When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

DEUTERONOMY 24:21KJV
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Deuteronomy 24:21 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 24:21 mean?

Deuteronomy 24:21 tells landowners that after harvesting grapes from their vineyards, they should not go back to pick what was left behind; these remaining grapes are to be left for foreigners, orphans, and widows. The verse sets a rule to ensure that vulnerable people in the community have access to food and support.

In this part of Deuteronomy, Moses is speaking to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the promised land, giving them laws about daily life and justice. The instruction is practical: when gathering grapes, anything missed or left behind is not to be collected later, but left for those who have no land or family support. This law is part of a larger section focused on compassion and fairness toward those who are often overlooked.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 24:21

  • "Gatherest" (בָּצַר, batsar): This word refers to the act of harvesting grapes. It highlights that the instruction is about the main grape harvest, not just casual picking.
  • "Vineyard" (כֶּרֶם, kerem): This term means a cultivated area specifically for growing grapes, showing that the law applies to a valuable and carefully tended crop.
  • "Glean" (עָלַל, ‘alal): This word means to go over the vines a second time to pick what was missed. The command is not just about generosity, but about deliberately leaving something behind for others.
  • "Stranger" (גֵּר, ger), "Fatherless" (יָתוֹם, yatom), "Widow" (אַלְמָנָה, almanah): These words refer to people without family or social protection in ancient Israel. The law singles them out as those who should benefit from what is left in the vineyard.

Why Deuteronomy 24:21 matters

  • Deuteronomy 24:21 clarifies that generosity was not just a personal choice but a community expectation, built into the agricultural laws of Israel.
  • The verse connects to a wider pattern in Deuteronomy, where laws are designed to protect the most vulnerable, showing that justice and compassion were central to Israelite society.
  • This law challenges the idea that everything produced belongs solely to the owner, reminding readers that care for others is a basic part of living in community.

Where else these words appear

“glean” Hebrew H5953 · used in 18 verses

  • Exodus 10:2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.
  • 1 Samuel 6:6 Wherefore then do ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let the people go, and they departed?
  • Jeremiah 6:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.

“gatherest” Hebrew H1219 · used in 38 verses

  • Genesis 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
  • 2 Kings 19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
  • Isaiah 36:1 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.

“fatherless” Hebrew H3490 · used in 42 verses

  • Exodus 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
  • Job 22:9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
  • Proverbs 23:10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

“widow” Hebrew H490 · used in 54 verses

  • Genesis 38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
  • 1 Kings 7:14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
  • Isaiah 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.