Cap. 22, 30. No one shall take his father's wife 2c. 1)
Moses continues to teach the commandments of love, and still presses with various laws on the sixth and seventh commandment regarding chastity and peace and public respectability, until the 27th chapter. In the third book of Moses, Cap. 18, 6. ff., the persons are enumerated whom it is not right and forbidden to take in marriage; here only one person is mentioned, namely the stepmother, whom one should not take if the father is dead, much less if he is alive. This indicates that one should take much less close blood relatives than the sister, the daughter, the mother-sister (amita) 2c. Nevertheless, I believe that the marriage in the second degree was not seldom abated, since also in many other places there is not such a great strictness of the law.
1) In Hebrew, this is the first verse of the 23rd chapter.
But it is probable that that Corinthian, whom Paul condemns in 1 Cor. 5, 1, because he saw that freedom was taught by the law of Moses, abused this freedom and took his father's wife against this law. Therefore, Paul does not so much insist that he acted against the law as against nature, saying that it is such fornication that is not found even among the Gentiles who are governed by the law of nature, because nature teaches that such a marriage is an abomination, so that it is vain for anyone to presume to claim freedom from the law.
Secondly, a man who has his testicles cut out or crushed should not enter the church of the Lord. Here he is not talking about the place of worship, but about the church itself, and coming or entering the church is something different than being and living in the church. For how should those be kept from hearing the law and from worshiping who do not
Since the law is generally given to all who are of the seed of Israel, and does not exclude Gentiles from the law and worship, but rather calls them proselytes, and often commands that strangers be taken care of.
It is therefore "to enter into the community", to administer an office or public service (magistratu), because he does not say: to enter into the community, but: to enter into the community, just as Christ also calls those who do not enter the door into the sheepfold wolves, that is, godless teachers. Therefore, there may be those in the church who are cut off, but they should not hold any magisterial office, because of this physical infirmity, lest the office be looked down upon or reviled; and also because such people generally have a cowardly heart and are effeminate. But the magisterial office in an honorable community requires a man, as Bias says: Regiment shows what kind of man one is. 1)
Third, a whore child, that is, one born of a whore, shall not come into the community, that is, he shall not be considered fit to hold office or a position of authority, because of the contempt and disgrace of his origin and birth, even after the tenth generation, that is, forever, because even this is not proper in an honorable community. Secondly, because it is a proverb that whorish children are seldom good people and always have a great infirmity about them. This law is also kept by many peoples, especially in some imperial cities (municipiis), so that they do not admit them to the trades, perhaps because they have formerly experienced their unworthiness. Furthermore, it is right that those who are born in honor and in wedlock should be honored more in the outward show and appearance of the world than those who are born out of wedlock, lest marriage be regarded as equal to fornication, and the honor bestowed on an unworthy person give occasion to disparage fornication and to hold marriage in contempt.
11 iHnZistratus ostsnäit virnm. Cf. St. Louis ed. vol. VII, 1374.
2) In the text: ummssr; in the Vulgate: wanEr; in Cordatus No. 339, Schlaginhausen No. 95 and Hiiutssil I, 374: luanssr. Hebrew: IMY. Cf. St. Louis edition, vol. XXII, 1628 and Introduction, p. 51.
Fourth. The Ammonites and Moabites shall not come into the congregation, even after the tenth generation, that is, forever. These heathen are not accused of any physical infirmity or defect of birth, but of their ungodliness and hatred of the children of Israel, that they not only did not forestall them with water and bread by the way 2c., but also desired that they should be utterly destroyed, desiring that they should be accursed by Balaam, whereby they showed their heathenish 3) and unquenchable hatred, from which they would never desist, as also the histories afterwards testify. But to make such a person a leader or a person in authority, who is known to seek your ruin out of natural hatred, is not only improper and inconsistent, but also foolish and sacrilegious and a temptation of God. But to enter into marriages with them and other covenants, and to have intercourse with them, is not forbidden here. For Ruth also, the Moabitish woman [Ruth 1, 4.], was a holy and godly woman. For he says here of men, not of women, so that I believe that it was not forbidden to take in marriage either the daughter or granddaughter of a harlot child, or the daughter adopted or begotten before the intercourse of one who had been cut.
