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).
Deuteronomy 25 Bible Commentary
Jamieson, Faussett, and Brown
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).