If the man doesn’t want to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to raise up to his brother a name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.” Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him. If he stands and says, “I don’t want to take her,” then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his sandal from off his foot, and spit in his face. She shall answer and say, “So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.” His name shall be called in Israel, “The house of him who had his sandal removed.”
Parallel Translations
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If the man doesn’t want to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to raise up to his brother a name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.”
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him. If he stands and says, “I don’t want to take her,”
then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his sandal from off his foot, and spit in his face. She shall answer and say, “So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.”
His name shall be called in Israel, “The house of him who had his sandal removed.”
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And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, 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.
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;
Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.
And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
Show all 3 translations
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And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say: 'My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother unto me.'
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him; and if he stand, and say: 'I like not to take her';
then shall his brother's wife draw nigh unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say: 'So shall it be done unto the man that doth not build up his brother's house.'
And his name shall be called in Israel The house of him that had his shoe loosed.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (1)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (16)
- Numbers 12:14 (v9) Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, shouldn’t she be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut up outside of the camp…
- Ruth 4:6 (v8) The near kinsman said, “I can’t redeem it for myself, lest I endanger my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption for yourself; for I…
- Ruth 4:7-8 (v9) Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his…
- Genesis 38:8-10 (v9) Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your…
- Ruth 4:10-11 (v9) Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that…
Show all 16 cross-references
- Job 30:10 (v9) They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, and don’t hesitate to spit in my face.
- Isaiah 20:2 (v9) at that time Yahweh spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loosen the sackcloth from off your waist, and take your sandals from…
- Isaiah 50:6 (v9) I gave my back to those who beat me, and my cheeks to those who plucked off the hair. I didn’t hide my face from shame and spitting.
- Matthew 26:67 (v9) Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him,
- Matthew 27:30 (v9) They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.
- Mark 1:7 (v9) He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen.
- Mark 10:34 (v9) They will mock him, spit on him, scourge him, and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
- John 1:27 (v9) He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.”
- 1 Samuel 2:30 (v9) “Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father should walk before me forever.’ But…
- Ruth 4:1-2 (v7) Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. Behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. Boaz said to him, “Come over here,…
- Ruth 4:5-6 (v7) Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead,…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v9 Deu 25:9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto…
Deu 25:9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.
Ver. 9. And loose his shoe.] To show that he was worthy to go barefoot, and had no right howsoever to tread upon that ground, as any part of his estate. See Rth 4:7. The Turks have a ceremony somewhat like this; {a} the woman may sue a divorce, when her husband would abuse her against nature: which she doth by taking off his or her shoe before the judge, and holding it the sole upward, but speaking nothing, for the uncleanness of the fact.
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And spit in his face.] As unworthy to show his face amongst his brethren. See Num 12:14 Isa 50:6.
That will not build up his brother’s house.] {See Trapp on "Exo 1:21"}
{a} Blunt’s Voyage.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7–10 To raise up unto his brother a name; to…
To raise up unto his brother a name; to revive his brother’s name and memory.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–10 And the man like not to take his brother's…
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, Gen 38:9; as many do now on one account or another. Leo of Modena (l) 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 said (m),"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:
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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 Misnah (n), 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.
(l) Ut supra, sect. 3. (Leo Modena's History of Rites, &c. l. 1 sect. 3.) (m) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 1. sect. 3. (n) Sotah, c. 7. sect. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv9–10 Loose his shoe - As a sign of his…
Loose his shoe - As a sign of his resignation of all his right to the woman, and to her husband's inheritance: for as the shoe was a sign of one's power and right, Psalm lx, 8; cviii, 9, so the parting with the shoe was a token of the alienation of such right; and as a note of infamy, to signify that by this disingenuous action he was unworthy to be amongst free-men, and fit to be reduced to the condition of the meanest servants, who used to go barefoot, Isaiah xx, 2, 4.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v9 Verse 9. And loose his shoe] It is difficult…
