Deuteronomy 23:10 kjv
If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
Deuteronomy 23:10 nkjv
If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp.
Deuteronomy 23:10 niv
If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there.
Deuteronomy 23:10 esv
"If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp,
Deuteronomy 23:10 nlt
"Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day.
Deuteronomy 23 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lev 15:16-18 | "If a man has an emission... then he shall bathe his whole body in water... and be unclean until evening." | Specific law for nocturnal emission. |
| Num 5:2-3 | "Command the people... that they put out of the camp every leper or anyone having a discharge... defiled." | General command to expel unclean from camp. |
| Lev 13:46 | "He shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp." | Requirement for lepers to live outside camp. |
| Lev 14:8 | "He shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe... clean in the evening." | Cleansing process often ends in evening. |
| Lev 15:31 | "Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, lest they die." | Purpose: Prevent death due to defiling tabernacle. |
| Num 19:13 | "Whoever touches the body of anyone... and is not cleansed... that person shall be cut off from Israel." | Severe consequence for persistent uncleanness. |
| Exod 19:10-15 | "Consecrate the people today... so that they may be ready for the third day." | Preparing for God's presence at Sinai. |
| Lev 11:44-45 | "For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy." | Basis of all purity laws: God's holiness. |
| Ps 24:3-4 | "Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? ...He who has clean hands and a pure heart." | Internal purity required for God's presence. |
| Isa 52:11 | "Depart, depart, go out from there... Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the LORD." | Call to ceremonial and moral purity. |
| Hag 2:13 | "If someone defiled by contact with a corpse touches... is it unclean?... It is unclean." | Illustration of defilement spreading easily. |
| Zech 14:21 | "And there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day." | Future perfect purity in God's presence. |
| Matt 15:17-20 | "What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart... defiles a person." | Jesus shifts focus from external to internal defilement. |
| Mark 7:18-23 | "There is nothing outside a person... that can defile him by going into him." | Jesus on true defilement stemming from within. |
| Acts 10:9-16 | "What God has made clean, do not call common." | Peter's vision abolishing food purity laws. |
| Heb 12:14 | "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." | New Covenant emphasis on spiritual holiness. |
| Heb 13:12-13 | "Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood." | Jesus as the ultimate 'outside the camp' sacrifice. |
| 1 Cor 6:18-20 | "Flee from sexual immorality... your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." | Command for sexual purity, relating to sacred body. |
| 2 Cor 7:1 | "Cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, perfecting holiness." | Believer's responsibility for holiness. |
| Eph 5:3-5 | "But sexual immorality... must not even be named among you... no inheritance in the kingdom." | Purity is vital for inheriting God's kingdom. |
| Col 3:5 | "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity..." | Call to active suppression of impurity. |
| 1 Thes 4:3-5 | "This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality." | Sanctification includes sexual purity. |
| Rev 21:27 | "But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false." | Perfect purity in the New Jerusalem. |
Deuteronomy 23 verses
Deuteronomy 23 10 Meaning
Deuteronomy 23:10 mandates that any Israelite man who experiences a nocturnal seminal emission is rendered ritually unclean. This temporary state requires him to physically separate from the Israelite camp. He must remain outside the camp until he undergoes a ritual cleansing process, specifically waiting until evening when the impurity naturally passes, and then performing a ritual wash, as described in Leviticus. This commandment underscores the extreme importance of maintaining the physical and ritual purity of the camp due to the dwelling presence of the Holy God among His people. It distinguishes ceremonial uncleanness, which is not sin but a temporary state requiring purification, from moral sin.
Deuteronomy 23 10 Context
Deuteronomy chapter 23 establishes a variety of regulations for the people of Israel concerning who may enter the assembly of the LORD, vows, and clean practices in the camp. This particular verse (23:10) falls within a section (verses 9-14) outlining laws for maintaining the ritual purity of the military camp. These specific rules, including the requirement for one to go outside the camp due to a nocturnal emission, emphasize that even in military readiness, the sanctity of God's presence among them was paramount. Historically, the Israelites were journeying in the wilderness with the Tabernacle, symbolizing God's dwelling, at the center of their encampment. Maintaining ceremonial purity was crucial to ensuring the unhindered presence of the holy God within their midst, lest His holiness bring judgment upon an defiled people. These regulations created a tangible expression of the profound separation between God's perfect holiness and human fallenness, even in involuntary natural processes.
