Deuteronomy 28:56

The most gentle and refined woman among you, so gentle and refined she would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground, will begrudge the husband she embraces and her son and daughter

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, pronouncing covenant curses that will unfold when enemies besiege their cities. The passage describes the total collapse of familial bonds under extreme starvation.

The words — The text uses הָ/רַכָּ֨ה (ha./ra.Kah), meaning "the gentle," and וְ/הָ/עֲנֻגָּ֗ה (ve./ha./'a.nu.Gah), meaning "and the delicate," to mark the woman's former refinement. These terms establish the baseline of her natural tenderness before the siege distorts it.

The thread — This inversion of tenderness into cruelty runs through the siege curses, appearing in Deuteronomy 28:54 with the man and Deuteronomy 28:57 with the afterbirth. The motif resurfaces in Isaiah 3:16 regarding Zion's daughters and Lamentations 4:3 where the daughter of my people becomes cruel like an ostrich.

Why it lands — The verse demands acknowledgment that covenant disobedience strips away even the most basic human instincts. It forces the reader to confront the absolute depth of the famine curse without softening its imagery.

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

הָרַכָּ֨הha./ra.Kahthe/ gentle [woman]בְךָ֜ve./Khaamong <the>/ youוְהָעֲנֻגָּ֗הve./ha./'a.nu.Gahand/ the/ delicate [woman]אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.Sherwho לֹא־lo'-not נִסְּתָ֤הni.se.Tahshe has attempted כַף־khaf-[the] sole of רַגְלָהּ֙rag.La/hfoot/ her הַצֵּ֣גha.Tzegto place עַל־'al-on הָאָ֔רֶץha./'A.retzthe/ ground מֵהִתְעַנֵּ֖גme./hit.'a.Negbecause /was delicate וּמֵרֹ֑ךְu./me./Rokhand/ from/ gentleness תֵּרַ֤עte.Ra'it will be evil עֵינָהּ֙'ei.Na/heye/ her בְּאִ֣ישׁbe./'Ishon/ [the] husband of חֵיקָ֔הּchei.Ka/hbosom/ her וּבִבְנָ֖הּu./vi/v.Na/hand/ on/ son/ her וּבְבִתָּֽהּ׃u./ve./vi.Ta/hand/ on/ daughter/ her

King James Version

The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 28:54 The most gentle and refined man among you will begrudge his brother, the wife he embraces, and the rest of his children who have survived,
Isaiah 3:16 The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—
Lamentations 4:3 Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like an ostrich in the wilderness.