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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) No one born of an illicit union may come into the assembly of the Lord, nor any descendant of such even to the tenth generation may come into the assembly of the Lord.(C)

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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.

No Ammonite(B) or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.(C)

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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