Thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?
Permalink Reply by Seek on October 17, 2015 at 1:22pm
Sounds sensible. Food can be scarce so why destroy it if you can benefit from it?
It's not trees in general but those bearing fruit, since vs. 20 says "However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls."