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Deuteronomy Chapter
Twenty-five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 25
Several
laws are contained in this chapter, as concerning beating such whose crimes
required it, Deuteronomy 25:1;
of not muzzling the ox in treading out the corn, Deuteronomy 25:4;
of marrying a deceased brother's wife, when there was no issue, and of the
disgrace of such that refused it, Deuteronomy 25:5;
of the punishment of an immodest woman, Deuteronomy 25:11;
and against bad weights and measures, Deuteronomy 25:13;
and for the utter destruction of Amalek, Deuteronomy 25:17.
Deuteronomy 25:1 “If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court,
that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and
condemn the wicked,
YLT
1`When there is a strife
between men, and they have come nigh unto the judgment, and they have judged,
and declared righteous the righteous, and declared wrong the wrong-doer,
If there be a controversy between men,.... Between
two or more:
and they come unto judgment; into a court of
judicature, bring their cause thither:
that the judges may judge them; who were
never less than three; the great sanhedrim at Jerusalem consisted of seventy
one, the lesser court was of twenty three, and the least of all three only:
then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked: acquit the
one, whose cause is good, and condemn the other to punishment, who is guilty of
a crime, and as that deserves; which is to do righteous judgment; the contrary
to this is an abomination to the Lord, Proverbs 17:15.
Deuteronomy 25:2 2 then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten,
that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence,
according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows.
YLT
2then it hath come to pass,
if the wrong-doer is to be smitten, that the judge hath caused him to fall
down, and [one] hath smitten him in his presence, according to the sufficiency
of his wrong-doing, by number;
And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten,.... There
were four kinds of death criminals were put to by the Jews, stoning,
strangling, burning, and slaying with the sword; and such crimes not as severe
as these were punished with beating or scourging; and who they were that were
worthy to be beaten is at large set forth in the Misnic treatise called MaccothF24Ib.
c. 3. sect. 1. 2, 3, &c. , or "stripes", which are too many to be
transcribed. Maimonides saysF25Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 19. sect. 1. ,
that all negative precepts in the law, for the breach of which men are guilty
of cutting off, but not of death by the sanhedrim, are to be beaten. They are
in all twenty one, and so all deserving of death by the hand of heaven; and
they are eighteen, and all negative precepts of the law broken, for which there
is neither cutting off nor death by a court of judicature, for these men are to
be beaten, and they are one hundred and sixty eight; and all that are to be
beaten are found to be two hundred and seven:
that the judge shall cause him to lie down; which seems
to be on the floor of the court, since it was to be done immediately, and in
the presence of the judge; and the Jews gatherF26Misn. Maccot, c. 3.
sect. 13. from hence, that he was to be beaten neither standing, nor sitting,
but bowed; that is, ye shall command or order him to lie down, or to fall upon
the ground with his face towards it:
and to be beaten before his face; in the presence of the
judge, that the sentence might be properly executed, neither exceeded not
diminished; and indeed all the judges were to be present, especially the bench
of three; while he was beating, the chief of the judges read the passage in Deuteronomy 28:58;
and he that was next to him counted the strokes, and the third at every blow
said SmiteF1Maimon & Bartenora in ib. sect. 14. : of the manner
of beating or scourging; see Gill on Matthew 10:17,
according to his fault, by a certain number; as his crime
and wickedness was more or less heinous, more or fewer stripes were to be laid
on him; as ten or twenty, fewer or more, according to the nature of his
offence, as Aben Ezra observes, only he might not add above forty; though he
says there are some who say that according to his fault the stripes are larger
or lesser, but all of them in number forty.
Deuteronomy 25:3 3 Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should
exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be
humiliated in your sight.
YLT
3forty [times] he doth smite
him -- he is not adding, lest, he is adding to smite him above these -- many
stripes, and thy brother is lightly esteemed in thine eyes.
Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed,.... And that
this number might not be exceeded, it is ordered by the Jewish canons that only
thirty nine should be given; for it is askedF2Misn. Maccot, c. 3.
sect. 10. Vid. Buxtorf. Synagog. Jud. c. 25. p. 522, 523. ,"with how many
stripes do they beat him? with forty, save one, as it is said, in number
"forty" that is, in the number which is next to forty;'this they make
out by joining the last word of Deuteronomy 25:2
with the first of this; and that this was an ancient sense of the law, and custom
upon it, appears by the execution of it on the Apostle Paul; who was not
indulged, but suffered the extremity of it as it was then understood; see Gill
on 2 Corinthians 11:24;
moreover, that they might not exceed this number, they used to make a scourge
of three lashes, so that every strike they fetched with it was reckoned for
three stripes, and thirteen of them made thirty nine; wherefore if they added
another stroke, it would have exceeded the number of stripes by two:
lest if he should exceed, and beat him above these with
many stripes; they might diminish them, if a man was weak, and not able to
bear them; but they might not exceed them, if a man was as strong as Samson, as
MaimonidesF3Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 17. sect. 1. says:
then thy brother should seem vile unto thee; as if he was
a beast, and not a man, and much less a brother. The Targum of Jonathan
is,"lest he be in danger, and thy brother be vile;'lest he be in danger of
his life, and become vile, as a dead carcass; so the apostle calls dead bodies
"vile bodies", Philemon 3:21; or
in danger of being maimed, and becoming lame or deformed, and so be
contemptible: and this punishment of beating with the Jews was not reckoned,
according to their writers, reproachful, and as fixing a brand of infamy upon a
person; but they were still reckoned brethren, and restored to their former
dignities, whatsoever they possessed; so MaimonidesF4Ibid. sect. 7,
8, 9. says,"whoever commits a crime, and is beaten, he returns to his
dignity, as it is said, "lest thy brother be vile in thine eyes";
when he is beaten, lo, he is thy brother; an high priest, that commits a crime,
is beaten by three (i.e. a bench of three judges, by their order), as the rest
of all the people, and he returns to his grandeur; but the head of the session
(or court of judicature), that commits a crime, they beat him, but he does not
return to his principality, nor even return to be as one of the rest of the
sanhedrim; for they ascend in holiness, but do not descend.'And yet Josephus
represents it as a most infamous and scandalous punishment, as one would think
indeed it should be; his words areF5Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 21. ,
speaking of the laws concerning travellers being allowed to gather grapes, and
pluck ears of corn as they passed;"he that does contrary to these laws
receives forty stripes, save one, with a public scourge; a free man undergoes
this most filthy (or disgraceful) punishment, because for the sake of gain he
reproaches his dignity.'
Deuteronomy 25:4 4 “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the
grain.
YLT
4`Thou dost not muzzle an ox
in its threshing.
Thou shall not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. As oxen are
used in ploughing, so likewise in treading or beating out the corn; of the
manner of which; see Gill on 1 Corinthians 9:9;
now while it was thus employed, it might not be restrained by any means from
eating the corn as it had an opportunity, either by a muzzle put over its
mouth, or other ways. The Gentiles had several ways of restraining their cattle
from eating, while they thus made use of them, to which this law is opposed.
MaimonidesF6Hilchot Shecirut, c. 13. sect. 2, 3. has collected
several or them together, as prohibited by it; as putting a thorn into its
mouth, causing a lion to lie down by it, or causing its calf to lie down
without, or spreading a skin on the top of the corn, that so it may not eat.
AelianusF7Hist. Animal. l. 4. c. 25. relates a very particular way
of hindering oxen from eating at such times, used some countries, which was
this; that oxen might not eat of the ears of corn, in a floor where they were
trod out, they used to besmear their nostrils with cows' dung, which was so
disagreeable to the creature, that it would not taste anything though pressed
with famine. This law is not to be limited to the ox only, or to this peculiar
work assigned it; but, as Jarchi says, respects any sort of cattle, and
whatsoever work that has food in it, none of them being to be restrained from
eating while at work: and this law was not made for the creatures only, but for
men also; and especially for the sake of ministers of the word; who for their
strength, labour, and industry, are compared to oxen, and ought to be
comfortably supported and maintained on account of their work; for the
illustration and confirmation of which this passage is twice produced; see Gill
on 1 Corinthians 9:9;
See Gill on 1 Corinthians 9:10;
See Gill on 1 Timothy 5:17; See
Gill on 1 Timothy 5:18.