"Thou shalt," he says [according to the Vulg., v. 6.], "make no peace with them, neither shalt thou wish them well all thy life for ever." What is this? Does he then forbid that one should not do good to the wretched or enemies or strangers of these nations? Did not David comfort Hanon, king of the Ammonites [2 Sam. 10:1 f.]? Did he not keep peace with his father? I answer: One must look at the object of which the Lawgiver speaks in the present. But he speaks of the enemies who glow with pagan and unquenchable hatred, that the same should not be placed in a magisterial office. It is forbidden (I say) to protect such haters and ill-willed people the public peace and the common good in
3) Asntiio oäiurn, that is, their hatred as Gentiles Wider the people of the Jews. Nowadays, we would call it "national hatred.
He does not, however, forbid private individuals to do private good deeds, but rather commands them to do private good deeds, so that their hatred will not be declared just and they will not be accepted into governmental offices, lest their people (natio) gain the upper hand and rule. But he does not forbid to do private good deeds to private persons, but rather commands it.
Fifth. He lets the Edomites and the Egyptians come into the congregation of the Lord after the third member, because the Edomite (he says) is your brother, and the Egyptian has been your guest. Therefore, although you cannot take a king from them, you may give them magisterial offices and higher positions (praefecturas), but only to those who were born after the third member, so that they have already lost their kind and have passed into the blood of Israel. But the third member must be counted from the time they were converted to Judaism and became fellow Jews; otherwise, what should be the third member? And so you see that the Ammonites and Moabites and the sons of whores in Israel were not denied marriage, since he says that they were not to come into the church even after the tenth member, namely, after they had become fellow Jews. These members would not be there if they were not husband and wife among the Israelites and fellow Jews.
Sixth, he commands that when they go out of the camp against the enemies, they should beware of all evil. A dark saying, which can be understood in such a way that they, when they want to fight against the enemies, should first see to it that they themselves are good and without guilt, so that they would not be affected by a righteous judgment of God by having a beam in their own eye and trying to pull the splinter out of the eye of another, as it happened to them with the Philistines, 1 Sam. 4, 1) 2, and with the Gibeonites, Judg. 20, 2) 21, and elsewhere. For also the glorious promise Cap. 20, 14, where he promises that he will be with them in war, should not make them so sure that they think they can be evil with impunity, or that God wants to be with the wicked, or that they can escape judgment.
2) In the Jena and Erlangen: Zuä. 17.
God if they did the same thing that they were judging and fighting.
Secondly, [this saying can be understood] in this way: If thou wilt fight, take heed that thou have not an evil cause, but a good and righteous one, for the promise of God does not extend to evil and sacrilegious causes to make war, since He says He will fight for them [Cap. 20, 4.].
But the following text seems to enforce that it must be understood by a certain martial discipline (religione militari) and chaste behavior in the camp during the war, since it itself interprets what is evil; first, if something happened to someone during the night, he should go out of the camp and return after bathing himself at sunset; secondly, they shall go out of the camp for necessity and behave honorably out of reverence to GOD, who is present in the camp, so that if they despise this and are disrespectful, GOD will not hand over the enemies to them, but rather hand them over to the enemies. This, then, is the evil from which they should beware if they wish to go into battle.
These two things are so small and little, yes, of course, why does he insist on them so much and make them big? For a very good and just reason, because war is in itself something very stormy, which wants to suffer nothing less than any law or respectability. For look at the warriors (milites), whether any wild animals are more cruel, unrestrained, unruly, insolent and shameless, both in deeds and words, than they. For nothing that they like is denied them there, if you look to morals and respectability. So the Lord wants his people to wage war with the greatest reverence, with the greatest respectability, with the greatest discipline. For this reason he also makes regulations about these small and natural things, so that by practicing these things and following their example they may be much more careful and have an abomination of deeds and words in which a willing and greater dishonorableness, shamelessness and lack of discipline is manifested in other things that are not necessary and not natural. For he who, because at night
If a man who has been harmed shuns the Lord and goes out of the camp, how can he stay if he has an evil conscience because of fornication, theft, swearing or any other sin? And whoever hides the natural walk with such reverence even from the camp, how should he dare to do or speak anything in a shameless manner in the camp? Therefore, by this law, he drives the rough and stubborn people to fear God in warfare, so that they may put away their presumption and insolence and fight with fear in faith in God.
