Deuteronomy 23:11

11 {And then} toward the {coming} of the evening, he shall bathe with water, and at the going down of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.

Deuteronomy 23:11 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 23:11

But it shall be, when evening cometh on
When the day declines, and it is near sun setting:

he shall wash himself with water;
dip himself all over in water, not only wash his garments but his flesh:

and when the sun is down he shall come into the camp again;
and take his place and rank in the army. Now if all this was necessary on account of ceremonial uncleanness, which as much as possible was to be avoided, how much more careful were they to be of moral uncleanness, as fornication, adultery, and all sorts of debauchery and lewdness? and yet nothing more frequent among those that are of the military order; it would be well if there was no occasion for the reproach Maimonides

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 casts upon the camps of the Heathens, among whom, no doubt, he means Christians, if not principally; when he observes that these orders were given, that this might be deeply fixed in the mind of every one, that their camp ought to be holy as the sanctuary of God, and not like the camps of the Gentiles, in which abound corruptions of all kinds, transgressions, rapines, thefts, and other sins.

F17 Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 41.

Deuteronomy 23:11 In-Context

9 "If you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against [doing] anything evil.

10 "If [there] is among you a man that is not clean because of a seminal emission {during the night}, he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come within the camp.

11 {And then} toward the {coming} of the evening, he shall bathe with water, and at the going down of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.

12 "And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; {and you shall go there to relieve yourself},

13 and a digging tool shall [be included] in addition to your [other] utensils for yourself; {and then} {when you relieve yourself} outside [the camp] you shall dig with it, and [then] you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "And it will happen/come about that"
• [b]. Literally "turning"
• [c]. Hebrew "in" but this is instrumental use of this preposition
• [d]. The verb can mean "coming/going" and here it means "going"