Deu 20:5 | NETfull | STEP | Moreover, the officers are to say to the troops, “Who among you has built a new house and not dedicated it? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else dedicate it.

Deuteronomy 20:5

5 Moreover, the officers are to say to the troops, ^{▼▼ Heb “people” (also in vv. 8, 9).} “Who among you ^{▼▼ Heb “Who [is] the man” (also in vv. 6, 7, 8).} has built a new house and not dedicated ^{▼▼ The Hebrew term חָנַךְ (khanakh) occurs elsewhere only with respect to the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 8:63 = 2 Chr 7:5). There it has a religious connotation which, indeed, may be the case here as well. The noun form (חָנֻכָּה, khanukah) is associated with the consecration of the great temple altar (2 Chr 7:9) and of the postexilic wall of Jerusalem (Neh 12:27). In Maccabean times the festival of Hanukkah was introduced to celebrate the rededication of the temple following its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (1 Macc 4:36–61).} it? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else ^{▼▼ Heb “another man.”} dedicate it.