Seventh. You shall not deliver up a runaway servant to his lord, but let him live with you where he pleases, and do not oppress him. This is also dark, for one may not keep the property (rem) of another. A servant, however, is the. A servant, however, is the property of his neighbor, just like an ox or donkey, which must be returned when found. This must therefore be understood by a cruel master who seeks the servant in order to kill him (ad mortem). For it indicates cruelty that he forbids to "deliver him up" (tradi), but that one delivers someone into the hands of another has in general the meaning that he is delivered up to death. So he wants the servants to keep their life and to give them food, so that in a well-ordered community the masters are not free to do anything. And in order to preserve his life, he was allowed to escape and become free, since he also had to be given freedom for a knocked-out eye, Ex 21:1 , 26. For it is fitting for a good community that the servants be given life and food.
Eighth. "There shall be no harlot among the daughters of Israel, and no fornicator among the sons of Israel." He is talking about prostitutes and harlots, or public and shameless prostitutes, who feed on the prostitution trade, because even this public shamelessness and licentiousness of wicked people is not befitting for a well-ordered community, which must grow through honorable marriages and lawful (liberali) offspring. Lets
1) In the editions: Dxo. 22.
Moses to whores from other peoples? This is what the text seems to indicate. 2)
Ninth. Thou shalt offer neither whore's wages nor dog's money. A strange law! Of course, the first part, of the whore's wages, is given, as one can easily see, so that public shamefulness is abhorred. For God hates predatory burnt offerings [Isa. 61, 8], as well as everything that is acquired with sin and ungodliness, since He wants one to serve Him with reverence. Therefore, it should not be brought into the house of the Lord, either as a sacrifice or for building, where it is common, and shameful or disgraceful, lest God also be held in low esteem, who allows it to be served with such bad and disgraceful things, as the great crowd easily despises those of whom they see that they take pleasure in despicable things. For he certainly wants the rough crowd to be seized by an outward appearance (larva) and to be held in fear and reverence.
And this is the reason why also the money, with which a dog is bought, is not to be sacrificed, because a dog is held in the Scriptures for the most contemptible animal, so that it also serves for proverbs, as Abner says [2 Sam. 3, 8.]: "Am I then a dog's head?" namely nothing more contemptible he could have put forward. So he who honors GOt with the proceeds (pretio) of a dog despises GOt and holds Him in low esteem, as if he wanted to sacrifice the money redeemed for dung to GOt. These signs show how little opinion the heart has of God.
It could be that all that has been said so far belongs to the previous, since he taught that those who want to fight should beware of evil, namely, that this requires a respectful behavior in the camp, and that by the custom and example of these two shameful and contemptible things, he generally all shameful and lowly gain
2) Instead of the words: 8io viäotur toxtus innuors What is found in the Jenaer and in the Erlanger, also in the Strasbourg edition of IMS, the Wittenberger has the words: Non oroäo (I believe it nothing That the latter reading corresponds to Luther's meaning, there is no doubt. Perhaps something was omitted here (by mistake) in the first printing.
and to make money an abomination to the people. For the lesser and the smaller are forbidden, that it may be known that the greater and the more important are still more forbidden. For whoever does not dare to offer dog's money or whores' wages, one of which is acquired without sin, the other with sin but without harming his neighbor (sine injuria), how should the god esteem so small that he should dare to offer what he has acquired by theft, robbery, cunning, fraud, injustice?
Tenth. That one should not usury on a brother, but on a stranger, of this law enough has been said above [Cap. 15, 16.], where we dealt with the promise, 1) that the Jews would practice usury. From this it will be easily seen how the Jews were permitted to usury on Gentiles and strangers, not by their merit or right, but by the will of God.