Deuteronomy 25:5 5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and
has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger
outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her
as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
YLT
5`When brethren dwell
together, and one of them hath died, and hath no son, the wife of the dead is
not without to a strange man; her husband's brother doth go in unto her, and
hath taken her to him for a wife, and doth perform the duty of her husband's
brother;
If brethren dwell together,.... Not only in the same
country, province, town, or city, but in the same house; such who had been from
their youth brought up together in their father's house, and now one of them
being married, as the case put supposes, they that were unmarried might live
with him, and especially if the father was dead; and so may except such as were
abroad, and in foreign countries, or at such a distance that this law coals not
well be observed by them; though the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi,
interpret it of their being united in an inheritance, all by virtue of relation
having a claim to their father's inheritance; so that it mattered not where
they dwelt, it is the relation that is regarded, and their right of
inheritance; and the above Targum describes them as brethren on the father's
side, and so Jarchi says excepts his brother on the mother's side; for brethren
by the mother's side, in case of inheritance, and the marrying of a brother's
wife, were not reckoned brethren, as MaimonidesF8Hilchot Yebum
Vechalitzah, c, 1, sect, 7. observes; who adds, that there is no brotherhood
but on the father's side. Some think that when there were no brethren in a
strict and proper sense, the near kinsmen, sometimes called brethren, were to
do the office here enjoined, and which they conclude from the case of Boaz and
Ruth; but Aben Ezra contradicts this, and says that instance is no proof of it,
it respecting another affair, not marriage, but redemption; and says that
brethren, absolutely and strictly speaking are here meant; which is agreeably
to their traditionF9Misn. Yebamot, c. 4. sect. 5. :
and one of them die, and have no child: son, or
daughter, son's son, or daughter's son, or daughter's daughter, as Jarchi
notes; if there were either of these, children or grandchildren, of either sex,
there was no obligation to marry a brother's wife; so, in the case put to
Christ, there was no issue, the person was childless, Matthew 22:24,
the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger; by whom is
meant not a Gentile, or a proselyte of the gate, or of righteousness, but any
Israelite whatever, that was not of her husband's family; she might not marry
out of the family; that is, she was refused by all, the design of the law being
to secure inheritances, and continue them in families to which they belonged:
her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to
wife; that is, supposing him to be unmarried, and this is indeed
supposed in the first clause of the text, by dwelling with his brother; for had
he been married, he would have dwelt with his wife and family apart; besides,
if this law obliged a married man to marry his brother's wife, polygamy would
be required and established by a law of God, which was never otherwise than
permitted. This is to be understood of the eldest brother, as Jarchi, who is in
an unmarried state; so it is said in the MisnahF11Yebamot, c. 4.
sect. 5. ,"the command is upon the eldest to marry his brother's wife; if
he will not, they go to all the brethren; if they will not, they return to the
eldest; and say to him, upon thee is the commandment, either allow the shoe to
be plucked off, or marry;'and such a course we find was taken among the Jews in
our Lord's time, Matthew 22:25,
and perform the duty of an husband's brother to her; cohabit
together as man and wife, in order to raise up seed to his brother, and perform
all the offices and duties of an husband to a wife; but the marriage solemnity
was not to take place when it was agreed to, until three months or ninety days
had passed from the death of the brother, that it might be known whether she
was with child or no by her husband, and in such a case this law had no force;
so runs the Jewish canonF12Ib. sect. 10. "a brother's wife may
not pluck off the shoe, nor be married, until three months;'that is, after her
husband's death.
Deuteronomy 25:6 6 And it shall be that the firstborn son which she
bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be
blotted out of Israel.
YLT
6and it hath been, the
first-born which she beareth doth rise for the name of his dead brother, and
his name is not wiped away out of Israel.
