Deuteronomy 25:7

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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
man	הָאִ֔ישׁ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
like	יַחְפֹּץ֙ yach.Potz	H2654	properly · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
take	לָקַ֖חַת la.Ka.chat	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
brother’s wife	יְבִמְתּ֑וֹ ye.vim.To	H2994	a sister-in-law · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
brother’s wife	יְבִמְתּ֨וֹ ye.vim.To	H2994	a sister-in-law · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
up	וְעָלְתָה֩ ve.'al.Tah	H5927	to ascend · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Ruth 4:1-2 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a on…
Ruth 4:5-6 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to r…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 25:5-12

Here is, I. The law settled concerning the marrying of the brother's widow. It appears from the story of Judah's family that this had been an ancient usage (Gen 38:8), for the keeping up of distinct families. The case put is a case that often happens, of a man's dying without issue, it may be in the prime of his time, soon after his marriage, and while his brethren were yet so young as to be unmarried. Now in this case, 1. The widow was not to marry again into any other family, unless all the relations of her husband did refuse her, that the estate she was endowed with might not be alienated. 2. The husband's brother, or next of kin, must marry her, partly out of respect to her, who, having…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 25:5

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 (Gen 38:8). But the Mosaic law rendered the custom obligatory (Mat 22:25) on younger brothers, or the nearest kinsman, to marry the widow (Rut 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…

Read the whole note in the console

John Gill on Deuteronomy 25:7

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, Genesis 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…

Dictionary and topics

Gate — (1.) Of cities, as of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; Neh. 1:3; 2:3; 3:3), of Sodom (Gen. 19:1), of Gaza (Judg. 16:3). (2.) Of royal palaces (Neh. 2:8). (3.) Of the temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6:34, 35; 2…
Levirate Law — From Latin levir, “a husband’s brother,” the name of an ancient custom ordained by Moses, by which, when an Israelite died without issue, his surviving brother was required to marry the widow, so as…
Brother · .Law concerning Levirate marriage of — .Law concerning Levirate marriage of
Court · .The gates of cities — .The gates of cities
Courts Of Justice · Judges of: Called elders — Judges of: Called elders
Inheritance · Provisions for inheritance un — Provisions for inheritance un
Marriage · 38:8,11; — 38:8,11;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 25:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 25:5-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 25:5

John Gill on Deuteronomy 25:7

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 25:7

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 25:5-12

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 25:5

John Gill on Deuteronomy 25:7

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 25:5-10

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 25:5-10

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 25:5

Rashi on Deuteronomy 25:7