Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Thursday January 29 2026
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Deuteronomy 21:10-14-When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.
The young woman (we will call her Katie, not her real name) had contacted our church in great distress. She had been drugged and assaulted by a man she had been courting, and asked me to take her to the hospital for a rape kit. After the exam, my wife and I took Katie and her children to a local domestic violence shelter. That night (Friday), she had contacted the local police and been informed that they would not be able to send an officer for her report till the following Wednesday. They said it was too far to travel till then (it was a huge distance: two miles). (We had reason to suspect that the man was friends with some of the local police officers and they were likely running cover for him).
In despair, Katie decided not to pursue any further legal action.
During this time, Katie and I began to study the Word together about the treatment of women in Scripture. The passage noted above (Deuteronomy 21:10-14) sounds harsh to our modern world, but it actually is a powerful reminder of the protection of God for women.
How so?
Prager clarifies:
“Throughout history, it has been taken for granted that victorious soldiers will rape conquered women during war. To provide only modern examples, when the Russians conquered Germany at the end of World War II, it is estimated that Russian soldiers raped approximately two million German women, of whom some 240,000 died. During World War II, Japanese soldiers forced approximately 200,000 Korean, Chinese, and Philippine women into sexual slavery—the infamous “comfort women”—to be raped daily by lines of soldiers waiting their turn. 2 During the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, Pakistani soldiers raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women. 3 The adrenaline of war, the normalizing of violence, young men at the peak of their sexual desires, the breakdown of law and moral order, inherently flawed human nature, and the belief that winners can do what they want with the conquered—these all lead to mass rape in time of war, something the Book of Deuteronomy outlawed three thousand years ago….So the Torah, in effect, said to the Israelite soldier, “If you desire a captive woman, you may have sexual relations with her only if you marry her and meet other highly restrictive conditions.” The purpose of these conditions was to render the female captive a person—one to be treated with empathy, moreover—rather than merely as a sexual object. When men first see a woman they find attractive, she is sexualized, regarded as “a sexual object.” She may be a brilliant and accomplished individual. But a man’s immediate reaction is sexual. This is so obvious that it should not have to be written. But when many well-educated people have been taught that male sexualization of women is not a part of male nature, but culturally induced, naïveté about the sexes is widespread. The Torah is not naïve. Here are the Torah’s conditions and their impact: The first condition is the most remarkable: The soldier may take her only if he marries her. He cannot marry her until at least thirty days have passed, during which time he may not have sexual relations with her. This provision imposed “brakes” on what would otherwise have been an impulsive act. “During that period the Israelite man might reconsider his decision” (Grisanti). She was to be rendered less attractive by shaving (not “trimming,” as translated here) her hair. With regard to her nails, one of the earliest Jewish translations, Onkelos (early second century), translates the word not as “pare” or “trim” but as “let grow”—so as to also render her less attractive. I do not think there is a definitive translation; the Hebrew (v’asta) literally means “and she will make/ do [her nails].” Whatever it meant, it was to help diminish the soldier’s immediate, and perhaps even long-term, desire for her. During that time, she must be allowed to mourn (the Hebrew literally reads, “she will weep”) the loss of parents—who, if not killed during the war, she was nevertheless likely to never see again. She was to discard her “captive’s garb.” She must dress like an Israelite civilian, not a captive, further humanizing her and elevating her status. A man would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by her weeping and not to come to see her as fully human. In his Torah commentary, Joseph Hertz quotes the Anglo-Jewish writer Israel Zangwill (1864–1926), who wrote before World War II with its tsunami of rapes: “After the countless rapes of conquered women with which recent history has made us so painfully familiar, it is like hearing soft music to read of the warrior’s duty to the enemy woman, of the necessary marriage with its set ritual and its set delay.” Christopher Wright is similarly impressed: “If we ask whose interests this law serves, the answer is clearly the female captive. If we ask whose power is being restricted, the answer, equally clearly, is the victorious soldier. The law is thus a paradigm case of the Old Testament’s concern to defend the weak against the strong, war being one of the most tragic human expressions of that situation.”” (Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Deuteronomy: God, Blessings, and Curses, 323-325 (Kindle Edition): Washington, D.C.; Regnery Faith)
Wright (whom Prager references) adds this:
“There are four ways in which this law benefits the captured woman, (a) She is not to be raped or to be enslaved as a concubine, but is to be accorded the full status of a wife (vv. 11, 13). The instruction in Hebrew is quite clear that only marriage is intended, (b) She is to be given time to adjust to the traumatic new situation and to ritually mourn for the parents who are now dead as far as she is concerned. This is to take place within the security of her new home, not in some prisoner or refugee camp, (c) The law compassionately restricts even the soldier’s “bridegroom’s rights,” by postponing any sexual intercourse with the woman until this month of mourning and adjustment is over, (d) If the man finally changes his mind and will not undertake marital responsibility toward her, she is to leave as a free woman. He can take no further advantage over her by selling her as a slave. Thus, the physical and emotional needs of the woman in her utter vulnerability are given moral and legal priority over the desires and claims of the man in his victorious strength. The case could be written up as a matter of human rights. Deuteronomy characteristically prefers to express it as a matter of responsibilities. As such, its relevance is clearly applicable beyond the realm of war to all kinds of analogous situations of weakness and power.” (Christopher J.h. Wright, Deuteronomy, 234 (Kindle Edition); Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Books)
This passage is a reminder to us of the dignity that God extends towards humanity, and which He calls upon us to also extend towards others also. This includes especially those who are often vulnerable and abused.
Isaiah 1:17-Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
Katie remains a faithful and inspiring disciple of Jesus Christ. She has devoted her life to serving the Lord and to helping those in need. We can learn a great deal from her example!
Here are some thoughts and questions for reflection.
At fist glance, this passage in Deuteronomy appears harsh and barbaric. But when we dig deeper and take time to examine it, we see that it actually affords care and protection for women. What does this teach us about Scriptures which may at first seem barbaric?
What are some ways that we can better help those who are suffering? Especially those who are abused and marginalized?
Lord, help those who have been crushed by the difficulties and hardships of this life. Give us opportunity to try and help as we are able. Amen.