NOTES for Deu 21:1-23

The commandments of Deuteronomy are aimed primarily at strengthening monotheism among the people and sustaining their morality and responsibility for their own lives. Yet the good news that love is greater than faith and hope continually breaks through the stern statutes and laws. This is especially often the case in one's direct relationship with God or in marriage, two themes that are closely connected in the Bible. Thus, the two commandments about marriage in this chapter teach us what love is: how it is connected with respect and self-giving; how love differs from affection; and whether love is compatible with possessiveness, as seen in the prohibition against selling a captive wife. The Song of Songs and Paul's words about marriage as an image of divine love will gradually grow out of these commandments.