3 Forty H705 stripes H5221 he may give him, and not exceed: H3254 lest, if he should exceed, H3254 and beat H5221 him above these with many H7227 stripes, H4347 then thy brother H251 should seem vile H7034 H5869 unto thee.
Wherefore are we counted H2803 as beasts, H929 and reputed vile H2933 in your sight? H5869
But G1161 as soon as G3753 this G3778 thy G4675 son G5207 was come, G2064 which G3588 hath devoured G2719 thy G4675 living G979 with G3326 harlots, G4204 thou hast killed G2380 for him G846 the fatted G4618 calf. G3448
And G1161 he spake G2036 G2532 this G5026 parable G3850 unto G4314 certain G5100 which G3588 trusted G3982 in G1909 themselves G1438 that G3754 they were G1526 righteous, G1342 and G2532 despised G1848 others: G3062 Two G1417 men G444 went up G305 into G1519 the temple G2411 to pray; G4336 the one G1520 a Pharisee, G5330 and G2532 the other G2087 a publican. G5057 The Pharisee G5330 stood G2476 and prayed G4336 thus G5023 with G4314 himself, G1438 God, G2316 I thank G2168 thee, G4671 that G3754 I am G1510 not G3756 as G5618 other G3062 men G444 are, extortioners, G727 unjust, G94 adulterers, G3432 or G2228 even G2532 as G5613 this G3778 publican. G5057 I fast G3522 twice G1364 in the week, G4521 I give tithes G586 of all G3956 that G3745 I possess. G2932
Of G5259 the Jews G2453 five times G3999 received I G2983 forty G5062 stripes save G3844 one. G3391 Thrice G5151 was I beaten with rods, G4463 once G530 was I stoned, G3034 thrice G5151 I suffered shipwreck, G3489 a night and a day G3574 I have been G4160 in G1722 the deep; G1037
For G1063 if G1437 there come G1525 unto G1519 your G5216 assembly G4864 a man G435 with a gold ring, G5554 in G1722 goodly G2986 apparel, G2066 and G1161 there come in G1525 also G2532 a poor man G4434 in G1722 vile G4508 raiment; G2066 And G2532 ye have respect G1914 to G1909 him that weareth G5409 the gay G2986 clothing, G2066 and G2532 say G2036 unto him, G846 Sit G2521 thou G4771 here G5602 in a good place; G2573 and G2532 say G2036 to the poor, G4434 Stand G2476 thou G4771 there, G1563 or G2228 sit G2521 here G5602 under G5259 my G3450 footstool: G5286
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 25
Commentary on Deuteronomy 25 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 25
De 25:1-19. Stripes Must Not Exceed Forty.
2, 3. if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten—In judicial sentences, which awarded punishment short of capital, scourging, like the Egyptian bastinado, was the most common form in which they were executed. The Mosaic law, however, introduced two important restrictions; namely: (1) The punishment should be inflicted in presence of the judge instead of being inflicted in private by some heartless official; and (2) The maximum amount of it should be limited to forty stripes, instead of being awarded according to the arbitrary will or passion of the magistrate. The Egyptian, like Turkish and Chinese rulers, often applied the stick till they caused death or lameness for life. Of what the scourge consisted at first we are not informed; but in later times, when the Jews were exceedingly scrupulous in adhering to the letter of the law and, for fear of miscalculation, were desirous of keeping within the prescribed limit, it was formed of three cords, terminating in leathern thongs, and thirteen strokes of this counted as thirty-nine stripes (2Co 11:24).
4. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn—In Judea, as in modern Syria and Egypt, the larger grains were beaten out by the feet of oxen, which, yoked together, day after day trod round the wide open spaces which form the threshing-floors. The animals were allowed freely to pick up a mouthful, when they chose to do so: a wise as well as humane regulation, introduced by the law of Moses (compare 1Co 9:9; 1Ti 5:17, 18).
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 (Ge 38:8). But the Mosaic law rendered the custom obligatory (Mt 22:25) on younger brothers, or the nearest kinsman, to marry the widow (Ru 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.
13-16. Thou shalt not have … divers weights—Weights were anciently made of stone and are frequently used still by Eastern shopkeepers and traders, who take them out of the bag and put them in the balance. The man who is not cheated by the trader and his bag of divers weights must be blessed with more acuteness than most of his fellows [Roberts]. (Compare Pr 16:11; 20:10).
17-19. Remember what Amalek did—This cold-blooded and dastardly atrocity is not narrated in the previous history (Ex 17:14). It was an unprovoked outrage on the laws of nature and humanity, as well as a daring defiance of that God who had so signally shown His favor towards Israel (see on 1 Samuel 15; 27. 8; 30).