Deuteronomy 22:8 — When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.

To me one of the beautiful things about the Bible as a book of the law is the way it intersperses laws relating to the love and duty we owe to God with those that relate to our fellow man. This is not, of course, random or accidental. Jesus made it very clear, when He restated something that was very clear to His fellow Jews:

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. (Matthew 22:37-39)

The first and greatest law — and much that flows from it — defines our first and greatest obligation, but the second makes clear the duty of care we owe to our “neighbor”. As to who that neighbor might be, Jesus made that very clear in His telling of the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). The “neighbor” relationship is defined by nothing other than need — such matters of proximity or family are beside the point. So our duty of care, essentially, extends to everyone we come into contact with. 

But what has Deuteronomy 22:8 got to do with all this?  “The New Manners and Customs of the Bible” says:

The purpose of the parapet, which was a low protective wall or railing along the edge of the roof, was not for the purpose of decoration or defense as the KJV word “embattlement” infers, but to keep people from falling off the roof. The roofs were flat with a slight rise in the center to allow water to run to the edges and out holes in the parapet. Because of the heat in that climate, the family would often sleep on the roof at night and even eat meals there.

Having that battlement, or parapet, was a requirement to protect anyone, family or visitor,  who went up in the roof. It’s a “love your neighbor” thing. It’s a mistake, though, to regard the Torah, or the New Testament’s articulation of “laws” as being a complete and precise list of all the obligations of life.Rather, they should be considered as statements of principle to be applied to any circumstance where they might reasonably be applied. I believe that thought is what lies behind the vast body of rulings — the oral law — written down in the Mishnah. There is a vulgar tendency to poke fun at the precision of some decisions that now seem obscure or outdated — I’m sure that’s a mistake. That application of law is exactly what’s intended.It follows from all this that the requirement to have a “battlement” around the house to prevent harm to any visitors defines a general duty to think about what risks any of our activities might pose to anyone affected by them … and to plan accordingly.The idea goes further. I’ve often heard someone say “the Bible doesn’t say I can’t do that” or “Jesus doesn’t  say I have to do this”. Well it does, and He does. The verse I quoted from James the other day puts it in a nutshell: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)

In sum, therefore, have a care. Protect your neighbor.