Deuteronomy 22:5 - Pertaining to a Man Definition
Deuteronomy 22:5 states, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment" [3]. This prohibition appears within a collection of laws addressing proper boundaries in Israelite life, ranging from care for a neighbor's property to distinctions in agriculture and clothing [2, 4]. The verse's central concern is the maintenance of gender distinctions through dress, though the precise scope of "that which pertaineth unto a man" requires careful definition.
The Hebrew Term and Its Range
The phrase "that which pertaineth unto a man" translates the Hebrew keli gever, literally "the article/implement of a man." The term keli carries a broad semantic range, encompassing tools, weapons, vessels, and garments. This breadth has generated debate over whether the prohibition targets specifically clothing, military equipment, or a wider category of gender-associated items. The parallel structure of the verse—forbidding both women wearing men's items and men wearing women's garments—suggests the law addresses role-appropriate attire and implements rather than a narrow sartorial rule.
Interpretive Traditions
One major interpretive stream reads the law as prohibiting cross-dressing in any form. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown notes that "the adoption of the habiliments of the one sex by the other is an outrage on decency, obliterates the distinctions of nature by fostering softness and effeminacy in the man, impudence and boldness" in the woman [3]. This reading emphasizes the moral and social consequences of blurring gender lines through dress.
Another approach situates the prohibition within ancient Near Eastern cultic practices. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown observes that "disguises were assumed at certain times in heathen temples," suggesting the law may target ritual transvestism associated with Canaanite worship [3]. Under this reading, "that which pertaineth unto a man" would include cultic garments or implements used in pagan ceremonies where gender boundaries were deliberately transgressed.
Contextual Framework
The law appears among regulations that enforce categorical distinctions: the following verses prohibit mixing seed in vineyards, plowing with ox and donkey together, and wearing wool-linen blends (Deuteronomy 22:9-11). One commentary notes that adopting opposite-gender dress "unnaturally blurs the lines between things that should be kept separate and distinct" [1], placing the prohibition within Israel's broader holiness code that maintained created order through separation. The phrase "that which pertaineth unto a man" thus encompasses whatever markers—whether clothing, tools, or weapons—signified masculine social roles in ancient Israel, with the law preserving the visibility of gender distinction in daily life [2].
Sources
- Deuteronomy (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Deuteronomy 22:5: 22:5 Adopting the dress and behavior of the opposite gender unnaturally blurs the lines between things that should be kept separate and distinct (also 22:9-11).”
- Deuteronomy (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 22:1: Going deeper and deeper into the manifold relations of the national life, Moses first of all explains in Deu 22:1-12 the attitude of an Israelite, on the one hand, towards a neighbour; and, on the other hand, towards the natural classification and arrangement of things, and shows how love should rule in the midst of all these relations. The different relations brought under consideration are selected rather by way of examples, and therefore follow one another without any link of connection, for the purpose of exhibiting the truth in certain concrete cases,”
- Deuteronomy (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Deuteronomy 22:5: THE SEX TO BE DISTINGUISHED BY APPAREL. (Deu 22:5-12) The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment--Though disguises were assumed at certain times in heathen temples, it is probable that a reference was made to unbecoming levities practised in common life. They were properly forbidden; for the adoption of the habiliments of the one sex by the other is an outrage on decency, obliterates the distinctions of nature by fostering softness and effeminacy in the man, impudence and boldness in th”
- Deuteronomy (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Deuteronomy 22 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 22 In this chapter are various laws, concerning care of a neighbour's cattle gone astray or in distress, and of anything lost by him, Deu 22:1, forbidding one sex to wear the apparel, of another, Deu 22:5 and the taking away of the dam with the young found in a bird's nest, Deu 22:6, ordering battlements to be made in a new house, Deu 22:8, prohibiting mixtures in sowing, ploughing, and in garments, Deu 22:9, requiring fringes on the four quarters of a garment, Deu 22:12, fining a man that slanders his wife, upon produci”