5. A new wife. That is, if he is “newly married” (; see 20:5-8).
Go out to war. See 20:7. It is to the advantage of the state to enact such measures as will honor and exalt marriage. This law provided time for the firm establishment of the home. Even more important, from the Hebrew point of view, it made more certain an heir to perpetuate the family name and to inherit the family land.
Business. Literally, “service,” as the Hebrew word is often translated (Num. 4:23, 30, 35, 39, 43; 8:24). This refers to any public service that would take him away from home.