Eleventh, he commands that a vow be kept, otherwise it will be counted as a sin. About vows we have spoken elsewhere superfluously, now we will only briefly say that two things must be in a vow, so that it is godly and of such a nature that it must be kept. First, that it be not contrary to godliness, or that it be not an evil vow. For in evil promises one does not have to keep his promise, as if you vow a good work in order to be justified thereby and to take away sins, it is an ungodly and evil vow, because it is contrary to faith in God, who alone justifies and takes away sins, Rom. 1, 16. But if you vow something of this kind, solely for the glory of God and freely, or for the benefit of your neighbor, it is godly and must be kept. Secondly, if you make a vow in things that are not yours, or otherwise impossible, as if you vowed to give a kingdom to Caesar when you would be a beggar, or to darken the sun. Such is the vow of chastity, because chastity is not in any man's power, but
1) In the Erlanger: Iraotnmüs instead of: traetavilnus in the other editions.
God alone. Therefore, chastity cannot be vowed unless you have it first, but you never have it. Therefore, this vow is nothing, and is as much as if you vowed that you would not be a man or a woman.
Twelfth. In the vineyard and in the seed of one's neighbor one may eat the fruit, but from there one may carry nothing away. This is a law of civil friendship, which indicates that one should be beneficial and serviceable to another, as if to teach that everything is common among friends, but in such a way that the other is not burdened, or that what is his is usurped by another.
Secret interpretation.
Not to take the Father's wife means to leave the synagogue and every sect that has educated us by the law and by works, and not to be united with the word of life. This also Christ did, and we are to do it after him, because faith does not suffer the righteousness of works to remain and be joined to him. But the synagogue had our father, that is, the law, which Paul calls Rom. 7:2, the man 2c.
A eunuch, or one whose testicles are cut out or crushed, is one who has no knowledge of the Scriptures, or one who is injured and crushed by the wrong opinion of the works. Such a one must not be placed in the ministry of the word, since he is unfit, since he should have testicles, that is, the law and the prophets, which testify to the righteousness of faith, Rom. 3:21, that he is mighty in the holy scriptures, Titus 1:9.
The whore child is much worse; he is born of a whore [that is, such a person], who is completely stuck in worldly statutes of men and in carnal opinions, that is, he will much less ever be fit for the service of the Word, but he is also a disgrace to the church, and takes away the honor we have from Christ. But what are the bishops in the whole world now but whoremongers? they are not mere cuttings.
According to the spiritual interpretation, the Moabites and Ammonites are actually the Jews, and after them the heretics. For both are the bitterest enemies of the church, who should have come to meet the suffering church with water and bread to help and comfort it, as its housemates and hosts. Not only do they not help her, but they also incite Balaam, false teachers, who curse the right way of the church with blasphemous teachings. Thus they desire with the most ardent hatred that the church be destroyed body and soul. Therefore, they are never, ever to be put into the preaching ministry.
The names are also correct. Ammon means a sad people, because such teachers of works make sad and sorrowful consciences. Moab means from the father, because they are outwardly proud and boast that they are of God alone and that their things are right and true, as Moab is punished in the prophets as proud and arrogant, and Ammon as bitter and cruel. Their birth also rhymes with this, that they come from the father out of incestuous union. The father is the law, from which they are born through wrong use, because they take the law as if it required works, not that it is the power of sin, as Paul calls it [1 Cor. 15:56]: "The power of sin is the law"; but those would say: "The power of righteousness is the law. Balaam means as much as: you devourers, because the godless teachers become more and more angry and devour many; in addition, the belly also devours their possessions, and they corrupt the bodies through the heavy yoke of works.
We are also suffering such things today. Those who are supposed to help us when we are suffering from the Gospel, go away themselves and not only abandon us, but also curse us through their blasphemous teachers. But God does not hear them; indeed, He turns their curse into a blessing, so that we increase all the more through their raging. Therefore, one must not make peace with them, nor wish them well, namely, so that their raging may prosper and go forth happily, but one must pray against it, that they may fall from their nobility and be cast out.
But they are called sons of "Beor" because this means a fool. For they speak foolish things, and contradict themselves, as Balaam also did when he blessed, contrary to his desire [Num. 23:20]. For there is no heretic who is not taken in his lies by men of understanding, that he speak against himself.
