Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 21:11
if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel regarding the regulations for warfare, specifically when they take enemy captives.
The words — חָשַׁק (cha.shak) means to desire or love, and שְׁבִיָּה (shivyah) refers to a female captive.
The thread — The pattern of seeing a beautiful woman and taking her as a wife appears in Genesis 6:2, where the sons of God take daughters of men, and Genesis 29:18, where Jacob takes Rachel. Genesis 12:14 notes only that Egyptians saw a woman was beautiful, without recording marriage or acquisition.
Why it lands — The text establishes a legal boundary for a soldier’s desire, requiring him to bring the woman into his house and undergo a mourning period before marriage. It demands that personal longing be subjected to procedural restraint rather than immediate possession.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
Cross-references
- Genesis 6:2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
- Genesis 12:14 So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
- Genesis 29:18 Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
- Genesis 34:3 And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.
- Genesis 34:8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.
- Numbers 31:18 but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.
- Judges 14:2 So he returned and told his father and mother, “I have seen a daughter of the Philistines in Timnah. Now get her for me as a wife.”
- Proverbs 6:25 Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
- Proverbs 31:10 A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.