Laws on exclusion to congregation, cleanliness of warcamp

The law of who can be included and excluded from the congregation is given. Curiously the first restriction are the emasculated, assuming this is the literal sense. The second group excluded were the Ammonites and Moabites because they hindered Israel's passage to the Promised Land. On the other hand, an Edomite is allowed in, since they are descendents of Esau, Jacob's brother. Most notably, the Egyptians were allowed because they took in the Israelites, though they enslaved them later.

The next law regards the cleanliness of war camps, ie camps set out during war campaigns. The types of uncleanliness include sinfulness, wickedness as well as natural uncleanliness including the requirement to excrete outside the camp. The reason for this is that the war camp is regarded holy. This would be a remembrance for the Israelites that unlike other nations who engage in war, the Israelites war efforts should be totally dependent on God and it is God who win the wars for them.

A few other interesting miscellaneous laws:
- A slave who has escaped shall not be handed back to the former master, in addition, they shall not be oppressed.
- Unlike other nations and religions, God's temple shall have no temple harlots. Also a harlot's wage shall not be accepted as offerings.
- The Israelites are not allowed to charge interest to one another for anything they lent including money. They are allowed to charge interest from the foreigner.
- When a vow is made to God, then it has to be kept. This points is strictly emphasised although it also implies that we should keep our word in general. The other lessen is not to make vows casually, especially to God.
- The Israelites can expect generosity from each other such as freely picking and eating from neighbours vineyard or farm but they are not to be greedy by collecting more than they can eat.



Deuteronomy 23

Those Excluded from the Congregation

 1 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall not enter the assembly of the LORD.
2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.
3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia,[a] to curse you. 5 Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you. 6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. 8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Cleanliness of the Campsite
  
9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. 10 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. 11 But it shall be, when evening comes, that he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp.
12 “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; 13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.

Miscellaneous Laws
  
15 “You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.
17 “There shall be no ritual harlot[b] of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted[c] one of the sons of Israel. 18 You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the LORD your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
19 “You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. 20 To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the LORD your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.
21 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.