Deuteronomy 22:7

7 You must let the mother go, but you may take the chicks for yourself; so that things will go well with you, and you will prolong your life.

Deuteronomy 22:7 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 22:7

But thou shall in any wise let the dam go, and take the young
to thee
Or "in letting go, let go", or "in sending, send away" {a}; that is, willingly, certainly, entirely, frequently, always; so the Jewish canons ^F2,

``if anyone lets her go, and she returns, even four or five times, he is obliged to let her go, as it is said, "in letting go, let go";''

nay, Maimonides says ^F3, even a thousand times; the canon proceeds,

``if anyone says, lo, I take the dam and let go the young, he is obliged to let her go; if he takes the young, and returns them again to the nest, and after that returns the dam to them, he is free from letting her go;''

that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days;
the Targum of Jonathan is,

``that it may be well with thee in this world, and thou mayest prolong thy days in the world to come:''

the same blessing that is promised to observers of the fifth command, which is one of the weightier matters of the law, is made to this; which the Jews say ^F4 is but as the value of a farthing, or of little account in comparison of others; wherefore, as Fagius rightly observes {e}, God, in bestowing such rewards, has regard not to the works of men, but to his own grace and kindness; for what merit can there be in letting go or preserving the life of a little bird?

---

FOOTNOTES:

F1 (xlvt xlv) "dimittendo dimittes", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus; so Ainsworth.
F2 Misn. Cholin, c. 12. sect. 3.
F3 In Misn. ib.
F4 Misn. ib. sect. 5.
F5 In loc.

Deuteronomy 22:7 In-Context

5 "A woman is not to wear men's clothing, and a man is not to put on women's clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to ADONAI your God.

6 "If, as you are walking along, you happen to see a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground with chicks or eggs, and the mother bird is sitting on the chicks or the eggs, you are not to take the mother with the chicks.

7 You must let the mother go, but you may take the chicks for yourself; so that things will go well with you, and you will prolong your life.

8 "When you build a new house, you must build a low wall around your roof; otherwise someone may fall from it, and you will be responsible for his death.

9 "You are not to sow two kinds of seed between your rows of vines; if you do, both the two harvested crops and the yield from the vines must be forfeited.