Deuteronomy 21:12–13 - On the captive woman’s agency

(The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation.)

As usual for a case law, this one (which begins with v. 10) consists of two parts: the conditions that must be satisfied (“protasis”), and the resulting disposition (“apodasis”). Here, the captive woman is cast as the semantic agent (“doer of the action”) for four acts: trimming, paring, discarding, and spending a while lamenting. She undertakes these acts herself; they are not forced upon her by her captor.

The point of the law seems to be that before the marriage can be consummated, the woman must show that she is willing to participate in it by having followed through with all four steps.

(The text does not address what would happen in the event of her refusal to participate.)

As for the translation, the NJPS base rendering reads as follows: “you shall bring her into your household, and she shall trim her hair, pare her nails, and discard her captive’s garb. She shall spend a month’s time in your household lamenting her father and mother; after that….” With regard to the woman’s four acts, the NJPS rendering in terms of the modal verb shall seems to take as a given her willingness to undertake those steps.

Alternatively, her four steps can be more clearly depicted as preconditions. Such a construal gives the captive woman more agency. It better raises the issue as to the extent of this law’s respect for her personhood. The revised rendering takes this latter course.