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Chapter 23

A man shall not marry his father’s wife,[a] nor shall he dishonor his father’s bed.(A)

Membership in the Assembly. [b]No one whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off may come into the assembly of the Lord.(B)

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Footnotes

  1. 23:1 Father’s wife: stepmother.
  2. 23:2 Exclusion of an emasculated male may have had to do with association of emasculation with the practices of other peoples, or it may have been rejection of someone with a significant blemish who was thus not suitable for participation in the sacral assembly.

Exclusion From the Assembly

23 [a]No one who has been emasculated(A) by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.

No one born of a forbidden marriage[b] nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:1 In Hebrew texts 23:1-25 is numbered 23:2-26.
  2. Deuteronomy 23:2 Or one of illegitimate birth