Deuteronomy 20:8

Deu 20:8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man [is there that is] fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.

Ver. 9. Captains of the armies to lead the people.] As Hannibal did, of whom Livy {a} reports, that Princeps proelium inibat, ultimus, conserto proelio, excedebat; he was first in the battle, and last out. And the same is storied of Albert, marquess of Brandenburg: In congressibus prior pugnam iniit, victor h praelio excessit ultimus. {b}

{a} Decad. iii. lib. i.

{b} Bucholc.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 8. What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted?] The original רך rach, signifies tender or soft-hearted. And a soft heart the man must have who, in such a contest, after such a permission, could turn his back upon his enemies and his brethren. However, such were the troops commanded by Gideon in his war against the Midianites; for after he gave this permission, out of 32,000 men only 10,000 remained to fight! Jdg 7:3. There could be no deception in a business of this kind; for the departure of the 22,000 was the fullest proof of their dastardliness which they could possibly give.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. shall speak further] The change in the formula is no proof that this is a later addition to the law (as Steuern. avers).

fearful and fainthearted] It is true that such were also supposed to be possessed by evil spirits (Schwally). For a Celtic analogy see Scott’s Fair Maid of Perth, in which Conacher’s timidity is attributed by his foster-father to possession. But there is no evidence of such a superstition here. The rule is rather in sympathy with this Book’s constant insistence upon whole-hearted devotion in the service of God. In no direction of life is He content with less. Cp. Jdg_7:3.

lest his brethren’s heart, etc.] ‘Fear is catching.’ (M. Henry.)

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the officers shall speak further unto the people,.... According to Maimonides (n), the priest the anointed of war spoke to the end of Deu 20:7 and which the officers repeated after him to the people aloud, as before observed; and then after that an officer speaks of himself, or in his own words, and not in those of the priest, as follows:

what man that is fearful, &c. and then another officer causes all the people to hear it:

and they shall say, what man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? that has not courage to face his enemies, to whom the terrors of war, and especially of death, are dreadful; the Targum of Jonathan adds,"because of his sin;''whose sins stare him in the face, and lie heavy on his conscience; so that he is afraid he shall die in battle, and in his sins, and suffer divine vengeance; both these senses are observed in the Misnah (y). According to R. Akiba, a fearful and fainthearted man is one"that cannot stand in battle array, or behold a drawn sword; but R. Jose the Galilean says, he is one that is afraid of the transgressions he has committed; and therefore the law joins to this all those things for which a man may return;''as having built a new house, planted a vineyard, and betrothed a wife; that so it might be thought it was on account of one or other of these that he returned, and not through faintheartedness, either because of the terrors of war, or of his own conscience for his sins:

let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart; lest, by his pale looks and trembling joints, his fainting fits and swoons, he discourage the rest in the same company with him, and by his example make them unfit for war also.

(n) Ut supra. (Hilchot Melachim, c. 7. sect. 3.) (y) Misn. Sotah, c. 8. sect. 5.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Fear. Such often occasion the loss of battles. Alexander sent away all who had not courage to follow him in his expeditions. (Curtius x.) The Rabbins condemn these faint-hearted soldiers to carry water, &c., for the army, to prepare the roads and places for encampments. (Calmet) --- But this seems contrary to the intention of the lawgiver, who sends them back to their houses.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

8. Fearful and fainthearted — These were to leave the army. Only the valorous were to constitute the force that was to go forth to battle.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The shoterim were also to allow any that were naturally timid and fainthearted to return to their homes, lest, if they remained with the host, others, infected by them, should lose courage and become unfit for service. His brethren"s heart faint; literally, flow down or melt (cf. Jos_7:5) in Deu_1:28, this verb is rendered by "discouraged."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Moses continues describing situations that allow a man to leave the military.

