HH: If you look at the passage carefully, you will see that it is not
talking about the whole camp of Israel, women and children and the aged
included, but it is talking about a military expedition that is camped
against an enemy. That is clear from verses 9 and 14:
I disagree that this is clear. This chapter, understanding that the chapter
divisions are not original, seems to be an eclectic collection of laws. The
way I read it, the connection between verse 9 and 10 is anything but clear.
I think its possible to read verse 9 as a law on its own. One thing which is
against reading it as a set of instructions for military action is verse 10.
Putting a man outside the camp all day during a military campaign makes him
a sitting duck for the enemies.
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