a copy of the one which is before the Kohanim and the Leviyim.
David gave Shelomoh a very similar instruction, in 1 Kings 2:1-4 ff.
And why does he need to write it down for himself, when the priests have copies they can read to him, or he can read to himself? Because the cognitive processes involved in physically writing something down take the subject-matter rather more deeply than a superficial snooze on a royal sofa while someone is boringly reading it to you; or not even that much, just the confirmation in a coronation oath that, yes, you've seen it, albeit locked away in a cupboard, yes of course you promise to uphold it...
11:17 VE LO YARBEH LO NASHIM VE LO YASUR LEVAVO VE CHESEPH VE ZAHAV LO YARBEH LO ME'OD
וְלֹא יַרְבֶּה לּוֹ נָשִׁים וְלֹא יָסוּר לְבָבוֹ וְכֶסֶף וְזָהָב לֹא יַרְבֶּה לּוֹ מְאֹד
BN: Nor shall he take for himself numerous wives, and thereby have his heart distracted. Nor shall he build himself a private treasury of silver and gold.
Laws, especially prohibitions, are not usually made without a context. There is no need to make hurricane glass a legal obligation in a land-locked country, but earthquake-proofing in California is entirely sensible. So YHVH and Mosheh come up with laws about kings, though there is no intention of Mosheh himself, or Yehoshu'a his successor, or the tribal elders who have been created, or the Kohanim who have been established, becoming kings themselves, or being replaced by such. Yet the law is deemed necessary. We can take it as retroactive validation once again, or we can take it as a presumption by YHVH and Mosheh that there will be a king once the land is fully settled. Even more interesting is the presumption that the king will be despotic, corrupt and satyriacal, and therefore the need to put a fence around the kingdom, so to speak, before he is even crowned - or in the case of Yisra-El, anointed.
And now take a look at 1 Kings 11:1-5, where the wording is precisely parallel, both for the wives and for the heart turning away.
17:18 VE HAYAH CHE SHIVTO AL KIS'E MAMLACHTO VE CHATAV LO ET MISHNEH HA TORAH HA ZOT AL SEPHER MI LIPHNEY HA KOHANIM HA LEVIYIM
וְהָיָה כְשִׁבְתּוֹ עַל כִּסֵּא מַמְלַכְתּוֹ וְכָתַב לוֹ אֶת מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת עַל סֵפֶר מִלִּפְנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים הַלְוִיִּם
BN: And let it be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Torah on a scroll, a copy of the one which is before the Kohanim and the Leviyim.
David gave Shelomoh a very similar instruction, in 1 Kings 2:1-4 ff.
And why does he need to write it down for himself, when the priests have copies they can read to him, or he can read to himself? Because the cognitive processes involved in physically writing something down take the subject-matter rather more deeply than a superficial snooze on a royal sofa while someone is boringly reading it to you; or not even that much, just the confirmation in a coronation oath that, yes, you've seen it, albeit locked away in a cupboard, yes of course you promise to uphold it...
MISHNEH HA TORAH: Funny that I should have mentioned Maimonides just two verses ago. And now I can't help wondering if Mosheh (ben Maimon, that is) didn't choose the title of his book, precisely because of the ordinance in verse 16. Wonderful symmetry if he did - and he knew the texts as well as any soul that ever lived, and he had the cleverness and wit to think of it.
17:19 VE HAYETAH IMO VE KARA VO KOL YEMEY CHAYO LEMA'AN YILMAD LE YIRAH ET YHVH ELOHAV LISHMOR ET KOL DIVREY HA TORAH HA ZOT VE ET HA CHUKIM HA ELEH LA'ASOTAM
KJ: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
BN: And it shall remain with him, and he shall read in it every day of his life; that he may learn to fear YHVH his god, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them...
Now wouldn't that be a very interesting law to introduce in every country in the world, for Prime Ministers and Presidents as well as kings and Popes!
17:20 LE VILTI RUM LEVAVO ME ECHAV U LE VILTI SUR MIN HA MITSVAH YAMIN U SMOL LEMA'AN YA'ARICH YAMIM AL MAMLACHTO HU U VANAV BE KEREV YISRA-EL
KJ: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
BN: So that his heart is not lifted up above his kinsmen, and that he does not deviate from the commandments, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Yisra-El.
LE VILTI RUM LEVADO: cf ZADON in verse 12.
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17:19 VE HAYETAH IMO VE KARA VO KOL YEMEY CHAYO LEMA'AN YILMAD LE YIRAH ET YHVH ELOHAV LISHMOR ET KOL DIVREY HA TORAH HA ZOT VE ET HA CHUKIM HA ELEH LA'ASOTAM
וְהָיְתָה עִמּוֹ וְקָרָא בוֹ כָּל יְמֵי חַיָּיו לְמַעַן יִלְמַד לְיִרְאָה אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהָיו לִשְׁמֹר אֶת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת וְאֶת הַחֻקִּים הָאֵלֶּה לַעֲשֹׂתָם
BN: And it shall remain with him, and he shall read in it every day of his life; that he may learn to fear YHVH his god, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them...
Now wouldn't that be a very interesting law to introduce in every country in the world, for Prime Ministers and Presidents as well as kings and Popes!
17:20 LE VILTI RUM LEVAVO ME ECHAV U LE VILTI SUR MIN HA MITSVAH YAMIN U SMOL LEMA'AN YA'ARICH YAMIM AL MAMLACHTO HU U VANAV BE KEREV YISRA-EL
לְבִלְתִּי רוּם לְבָבוֹ מֵאֶחָיו וּלְבִלְתִּי סוּר מִן הַמִּצְוָה יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים עַל מַמְלַכְתּוֹ הוּא וּבָנָיו בְּקֶרֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל
KJ: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
BN: So that his heart is not lifted up above his kinsmen, and that he does not deviate from the commandments, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Yisra-El.
LE VILTI RUM LEVADO: cf ZADON in verse 12.
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