What man is there who is fearful or fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house

"If any soldier here is afraid and not brave, he should go back to his house"

fearful or fainthearted

Both of these words mean basically the same thing. AT: "afraid to fight in battle" (See: Doublet)

his brother's heart does not melt like his own heart

This is an idiom. AT: "another Israelite does not become afraid like he is afraid" (See: Idiom)

brother's heart ... his own heart

Here "heart" represents a person's courage. (See: Metonymy)

they must appoint commanders over them

"the officers must appoint people to be commanders and to lead the people of Israel"

translationWords

brother

heart

appoint

commander

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ויספו השטרים AND THE BAILIFFS [SHALL SPEAK] FURTHER [UNTO THE PEOPLE] — Why does it here state: they shall speak further unto the people? The meaning is that they added this to the words of the priest, for the priest spoke and proclaimed from שמע ישראל (v. 3) to להושיע אתכם (end of 5:4), whilst the paragraphs beginning with מי האיש (v. 5) and with the second מי האיש (v. 6) and with the third מי האיש (v. 7) the priest said quietly and the officers proclaimed. This paragraph, the officers spoke and proclaimed, so that Scripture rightly introduces this last part by the word ויספו השוטרים (Sotah 43a).

הירא ורך הלבב [WHAT MAN IS THERE] WHO IS FEARFUL AND FAINT-HEARTED — Rabbi Akiba said, Take these words as what they literally imply; they mean that he cannot stand in the dense ranks of battle and look on a naked sword. Rabbi Jose, the Galilean, said that it means one who is afraid of the sins he has committed, and therefore Scripture gave him the opportunity of attributing his return home to his house, his vineyard, or his wife, in order to veil the motives of those who really returned because of the sins they had committed, so that people should not know they were great sinners, and whoever saw a person returning would say, “Perhaps he has built a house, or planted a vineyard or betrothed a wife” (Sotah 44a).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND THE OFFICERS SHALL SPEAK FURTHER UNTO THE PEOPLE, AND THEY SHALL SAY: ‘WHAT MAN IS THERE THAT IS FEARFUL.’ According to the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean [who says, the fearful is someone who is afraid that he will fall in battle as punishment for his transgressions], after the priest had assured them that G-d would help them and that not one man of them will be lacking, it was fitting that the righteous put their trust in Him, [that He will help them not to be overthrown in battle]. Then, the officers warn those that are afraid [to go into battle] because of the transgressions they had committed. The Torah, therefore, gave everyone the opportunity of attributing his return home because of his house, his vineyard, or his wife, in order to serve as a pretext for others who are returning home because they are afraid of their transgressions. And the meaning of the expression lest he die in the battle [mentioned in each of the three categories] is that he will think so in his heart and he will flee [despite the fact that the priest had already assured them that no one would be lacking after the battle]. But in the opinion of the Rabbi Akiba [who says that fearful is he who cannot endure a pitched battle or bear to see a drawn sword,] the verse is to be understood in its simple meaning, that whoever is still afraid after the assurance of the priest, does not trust in G-d properly and the miracle [of being saved] will not be done for him [and therefore the Torah gave him the opportunity to return home].

FAINT-HEARTED. The meaning thereof is that it is not in his nature to see the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, for the fearful is he who does not trust, and Scripture commands him to return to his home because of his deficient trust. The faint-hearted is sent home because of the weakness of his nature, for he will flee or faint. Now the Rabbis have said in the Yerushalmi that “all who return home need to bring proof for their words,” that is to say, they are to bring proof concerning the [new] house, the vineyard, or the wife before the captain of the host who then gives him permission to return home. Similarly they also said according to the opinion of Rabbi Yosei the Galilean [who says the fearful is he that is afraid because of his transgressions] that he needs to bring proof concerning the transgression he committed, for otherwise most of the people would have been returning home under false pleas. But according to Rabbi Akiba, the faint-hearted cannot endure pitched battle or bear to see a drawn sword, [the Yerushalmi states] he need not bring proof, “for his witnesses are with him” [i.e., everybody sees that he is fearful and faint-hearted].

LEST HIS BRETHREN’S HEART MELT AS HIS HEART. The author of the Hilchoth Gedoloth considered this verse a negative commandment, meaning that [if he is fearful and faint-hearted] he should not avoid returning home, lest he melt his brethren’s heart like his own. (melt) is to be understood as a transitive verb [‘lest he cause his brethren’s heart to melt’ “] — Ramban’s intent is to differ with Ibn Ezra who interpreted the word yimas as a passive [lest his brethren’s heart ‘be melted’] and the particle eth [yimas ‘eth’ l’vav echav] is redundant. Ramban’s opinion, as based upon the Hilchoth Gedoloth, is that yimas is a transitive verb and the particle eth is a necessary part of the verse. It is similar to the verse, and its flesh shall not be eaten [which is counted among the negative commandments].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.