Deuteronomy 23 10 Word analysis
- If there is among you a man (אִישׁ כִּי יִהְיֶה בָכֶם, ish ki yihyeh vakhem): Emphasizes that this applies to any Israelite man within the community. The law is communal in its application and consequence, affecting the purity of the whole camp.
- who becomes unclean (אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִהְיֶה טָהוֹר, asher lo yihyeh tahor): Literally "who is not clean" or "who is not pure." The state is tame' (טָמֵא), indicating a ritual or ceremonial impurity, not a moral failing or sin. This impurity rendered one unfit for interaction with the sacred.
- by a nocturnal emission (מִקְּרֵה לָיְלָה, miqqereh laylah): "A happening/event of night." This is a euphemism for a seminal emission during sleep, an involuntary bodily discharge. It is one of several natural bodily processes (e.g., menstruation, childbirth) that caused ritual uncleanness in the Mosaic Law. It underscores that even natural functions required purification in the presence of God's holiness.
- during the night (בַּלָּיְלָה, ballaylah): Reinforces the 'nocturnal' aspect, confirming the involuntary nature of the emission during sleep.
- then he shall go outside the camp (וְיָצָא אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה, veyatsa el mihutz lammaḥaneh): A command for physical separation. The "camp" (maḥaneh, מַחֲנֶה) was understood not just as a living area, but as a consecrated space because God's Tabernacle (His dwelling) was within it. Going "outside the camp" symbolizes temporary exclusion from the holy presence, and signifies impurity.
- he shall not come into the midst of the camp (לֹא יָבֹא אֶל־תּוֹךְ הַמַּחֲנֶה, lo yavo el-tokh hammaḥaneh): Reiteration for emphasis, specifically prohibiting entry into the inner sanctified space where God's presence was. This reinforces the necessity of strict separation and the importance of preventing defilement of the sacred area.
Deuteronomy 23 10 Bonus section
The phrase "outside the camp" recurs frequently in the Mosaic Law as the designated place for the impure, the sinful, and offerings bearing sin (e.g., lepers, those with discharges, sin offerings whose blood was brought into the sanctuary but the animal burned outside). This imagery takes on profound theological significance in the New Testament, particularly in Hebrews 13:12-13. There, Jesus, "suffered outside the gate" (symbolically, "outside the camp"), identifying with the accursed and the defiled, taking on the impurity of humanity. Believers are then exhorted to "go to him outside the camp, bearing the reproach he endured," inviting them to embrace suffering and separation from the world's values for Christ's sake, much like the ritually unclean once did from the Israelite community. This verse, therefore, prefigures a type of redemptive exclusion that later culminates in Christ's work, transforming physical ritual separation into a spiritual identification with the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Deuteronomy 23 10 Commentary
Deuteronomy 23:10 is a foundational illustration of the Old Covenant's emphasis on ceremonial purity to maintain the holiness of the Israelite camp, the place of God's dwelling. This law regarding involuntary nocturnal emission highlights that even natural, non-sinful bodily functions could render an individual ritually unclean, requiring temporary separation from the community and God's holy presence. This separation was not punitive for sin but protective against defilement of the consecrated space where the Ark of the Covenant, God's dwelling place, resided. It impressed upon the Israelites the pervasive nature of impurity and the utter holiness of God, demonstrating that nothing common or unclean could abide in His immediate vicinity. This external act of physical removal pointed to a deeper spiritual truth: for humanity to dwell with a holy God, purity is essential. The cleansing required, such as washing with water and waiting until evening (per Leviticus 15:16-18), anticipated a greater cleansing and purification provided by the perfect sacrifice of Christ, which makes possible not merely ritual, but true spiritual union with God.