申命记 25:7

Chinese NCV (Simplified)

那人如果不喜歡娶他兄弟的妻子，他兄弟的妻子就要到城門去見長老，說：‘我丈夫的兄弟不肯在以色列中為自己的哥哥立名，不肯對我盡兄弟的本分。’

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
那 人 若 不 愿 意 娶 他 哥 哥 的 妻 ， 他 哥 哥 的 妻 就 要 到 城 门 长 老 那 里 ， 说 ： 我 丈 夫 的 兄 弟 不 肯 在 以 色 列 中 兴 起 他 哥 哥 的 名 字 ， 不 给 我 尽 弟 兄 的 本 分 。

Contextual Overview

⁵ If two brothers are living together, and one of them dies without having a son, his widow must not marry someone outside her husband's family. Her husband's brother must marry her, which is his duty to her as a brother-in-law. ⁶ The first son she has counts as the son of the dead brother so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel. ⁷ But if a man does not want to marry his brother's widow, she should go to the elders at the town gate. She should say, "My brother-in-law will not carry on his brother's name in Israel. He refuses to do his duty for me." ⁸ Then the elders of the town must call for the man and talk to him. But if he is stubborn and says, "I don't want to marry her," ⁹ the woman must go up to him in front of the leaders. She must take off one of his sandals and spit in his face and say, "This is for the man who won't continue his brother's family!" ¹⁰ Then that man's family shall be known in Israel as the Family of the Unsandaled. ¹¹ If two men are fighting and one man's wife comes to save her husband from his attacker, grabbing the attacker by his sex organs, ¹² you must cut off her hand. Show her no mercy.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 21:19 - and bring Ruth 4:1 - to the gate Ruth 4:7 - a man plucked off

Cross-References

Genesis 12:4
So Abram left Haran as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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 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:

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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The law of levirate marriage. The law on this subject is not unique to the Jews, but is found (see Genesis 38:8) in all essential respects the same among various Oriental nations, ancient and modern. The rules in these verses, like those upon divorce, do but incorporate existing immemorial usages, and introduce various wise and politic limitations and mitigations of them. The root of the obligation here imposed upon the brother of the deceased husband lies in the primitive idea of childlessness being a great calamity (compare Genesis 16:4; and note), and extinction of name and family one of the greatest that could happen (compare Deuteronomy 9:14; Psalms 109:12-15). To avert this the ordinary rules as to intermarriage are in the case in question (compare Leviticus 18:16) set aside. The obligation was onerous (compare Ruth 4:6), and might be repugnant; and it is accordingly considerably reduced and restricted by Moses. The duty is recognized as one of affection for the memory of the deceased; it is not one which could be enforced at law. That it continued down to the Christian era is apparent from the question on this point put to Jesus by the Sadducees (see the marginal references).

Deuteronomy 25:5

No child - literally, “no son.” The existence of a daughter would clearly suffice. The daughter would inherit the name and property of the father; compare Numbers 27:1-11.

Deuteronomy 25:9

Loose his shoe from off his foot - In token of taking from the unwilling brother all right over the wife and property of the deceased. Planting the foot on a thing was an usual symbol of lordship and of taking possession (compare Genesis 13:17; Joshua 10:24), and loosing the shoe and handing it to another in like manner signified a renunciation and transfer of right and title (compare Ruth 4:7-8; Psalms 60:8, and Psalms 108:9). The widow here is directed herself, as the party slighted and injured, to deprive her brother-law of his shoe, and spit in his face (compare Numbers 12:14). The action was intended to aggravate the disgrace conceived to attach to the conduct of the man.

Deuteronomy 25:10

The house ... - Equivalent to “the house of the barefooted one.” To go barefoot was a sign of the most abject condition; compare 2 Samuel 15:30.