War brings out raw human impulses, and the Torah confronts the profound psychological and legal aftermath of a soldier taking a captive woman. Once a soldier surrenders to his desires, strict moral boundaries are established to protect the captive from further exploitation, ensuring her absolute freedom should he choose to abandon her.
The situation is not presented as a mere possibility but as an inevitable reality. The commentators agree that a soldier will ultimately come to despise the captive woman he took [רש"י, מזרחי, גור אריה, דברי דוד, תורה תמימה]. This loss of desire naturally occurs once his initial lust is satisfied or when her physical beauty no longer attracts him [רלב"ג]. God presents this certainty as a preemptive deterrent, warning the individual that yielding to base desires will ultimately lead to the destruction of the family unit and personal loss, as the soldier will forfeit his money and derive no financial benefit from her [אלשיך, רבנו בחיי].
When the soldier inevitably tires of the woman, he is obligated to grant her complete freedom to live as she wishes [אבן עזרא, אבי עזר]. The method of her release depends on her status. If she has already converted and married him according to Jewish law, the primary approach among commentators is that she requires a formal bill of divorce, just like any other married woman [העמק דבר, תורה תמימה, מלבי"ם, צפנת פענח]. However, some maintain that if he dismisses her immediately after their initial wartime encounter, prior to any formal marriage, she is liberated without the need for a divorce document [רמב"ן].
Releasing her is not simply a matter of letting her go; it involves profound moral and spiritual protection. The soldier is forbidden from sending her back to her foreign family and idolatrous environment. Instead, he must allow her to live independently within the land as a convert or a resident alien [רמב"ן, רלב"ג, מלבי"ם, תורה תמימה]. Furthermore, this release carries a strict humanitarian obligation. She cannot be sent away if she is incapable of caring for herself. If she falls ill, the soldier must keep her in his home and ensure her medical recovery before she is discharged [תורה תמימה, מלבי"ם, פענח רזא, אדרת אליהו].
To prevent further abuse, there is an absolute prohibition against transferring her to another authority. While standard commerce involves money, this ban is sweeping and categorically forbids giving her away as a gift, handing her over for free, or exchanging her for other goods [אבן עזרא, תורה תמימה, מלבי"ם, אדרת אליהו]. Additionally, the soldier is strictly warned against mistreating her, a concept that is interpreted in several ways. One approach forbids subjugating her as a domestic servant for household chores [רש"י, רמב"ן, תורה תמימה, ביאור יש"ר]. Another perspective views this as a ban on human trafficking and deriving any commercial profit from her [תרגום אונקלוס, רשב"ם, חזקוני, אוהב גר]. Others understand it as an injunction against arrogance, warning the man not to act superior or domineering toward her [רמב"ן, שד"ל, הטור הארוך, רבנו בחיי], while an additional view sees it as a broad prohibition against acting with deceit or fraud [אבן עזרא].
All of these restrictions are rooted in a deep moral and legal justification. The woman's freedom and the absolute ban on trading her serve as direct compensation for the suffering she endured when the man dominated and violated her [שד"ל, רלב"ג]. Because he has already afflicted her, he forfeits any moral right to continue tormenting her through slavery [בכור שור, חזקוני, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. From a legal standpoint, these protections and prohibitions take effect immediately, even if the soldier only had a single intimate encounter with her under the chaotic conditions of war [רמב"ן, מלבי"ם, ביאור יש"ר, אדרת אליהו].