And it shall be that the firstborn that she beareth,.... To her
husband's brother, now married to her:
shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead; the meaning
is, as the Targum of Jonathan,"he shall rise up in the inheritance in the
name of his brother;'or, as Jarchi expresses it,"he shall take the
inheritance of the deceased in the goods of his father;'that is, he shall have
his part and share in the inheritance that the deceased brother would have had
if he had lived, which would come to him by his father:
that his name be not put out of Israel; that the
family be not lost in Israel, and the inheritance belonging to it pass to
another. This law was designed to keep families distinct, and inheritances in
them, until the Messiah came, and that it might appear from what family he
came; as he did from one in whom, as it is generally thought, this law took
place: and it might have still a more special respect to him, as Ainsworth
suggests; for Christ in the mystical sense may be signified by the deceased
brother; he stands in the relation of a brother to his people, and has all the
love, friendship, compassion, and condescension of one; he and they are of one
and the same father, of the same family, and of the same nature, and have the
same inheritance they being co-heirs with him; nor is he ashamed to own the
relation. This brother of theirs is deceased; his death was according to the
will of God, what he himself agreed to, and was foretold by the prophets; for
which purpose he came into the world, and did die as to the flesh, and that for
the sins of his people. Now the Jewish church was his wife, by whom he had no
children through the law; that church was espoused to him, he stood in the
relation of an husband to her, and she in the relation of a wife to him. Very
few children were brought forth by her to him, see, Isaiah 54:1; and
none by the law, by which there is no regeneration, but by the Gospel; it is
through that, and not the law, the Spirit and his graces come; or souls are
born again to Christ, renewed and sanctified. The apostles that survived
Christ, and the ministers of the Gospel, are his brethren, John 20:17; and who
are instruments in begetting souls to Christ; and these are a seed raised up
unto him, and are called not after the name of the apostles and ministers of
the word, through whose ministry they are begotten, 1 Corinthians 1:12;
but after Christ; and have the name of Christians, or anointed ones, from him,
and by which means his name is, and will be continued as long as the sun
endures, Acts 11:26.
Deuteronomy 25:7 7 But if the man does not want to take his brother’s
wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My
husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will
not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’
YLT
7`And if the man doth not
delight to take his brother's wife, then hath his brother's wife gone up to the
gate, unto the elders, and said, My husband's brother is refusing to raise up
to his brother a name in Israel; he hath not been willing to perform the duty
of my husband's brother;
And the man like not to take his brother's wife,.... The
provision here made by this law, when this was the case, is such as did not
take place before it became a law; for then Onan would have taken the advantage
of it, and refused marrying his brother's wife, which it is plain was not
agreeable to him, Genesis 38:9; as
many do now on one account or another. Leo of ModenaF12Ut supra,
sect. 3. (Leo Modena's History of Rites, &c. l. 1 sect. 3.) says,"it was
anciently accounted the more laudable thing to take her, than to release her;
but now the corruption of the times, and the hardness of men's hearts, are
such, as that they only look after worldly ends, either of riches, or of the
beauty of the woman; so that there are very few that in this case will marry a
brother's widow, especially among the Dutch and Italian Jews, but they always
release her:"
then let his brother's wife go up to the gate; to the gate
of the city, where the judges sit for public affairs; to the gate of the
sanhedrim, or court of judicature, as the Targum of Jonathan; and this affair
was cognizable by the bench of three judges, and might be dispatched by them;
for so it is saidF13Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 1. sect. 3. ,"the
plucking off the shoe, and the refusal of marriage, are by three:'i.e. three
judges, which was the lowest court of judicature with the Jews:
unto the elders, and say; which according to the
above Targum were to be five wise men, of which three were to be judges, and
two witnesses; and she was to say in the Hebrew language, in which, according
to the MisnahF14Sotah, c. 7. sect. 2. , she was to pronounce what
follows:
my husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name
in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother; that is, in a
few words, he will not marry her.
