Deuteronomy 23:12

12 The latrines must be outside the camp. You will use them there, outside the camp.

Deuteronomy 23:12 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 23:12

Thou shalt have also a place without the camp
A place prepared, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, provided on purpose for the use hereafter suggested; so Ben Melech:

whither thou shalt go forth abroad;
to do the necessities of nature, which they were to do without the camp, not in any place they thought fit and most convenient, but what was appointed for that purpose.

Deuteronomy 23:12 In-Context

10 If an individual in the camp becomes polluted due to a nighttime emission, he must exit the camp area and not reenter.

11 When the next evening arrives, he must wash with water; and when the sun sets, he can come back to the camp.

12 The latrines must be outside the camp. You will use them there, outside the camp.

13 Carry a shovel with the rest of your gear; once you have relieved yourself, use it to dig a hole, then refill it, covering your excrement.

14 Do these things because the LORD your God travels with you, right in the middle of your camp, ready to save you and to hand your enemies over to you. For this reason your camp must be holy. The LORD must not see anything indecent among you, or he will turn away from you.

Footnotes

• [a]. LXX, Syr, Vulg place of the hand (a euphemism); MT has only hand.