and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails.
By this law a soldier is allowed to marry his captive if he pleased. For the hardness of their hearts Moses gave them this permission, lest, if they had not had liberty given them to marry such, they should have taken liberty to defile themselves with them, and by such wickedness the camp would have been troubled.
Commenting on Deuteronomy 21:10-14
Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house,.... In order to make her his wife, after some things were done here directed to; for this is not to be understood of his taking her home with a view to defile her, as Maimonides (e) interprets it; who observes, that when a man's lust so rages that he cannot subdue it, yet he ought not...
THE TREATMENT OF A CAPTIVE TAKEN TO WIFE. (Deu 21:10-23) When thou goest to war . . . and seest among the captives a beautiful woman . . . that thou wouldest have her to thy wife--According to the war customs of all ancient nations, a female captive became the slave of the victor, who had the sole and unchallengeable control of right to her person.
Commenting on Deuteronomy 21:10-23