Deuteronomy 25:8 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to
him. But if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to take her,’
YLT
8and the elders of his city
have called for him, and spoken unto him, and he hath stood and said, I have no
desire to take her;
Then the elders of his city shall call him,.... Require
him to come, before them, and declare his resolution, and the reasons for it;
recite this law to him, and explain the nature of it, and exhort him to comply
with it, or show reason why he does not, at least to have his final resolution
upon it:
and speak unto him; talk with him upon this subject, and give
him their best advice; and what that was MaimonidesF15Yebum
Vechalitzab, c. 4. sect. 1. more particularly informs us; if it is good and
advisable to marry, they advise him to marry; but if it is better advice to
pluck off the shoe, they give it; as when she is young and he is old, or she is
old and he young, they advise him to allow the shoe to be plucked off:
and if he stand to it: and say, I like not to take
her; if, after all the conversation, debate, and counsel between
them, he is resolute, and abides by his first determination, that he will not
marry her, then the following method was to be taken.
Deuteronomy 25:9 9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the
presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and
answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his
brother’s house.’
YLT
9`Then hath his brother's
wife drawn nigh unto him, before the eyes of the elders, and drawn his shoe
from off his foot, and spat in his face, and answered and said, Thus it is done
to the man who doth not build up the house of his brother;
Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the
elders,.... The time and place being appointed the evening before by
three Rabbins, and two witnesses, as Leo of Modena saysF16Ut supra,
sect. 4. (Leo Modena's Hostory of Rites, &c. l. 1. sect. 4.) ; of which she
was apprized, and ordered to come tasting:
and loose his shoe from off his foot; his right
foot, which was thus done;"they bring him a leather shoe, which has a
heel, but not sewed with linen (linen thread), and he puts it on the right
foot, and binds the latchet on his foot, and stands, he and she, in the court;
he fixes his foot on the ground, and she sits and stretches out her hand in the
court, and looses the latchet of his shoe from off his foot, and pulls off his
shoe, and casts it to the groundF17Maimon. ut supra, (Yebum
Vechalitzab, c. 4.) sect. 6. :'this he suffered to be done to show that he gave
up his right to her; and he was so used by way of reproach, to signify that he
deserved not to be reckoned among freemen, but among servants and slaves, that
went barefooted, having no shoes on: and in the mystical sense of it, as
Ainsworth observes, it spiritually signified, that such as would not beget
children unto Christ (or preach his Gospel for that purpose), it should be
declared of them that their feet are not shod with the preparation of the
Gospel of Christ, Ephesians 6:15,
and spit in his face; in a way of contempt, as
a token of shame and disgrace; but the Jewish writers generally interpret this
in a softer manner, as if it was not in his face, but in his presence, upon the
floor, and seen by the judgesF18Ibid. sect. 7. Targum & Jarchi
in loc. :
and shall answer and say, so shall it be done unto the man that
will not build up his brother's house; that is, in this
contemptuous and shameful manner shall he be used.
Deuteronomy 25:10 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of
him who had his sandal removed.’
YLT
10and his name hath been
called in Israel -- The house of him whose shoe is drawn off.
And his name shall be called in Israel,.... Not his
particular and personal name, but his family; for it seems that not only a mark
of infamy was set upon him for refusing to marry his brother's widow, but upon
his family also:
the house of him that hath his shoe loosed; which, as Leo
of Modena saysF19History, ut supra, sect. 5. (Leo Modena's History
of Rites, &c. l. 1. sect. 5.) , was repeated by her three times; and at
every time the people with a loud voice answer and call him, one that had his
shoe loosed; and then the Rabbin tells the man that he is at liberty now to
marry whom he pleases; and if he desires a certificate from them of this
setting free his kinswoman, they presently give him one; and she also had a
writing given to her by the judges, certifying the same, that she was free also
to marry another; of which the following is a short form or copyF20T.
Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 19. 1. ."In such or such a session (or court),
such an one, the daughter of such an one, plucked off the shoe of such an one,
the son of such an one, before us; she brought him before us, and she loosed
the shoe of his right foot, and spit before him spittle, which was seen by us
upon the ground; and said, so shall it be done to the man that would not build
up his brother's house.'A larger form may be seen in MaimonidesF21Hilchot
Yebum Vechalitzah, c. 4. sect. 29. , as well as a type and copy of the
matrimonial contract. From this law an high priest was free, Leviticus 21:14;
and so a king, according to the Jewish canonF23Misn. Sanhedrin, c.
