Chapter 25
Verses 1-19: Equity and Remembrance in Justice
1. “If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty,
2. then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense.
3. Forty stripes may be given but no more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.
4. You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.
5. If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
6. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
7. But if the man does not wish 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 perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’
8. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’
9. then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’
10. And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’
11. If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts,
12. you shall cut off her hand; show her no pity.
13. You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small.
14. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.
15. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
16. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.
17. “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt,
18. how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God.
19. Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; do not forget.
Interpretation:
Chapter 25 of Deuteronomy addresses various aspects of civil law and social justice. The initial verses set guidelines for corporal punishment, emphasizing fairness and the prevention of excessive violence. The law about the ox treading grain underscores the importance of fairness and kindness to animals. The levirate marriage law seeks to preserve family lineage and protect the widow’s rights within the cultural context. The instructions about fair weights and measures stress the importance of honesty and integrity in business dealings. The final commandment to remember and blot out Amalek reflects a call to collective memory and justice regarding past hostilities and transgressions. These laws collectively highlight the societal values of fairness, compassion, and responsibility in maintaining community order and welfare.
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