The Edomites are brothers, but weak in faith, and sometimes fall into a delusion. These are to be admitted after the third limb, that is, when they have grown and become stronger in faith with us. So the Egyptians are our guests who are weak in life. Neither of them are to be regarded as abominations because of their weakness, but inan is to accept them, so that they may also teach at last.
In the fight against the enemy one should beware of all evil, so that if something has happened to someone at night, he should go out of the camp 2c., that is, if in the conflict and in the challenge, for fear of death, the word has escaped him, that he either denies it or does not act rightly, let him humble himself and separate himself from the church until the sun sets and the challenge is over; then let him bathe himself, and after confessing his sin, let him return to his duty. For God's word must be acted upon with fear and reverence, and enemies must be fought against, lest we lose the word through presumption and lack of reverence, and, where God forsakes us, be overcome.
In the same way, the excrement of need should be buried and hidden outside the camp with a little shovel, that is, the natural infirmities that are left in the sinful flesh should be killed and hidden by the word of faith, so that God will not see them. But they will be hidden if we do not let them reign in our bodies. In this way, then, a minister of the Word must have both the loins of the mind and the loins of the flesh girded, that he may be sound in the faith of the Word, and holy after the flesh is slain.
The servant shall not overtake his master-
The flesh is to be steamed (mortificanda) in such a way that it is not killed (occidatur). For the law, the master of the flesh, condemns it utterly and wants it dead. But consideration must be given to the flesh, that it may live, but not that it may sin, though it cannot live without evil desire, but it shall not reign. For that we may work good and teach faith, it is necessary that the flesh should live, though it cannot live without infirmities, which are hid by the small flesh. So also Paul teaches the Colossians [Cap. 2, 23. 1 that the flesh, as a weak vessel, deserves its honor.
The harlot and the fornicator mean the godless saints in hypocritical worship, as it seems according to the letter that among the people of the Jews there were certain sects in worship, which were called, as we read of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, who put them away from the temple [2 Kings 23:7]. But it means XXXXX and XXXXX fornicators and harlots, although according to the sound (allusione) of the word it also means holy men and holy women. For means holy, Isa, 6, 3rd, "Holy, holy, holy." Therefore I believe that by XXXXX is signified the worship of Priapus, in which they committed fornication 2c., and they are (as I said) the saints and righteous of Satan under a beautiful seeming worship.
The whore's reward seems to be the temporal glory of the ungodly worship of which I have spoken. This glory is not to be sacrificed, that is, preached, as if it pleases God or befits us, since the glory and reward of our righteousness is a good conscience toward God, and by heart cross and shame before the world. At-
1) Jewish "Latin" editions: ooässiin.
of which those fornicators flee and seek glory before the world, but inwardly they are bad and shameful as dogs, and therefore such a reward is an abomination to God, that is, a rejected and evil conscience.
The brother is not to be oppressed with usury, but the stranger, that is, no law requiring works is given to the righteous, but to the unrighteous, so that the wicked may be humbled by the knowledge of sin. For the office of the law is to require usury more than we are able, until we groan after faith, and, having become brethren, are delivered from usury, Ps. 72:12 ff.
The vows do not easily allow for a secret interpretation, because this is a moral work; however, it can be said that there is only one vow that we owe to God, namely that we believe, praise and glorify him that he is our God. This confession and praise is signified by all outward vows made to God. About this vow the 50th Psalm, v. 14, says: "Offer thanks to God, and pay your vows to the Most High," and the 116th Psalm, v. 14: "I will pay my vows to the Lord, above all His people," so that "vow" is the same as the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving; for this one thing we owe to God; we have promised it and can keep it.
To eat of one's neighbor's vineyard and not to carry away anything means that each righteous person may take possession of the goods of the other righteous person in spirit. This is the fellowship of the saints, by which it happens that all things are common to all, and yet through use and mutual benefit nothing is taken away or diminished from the other, but is left whole, yea, increases through use and fellowship. So much is lacking in it that anything could be taken away or diminished from it.