2. sect. 2. .
Deuteronomy 25:11 11 “If two men fight together, and the wife of one
draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and
puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals,
YLT
11`When men strive together,
one with another, and the wife of the one hath drawn near to deliver her
husband out of the hand of his smiter, and hath put forth her hand, and laid
hold on his secrets,
When men strive together, one with another,.... Quarrel
with one another, and come to blows, and strive for mastery, which shall beat,
and be the best man:
and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband
out of the hand of him that smiteth him; perceiving that his
antagonist has more skill or strength, or both, for fighting, and is an more
than a match for her husband, who is like to be much bruised and hurt;
wherefore, to save him out of the hands of the smiter, she goes up to them to
part them, or take her husband's side:
and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets; or privy
parts; in Hebrew his "shameful" partsF24במבשיו "verenda ejus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus,
Tigurine version; "pudenda ejus", Piscator. , which through shame are
hidden, and modesty forbids to express in proper terms; and such is the purity
of the Hebrew language, that no obscene words are used in it; for which reason,
among others, it is called the holy tongue. This immodest action was done
partly out of affection to her husband, to oblige his antagonist to let go his
hold of him; and partly out of malice and revenge to him, to spoil him, and
make him unfit for generation, and therefore was to be severely punished, as
follows.
Deuteronomy 25:12 12 then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not
pity her.
YLT
12then thou hast cut off her
hand, thine eye doth not spare.
Then thou shall cut off her hand,.... Which was to be done
not by the man that strove with her husband, or by any bystander, but by the
civil magistrate or his order. This severity was used to deter women from such
an immodest as well as injurious action, who on such an occasion are very
passionate and inconsiderate. Our Lord is thought to refer to this law, Matthew 5:30;
though the Jewish writers interpret this not of actual cutting off the hand,
but of paying a valuable consideration, a price put upon it; so Jarchi; and
Aben Ezra compares it with the law of retaliation, "eye for eye", Exodus 21:24; which
they commonly understand of paying a price for the both, &c. lost; and who
adds, if she does not redeem her hand (i.e. by a price) it must be cut off:
thine eye shall not pity her; on account of the
tenderness of her sex, or because of the plausible excuse that might be made
for her action, being done hastily and in a passion, and out of affection to
her husband; but these considerations were to have no place with the
magistrate, who was to order the punishment inflicted, either in the strict
literal sense, or by paying a sum of money.
Deuteronomy 25:13 13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a
heavy and a light.
YLT
13`Thou hast not in thy bag a
stone and a stone, a great and a small.
Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights,.... Or,
"a stone and a stone"F25אבן ואבן "lapis et lapis", Montanus, Vatablus,
Piscator. ; it being usual, in those times and countries, to have their weights
of stone, as it was formerly with us here; we still say, that such a commodity
is worth so much per stone, a stone being of such a weight; now these were not
to be different:
a great and a small; great weights, to buy
with them, and small weights, to sell with them, as the Targum of Jonathan
paraphrases it.
Deuteronomy 25:14 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a
large and a small.
YLT
14Thou hast not in thy house
an ephah and an ephah, a great and a small.
Thou shall not have in thine house divers, measures,.... Or,
"an ephah and an ephah"; which was one sort of measure in use with
the Jews, and held above a bushel; and is put for all others, which should be
alike, and not
a great and a small; one to buy with, and
another to sell by, as before observed; which would be to cheat both seller and
buyer in their turns; see Amos 8:5.
Deuteronomy 25:15 15 You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect
and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
YLT 15Thou hast a stone complete
and just, thou hast an ephah complete and just, so that they prolong thy days
on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee;
But thou shall have a perfect
and just weight, a perfect and just measure shall thou have,.... That is,
full weights, and full measures; and such as are alike, and everywhere used,
according to the standard of the country; See Gill on Leviticus 19:36,
that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God
giveth thee; long life was always reckoned a blessing, and is frequently
promised to, obedience, and particularly long life in the land of Canaan; which
was a most delightful and fruitful land, and which a man might wish to live
long in; deceitful men, are threatened with not living half their days, and
such may they be said to be that use false weights and measures, Psalm 55:23.