Verse 9. And loose his shoe] It is difficult to find the reason of these ceremonies of degradation. Perhaps the shoe was the emblem of power; and by stripping it off, deprivation of that power and authority was represented. Spitting in the face was a mark of the utmost ignominy; but the Jews, who are legitimate judges in this case, say that the spitting was not in his face, but before his face on the ground. And this is the way in which the Asiatics express their detestation of a person to the present day, as Niebuhr and other intelligent travellers assure us. It has been remarked that the prefix ב beth is seldom applied to פני peney; but when it is it signifies as well before as in the face. See Jos 21:44; Jos 23:9; Es 9:2; and Eze 42:12; which texts are supposed to be proofs in point. The act of spitting, whether in or before the face, marked the strong contempt the woman felt for the man who had slighted her. And it appears that the man was ever after disgraced in Israel; for so much is certainly implied in the saying, De 25:10: And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v9 Deu 25:9-10. Loose his shoe — As a sign…
Deu 25:9-10. Loose his shoe — As a sign of his resignation of all his right to the woman, and to her husband’s inheritance; for as the shoe was a sign of one’s power and right, (Psa 60:8; Psa 108:9,) so the parting with the shoe was a token of the alienation of such right; and as a note of infamy, to signify that by this disingenuous action he was unworthy to be among free men, and fit to be reduced to the condition of the meanest servants, who used to go barefoot, Isa 20:2; Isa 20:4. His name — That is, his person, and his posterity also. So it was a lasting blot.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9–10 In his face, or presence, upon the ground, as…
In his face, or presence, upon the ground, as appears from the Gemarra of Jerusalem, where we read this form: (Haydock) "In our presence, (the three judges are specified) N, widow of N, hath taken off the shoe of N, son of N. She brought him before us, and took off the shoe from his right foot, and spat in our presence, so that we saw her spittle upon the ground; and she said to him, So shall he be treated who will not establish the house of his brother." Before this ceremony took place, the widow was obliged to wait three months, to prove that she was not in a state of pregnancy; for if she were, the brother could not marry her. He was never obliged to do it, but if he refused he was deemed infamous. The taking off the shoe was intended to humble him, as well as to shew that he relinquished all his claim to the inheritance. Josephus ([Antiquities?] v. 11) says, that Ruth gave the relation, who would not marry her, a slap on the face, or rather, as it ought to be printed, "she spat in his face," which was a mark of the greatest ignominy, chap. xii. 14., Isaias l. 6., and Matthew xxvi. 67. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 10 7. If the man like not — If the…
7. If the man like not — If the brother-in-law was unwilling to marry the widow of his deceased brother, then she was to bring the matter before the elders for their adjudication. For an illustration see the case of Boaz and Ruth, Ruth chapters 4 and 5.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–10 7. shall go up to the gate] Rth_4:1, only…
7. shall go up to the gate] Rth_4:1, only here, in D; so also the terms like not and refuseth (see introd. note).
elders] Deu_21:19, Deu_22:15. See on Deu_16:18.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v7 Vers. 7-10. If the man refused to marry the…
Vers. 7-10. If the man refused to marry the widow of his deceased brother, he was free to do so; but the woman had her redress. She was to bring the matter before the eiders of the town, sitting as magistrates at the gate, and they were to summon the man and speak to him, and if he persisted in his refusal, the woman was to take his shoe from off his foot, and spit before his face, and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother"s house. The taking off of the shoe of the man by the woman was an act of indignity to him; it amounted to a declaration that he was not worthy to stand in his brother"s place, and was scornfully rejected by the woman herself. As the planting of the shod foot on a piece of property, or the casting of the shoe over a field, was emblematical of taking possession of it with satisfaction; (Psa_60:8 Psa_108:9) and as the voluntary handing of one"s shoe to another betokened the giving up to that other of some property or right; so, contrariwise, the forcible removal from one of his shoe and the casting of it aside indicated contemptuous rejection of the owner, and repudiation of all his rights and claims in the matter. To walk barefooted was regarded by the Jews as ignominious and miserable. (cf. Isa_20:2, Isa_20:4; 2Sa_15:30) The spitting before the face of the man (wynpB in front of him) is by the Jewish interpreters understood of spitting on the ground in his presence (Talmud, "Jebam.," 106; Madmen., "In Jibbum.," 4:6-8). This seems to be what the words express (cf. Deu_4:37 Deu_7:24 Deu_11:25; Jos_10:8; Eze_10:8, for the rendering of ynpb) and this, according to Oriental notions, would be insult enough (cf. Num_12:14; Isa_1:6; Niebuhr, "Description de l"Arabie," 1:49).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 9 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues speaking to the people of Israel.
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must go up to the gate to the elders
The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "must go up to the city gate where the elders judge cases" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
refuses to raise up for his brother a name
Here "name" refers to the memory of someone through his descendants. AT: "refuses to give his brother a son" (See: Metonymy)
he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me
"he will not do what a husband's brother is supposed to do and marry me"
I do not wish to take her
"I do not wish to marry her"
translationWords
brother
gate
elder
name
Israel
call
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9–10 25:9 pull his sandal from his foot: Using footwear,…
25:9 pull his sandal from his foot: Using footwear, which touched the ground, the brother-in-law showed that he relinquished any claim to his dead brother’s estate (Ruth 4:7). • spit in his face: This is an almost universal gesture of utter contempt (see Num 12:14).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.