Ki Seitzei 21:11 · unit 2

TT #4 · Parashas Ki Seitzei · First aliya · Passuk 21:11

The Complete Passuk

וְרָאִ֙יתָ֙ בַּשִּׁבְיָ֔ה אֵ֖שֶׁת יְפַת־תֹּ֑אַר וְחָשַׁקְתָּ֣ בָ֔הּ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ לְךָ֖ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃

And you see among the captives a woman of beautiful form, and you desire her, and you would take her for yourself as a wife.

Chabad.org — 21:11

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Kiddushin 21b (and Sifrei Devarim 211).

Sefaria — Kiddushin 21b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
אֵשֶׁת – וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהִיא אֵשֶׁת אִישׁ.

English: “A woman” (eshes) — even if she is a married woman.

On the daf / in context: The construct form “eshes” normally implies a married woman (eshes ish). Sifrei and the Gemara therefore include a woman who already had a husband among the enemy before capture.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli / Sifrei) — inclusion from the construct form “eshes.”

What Is Learned

The captive-woman law applies even if the woman was married to an enemy husband before she was taken captive.