Deuteronomy 25:16 16 For all who do such things, all who behave
unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.
YLT
16for the abomination of
Jehovah thy God [is] any one doing these things, any one doing iniquity.
For all that do such things,.... Keep, different
weights and measures, and make use of them to defraud their neighbours in
buying and selling:
and all that do unrighteously; what is not
just and right between man and man, in any other instance whatever:
are an abomination unto the
Lord thy God; both they and their actions; he is a righteous God, and loves
righteousness, and hates injustice of every kind.
Deuteronomy 25:17 17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you
were coming out of Egypt,
YLT
17`Remember that which Amalek
hath done to thee in the way, in your going out from Egypt,
Remember what Amalek did unto thee,.... The Amalekites, how
they came out against them, and fought with them at Rephidim, Exodus 17:8,
by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; which was an
aggravation of their cruel and inhuman action, that they not only came out
against them unprovoked, were the aggressors, and fell upon them as they were
travelling on the road, but when they were just come out of Egypt, where they
had been in hard bondage, and their spirits broken, and they not used to war;
and so took them at all these disadvantages, a people that had not in the least
injured them.
Deuteronomy 25:18 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear
ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary;
and he did not fear God.
YLT
18that he hath met thee in
the way, and smiteth in all those feeble behind thee (and thou wearied and
fatigued), and is not fearing God.
How he met thee by the way,.... Not with necessary
provisions, food and drink, which would have been but a piece of kindness and
humanity to travellers; but met them sword in hand, in order to stop their
journey, and make them captives, at least to harass and distress them:
and smote the hindmost of thee; came upon them in a sly
cowardly manner, and attacked their rear:
even all that
were feeble behind thee: women and children, and such men as were
weak, sickly, labouring under some disorder, and so lagged behind, and could
not keep up with the rest; on these Amalek first fell, and began his attack
here:
when thou wast faint and weary; with
travelling, and the more so for want of water, which was their case at
Rephidim, when Amalek came out against them; which is another aggravation of
their unkind usage of them they were not to forget:
and he feared not God; who was then in the
pillar of cloud and fire with Israel, which phenomenon Amalek might see, and
yet did not fear; and who had done such wonders for Israel in Egypt, and had brought
them from thence, and had drowned Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea, of which
doubtless Amalek had heard, and yet feared not the Lord, who had done such
great things.
Deuteronomy 25:19 19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the
land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that
you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not
forget.
YLT
19And it hath been, in
Jehovah thy God's giving rest to thee, from all thine enemies round about, in
the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance to possess
it -- thou dost blot out the rememberance of Amalek from under the heavens --
thou dost not forget.
Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest
from all thine enemies round about,.... Not only when they
had subdued the Canaanites, and got possession of their land, but when they
were clear and free from all their neighbouring nations, Moabites, Midianites,
Edomites, Ammonites, and Philistines; wherefore it may be observed, that this
did not take place, as not immediately after the conquest of Canaan, so neither
in the times of the judges, when they were harassed frequently by their
neighbours, and not until the times of Saul, the first king of Israel:
in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an
inheritance to possess it; the sense is, when they were in the full
possession of the land given them by the Lord, as an inheritance to be enjoyed
by them and theirs; and were at an entire rest from all enemies, and so had
their hands at liberty to employ against Amalek:
that thou shalt
blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven: that is,
utterly destroy them, so that there should be none left of them any where, to
put in mind that there ever were such a people on earth; men, women, children,
cattle of all sorts, were to be destroyed, and nothing left that belonged unto
them; that it might not be said this beast was Amalek's, as Jarchi, and to the
same purpose Aben Ezra; see the order for this renewed, and the accomplishment
of it, at least in part, 1 Samuel 15:2,
&c.
thou shall not forget it; neither the unkindness
of Amalek, nor this order to destroy him. The Targum of Jonathan adds,"and
even in the days of the King Messiah it shall not be forgotten.'
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》