Deuteronomy 23 Footnotes

23:15 The OT never explicitly condemns slavery, but neither does it sanction or justify it. Nevertheless, this directive ameliorates the slave’s condition in a manner unknown elsewhere in the ancient Near East. He must not be returned to his master but can remain with whoever has found him, and must be treated well.

23:20 The law clearly allows for treating Israelites differently from foreigners in financial matters. Israelites may not exact interest on loans from their fellow Israelites, but may levy it against others. Discrimination of this kind illustrates at least two themes. (1) Members of the covenant community must not profit from one another’s distress. (2) Being a member of that community entails certain privileges.

23:24-25 Lack of a governmental welfare system made it necessary for the poor to have access to essentials for survival. Thus, they might help themselves freely to a neighbor’s crops as they casually walked through their fields. Here it is clear that being poor was not the only qualification for helping one’s self; anyone could pluck grain or grapes as he wished. Under the covenantal principle of corporate solidarity, the community cannot view itself as a mere collection of independent individuals. What one has is, within limits, the property of all.