Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
THE PRIESTS AND JUDGES TO DETERMINE CONTROVERSIES. (Deuteronomy 17:8-13)
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment—In all civil or criminal cases, where there was any doubt or difficulty in giving a decision, the local magistrates were to submit them by reference to the tribunal of the Sanhedrim—the supreme council, which was composed partly of civil and partly of ecclesiastical persons. "The priests and Levites," should rather be "the priests—the Levites"; that is, the Levitical priests, including the high priest, who were members of the legislative assembly; and who, as forming one body, are called "the judge." Their sittings were held in the neighborhood of the sanctuary because in great emergencies the high priest had to consult God by Urim (Numbers 27:21). From their judgment there was no appeal; and if a person were so perverse and refractory as to refuse obedience to their sentences, his conduct, as inconsistent with the maintenance of order and good government, was then to be regarded and punished as a capital crime.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Deuteronomy 17:8:
Deuteronomy 17:8-13
Deuteronomy 33:8-10
Jeremiah 29:26
Malachi 2:6
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