And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
The officers shall speak unto the people, х hashoTªriym (H7860)] - the musterers, roll-keepers (see the note at 2 Kings 25:19, where a different word is used; also on 2 Chronicles 25:11, where both of these occur). [The Septuagint, hoi (G3588) grammateis (G1122), writers, secretaries, who are called 'scribes' or 'overseers,' Exodus 5:6.] They might be keepers of the muster-roll, or, perhaps, rather military heralds, whose duty it was to announce the orders of the generals (2 Chronicles 26:11).
This proclamation (Deuteronomy 20:5; Deuteronomy 20:8) must have been made previous to the priest's address, as great disorder and inconvenience must have been occasioned if the serried ranks were broken by the departure of those to whom the privilege was granted. Four grounds of exemption are expressly mentioned:
(1) The dedication of a new house which, as in all Oriental countries still, was an important event, and celebrated by festive and religious ceremonies (Nehemiah 12:27); exemption for a year. 'It was, perhaps,' says Wilkinson, 'at the dedication of the house that the lucky sentences or omens, as the good abode of the modern Arabs, were affixed; and we may infer from the early mention of this custom among the Jews, that it was derived from Egypt-a conjecture greatly strengthened by the circumstance of our finding even the storehouses, vineyards, and gardens of the Egyptians placed under the protection of a tutelary deity.'
(2) The planting of a vineyard. The fruit of the first three years (cf. Luke 13:8) being declared unfit for use, and the first-fruits producible on the fourth, the exemption in this case lasted at least four years.
(3) The betrothal of a wife, which was always a considerable time before marriage. It was deemed a great hardship to leave a house unfinished, a new property half-cultivated, and a recently-contracted marriage unconsummated; and the exemptions allowed in these cases were founded on the principle, that a man's heart being deeply engrossed with something at a distance, he would not be very enthusiastic in the public service.
(4) The ground of exemption was cowardice. From the composition of the Israelite army, which was an irregular militia, all above 20 years being liable to serve, many totally unfit for war must have been called to the field; and therefore there was profound wisdom and great political expediency in these prudential arrangements, to rid the army of such unwarlike elements-persons who could render no efficient service, and the contagion of whose craven spirit might lead to panic and defeat (cf. Numbers 7:10-11; Psalms 30:1, inscription). The later Jews celebrated such occasions by a feast, called х chªnukaah (H2598] feast of dedication.