John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 21:17
But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn ,.... Own him and declare him to be so, both by his will and the division of goods by him; or he shall "separate" him, as Onkelos; distinguish him from all his other sons, and make known to all, as the Targum of Jonathan, that he is his firstborn: by giving him a double portion of all that he hath ; or, "that is found with him" F20 אשר ימצא לו "quod inventum fuerit ei", Pagninus, Montanus., ; which he was in the... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 21:15-17
This law restrains men from disinheriting their eldest sons out of mere caprice, and without just provocation. I. The case here put (Deut. 21:15) is very instructive. 1. It shows the great mischief of having more wives than one, which the law of Moses did not restrain, probably in hopes that men's own experience of the great inconvenience of it in families would at last put an end to it and make them a law to themselves. Observe the supposition here: If a man have two wives, it is a thousand... read more