Deuteronomy 25:6 - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

Deuteronomy 25:6

4 ^a“You shall not muzzle an ox while it¹ treads out the grain.

Marriage Duty of the Surviving Brother

5 ^a“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.

6 And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears ^awill succeed to the name of his dead brother, that ^bhis name may not be blotted out of Israel.

7 But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the ^agate 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.’

8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ^a‘I do not want to take her,’

9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, ^aremove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not ^bbuild up his brother’s house.’

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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Deuteronomy 25:5-10

the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother . . . shall take her to him to wife—This usage existed before the age of Moses (Genesis 38:8). But the Mosaic law rendered the custom obligatory (Matthew 22:25) on younger brothers, or the nearest kinsman, to marry the widow (Ruth 4:4), by associating the natural desire of perpetuating a brother's name with the preservation of property in the Hebrew families and tribes. If the younger brother declined to comply with the law, the widow brought her claim before the authorities of the place at a public assembly (the gate of the city); and he having declared his refusal, she was ordered to loose the thong of his shoe—a sign of degradation—following up that act by spitting on the ground— the strongest expression of ignominy and contempt among Eastern people. The shoe was kept by the magistrate as an evidence of the transaction, and the parties separated.

Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Deuteronomy 25:6:

Ecclesiastes 4:8

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Deuteronomy 25:7 >>

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Marriage Duty of the Surviving Brother

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