Deuteronomy 24:6

LAWS OF LIFE

"No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he taketh a man's life to pledge.

"If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

"Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. Remember what Jehovah thy God did unto Miriam, by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt.

"When thou dost lend thy neighbor any manner of loan, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. Thou shalt stand without, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring forth the pledge without unto thee. And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge; thou shalt surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before Jehovah thy God.

"Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy sojourners that are in thy land within thy gates: in his day, thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it (for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it); lest he cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it be sin unto thee."

In Deuteronomy 24:6, the KJV has "the nether or the upper millstone," instead of "the mill or the upper millstone." The KJV is preferable, because, by any definition, "the mill" would include both millstones. "The upper millstone was concave and fitted like a lid over the nether millstone which was convex. There was a small aperture through which the grain was poured, and also a handle by which the mill was turned."[11] This important device was necessary in the daily preparation of meals in the home, and therefore, lenders were not allowed to touch it as a pledge. Exodus 22:25,26 relates to the subject here.

The crime in view in Deuteronomy 24:7 is kidnapping, and there is hardly a civilized nation on earth, even today, that does not affix the death penalty for such crimes.

Deuteronomy 24:8 and Deuteronomy 24:9 are understood in two different ways. Alexander, and others think the passage is an admonition for people afflicted with leprosy, counseling them to be careful to comply with all the priestly regulations applicable to those thus afflicted.[12] On the other hand, Keil and the commentators who usually follow him, are certain that this is an admonition to all the people to keep all of God's laws commanded through the priests, in order to avoid the onset of the plague of leprosy.[13] It seems to us that the example of Miriam (Numbers 12:9f), to which Moses here appealed, would fit the view of Keil better than that of Alexander. It is not impossible, however, that both meanings are in the passage; for certainly neither view is incompatible with what is right and true. (For directions regarding lepers see Leviticus 13-14.)

In Deuteronomy 24:10-13, regarding the taking of pledges, it should be remembered that, "Although interest on loans to fellow-Israelites was forbidden (Deuteronomy 23:19,20), the taking of pledges was allowed; but even this was not to be procured in such a manner as not to compromise the dignity, much less the life, of the debtor."[14] In line with this thought is the prohibition of the lender going into a neighbor's house to procure a pledge, also the rule that anything vital to the well being and comfort of the debtor was to be returned before sundown! The practical effect of all this was to limit or even forbid the taking of a pledge.

In Deuteronomy 24:14,15, the oppression or mistreatment of poor laborers is forbidden. Some employers were guilty of retaining the wages of day laborers beyond the time limit given here, and James pronounced a stern rebuke against such abusers of sacred law, saying, "Behold the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth!" (James 5:4). See Leviticus 19:13.