Deuteronomy 21 · Verse 15

Deuteronomy 21:15

If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
Deuteronomy 21:15, King James Version

Deuteronomy 21:15 in other translations

BSBIf a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,
WEBIf a man has two wives, the one beloved and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if the firstborn son is hers who was hated,
ASVIf a man have two wives, the one beloved, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated;
YLT‘When a man hath two wives, the one loved and the other hated, and they have borne to him sons (the loved one and the hated one), and the first-born son hath been to the hated one;
DARBYIf a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated;
BBEIf a man has two wives, one greatly loved and the other hated, and the two of them have had children by him; and if the first son is the child of the hated wife:
WebsterIf a man shall have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the first-born son be hers that was hated:

What does Deuteronomy 21:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 21:15-17
15-17. If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated--In the original and all other translations, the words are rendered "have had," referring to events that have already taken place; and that the "had" has, by some mistake, been omitted in our version, seems highly probable from the other verbs being in the past tense--"hers that was hated," not "hers that is hated"; evidently intimating that she (the first wife) was dead at the time referred to. Moses, therefore, does not here legislate upon the case of a man who has two wives at the same time, but on that of a man who has married twice in succession, the second wife after the decease of the first; and there was an obvious necessity for legislation in these circumstances; for the first wife, who was hated, was dead, and the second wife, the favorite, was alive; and with the feelings of a stepmother, she would urge her husband to make her own son the heir. This case has no bearing upon polygamy, which there is no evidence that the Mosaic code legalized.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 15 One beloved, and another hated - That is, one loved less than the other. This is the true notion of the word hate in Scripture. So Jacob Hated Leah, that is, he loved her less than he did Rachel; and Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I Hated, that is, I have shown a more particular affection to the posterity of Jacob than I have to the posterity of Esau. See the note on Gen 29:31. From this verse we see that polygamy did exist under the Mosaic laws, and that it was put under certain regulations; but it was not enjoined, Moses merely suffered it, because of the hardness of their hearts, as our Lord justly remarks Mat 19:8.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 21:15-17
This law restrains men from disinheriting their eldest sons without just cause. The principle in this case as to children, is still binding to parents; they must give children their right without partiality.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Deuteronomy 21:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּֽי\־ki-ifH3588
תִהְיֶ֨יןָtih.Yei.nathey will belongH1961
לְאִ֜ישׁle.'Ishto a manH376
שְׁתֵּ֣יshe.TeitwoH8147
נָשִׁ֗יםna.ShimwivesH802
הָאַחַ֤תha.'a.Chatthe oneH259
אֲהוּבָה֙'a.hu.Vah[is] lovedH157
וְהָאַחַ֣תve.ha.'a.Chatand the oneH259
שְׂנוּאָ֔הse.nu.'Ah[is] hatedH8130
וְיָֽלְדוּ\־ve.yal.du-and they will bearH3205
ל֣וֹloto <the> him
בָנִ֔יםva.NimsonsH1121
הָאֲהוּבָ֖הha.'a.hu.Vahthe loved [one]H157
וְהַשְּׂנוּאָ֑הve.ha.se.nu.'Ahand the hated [one]H8130
וְהָיָ֛הve.ha.Yahand he will belongH1961
הַבֵּ֥ןha.Benthe sonH1121
הַבְּכ֖וֹרha.be.Khorthe firstbornH1060
לַשְּׂנִיאָֽה\׃la.se.ni.'Ahto the hated [wife]H8146

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 21:15

  • Genesis 29:33

    And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.

  • Genesis 29:20

    And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

  • Genesis 29:30-31

    And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.

  • Genesis 29:18

    And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

  • 1 Samuel 1:4-5

    And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the Lord had shut up her womb.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
two wives.
Ge 29:18,20,30,31,33; 1Sa 1:4,5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 21:14

    And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

  • Deuteronomy 21:15

    If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:

  • Deuteronomy 21:16

    Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:

Read all of Deuteronomy 21

Deuteronomy 21:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Cuando un hombre tuviere dos mujeres, la una amada y la otra aborrecida, y la amada y la aborrecida le parieren hijos, y el hijo primogénito fuere de la aborrecida;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Si un homme a deux femmes, l’une aimée et l’autre haïe, et qu’elles lui aient enfanté des fils, tant celle qui est aimée que celle qui est haïe, et que le fils premier-né soit de celle qui est haïe,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Wenn ein Mann zwei Weiber hat, eine geliebte und eine gehaßte, und sie gebären ihm Söhne, die geliebte und die gehaßte, und der erstgeborene Sohn ist von der gehaßten:
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Si habuerit homo uxores duas, unam dilectam, et alteram odiosam, genuerintque ex eo liberos, et fuerit filius odiosæ primogenitus,