Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
The king, like the judges and officers (compare Deuteronomy 16:18), is to be chosen by the people; but their choice is to be in accordance with the will of God, and to be made from among "their brethren." Compare I Samuel 9:15; I Samuel 10:24; I Samuel 16:1; I Kings 19:16.
Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee - The Jews extended this prohibition to all offices whatsoever (compare Jeremiah 30:21); and naturally attached the greatest importance to it: from where the significance of the question proposed to our Lord, "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?" Matthew 22:17. A Gentile head for the Jewish people, which it was a principal aim of the Law to keep special and distinct from others, was an anomaly.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Deuteronomy 17:15:
Deuteronomy 17:18
1 Samuel 10:25
Matthew 22:15-22
Acts 13:21
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