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Deuteronomy Chapter
Eighteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 18
This
chapter gives an account of the provision made for the priests and Levites,
with the reason of it, Deuteronomy 18:1,
of allowance of a country Levite to minister at Jerusalem, and take his portion
with the rest, Deuteronomy 18:6,
and of several persons of bad practices not to be suffered among the people of
Israel, Deuteronomy 18:9,
and of an extraordinary prophet that should be raised up among them, to whom
they should hearken, or it would be the worse for them, Deuteronomy 18:15,
but a false prophet was to be put to death, of whom a sign is given by which he
might be known, Deuteronomy 18:20.
Deuteronomy 18:1 “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no
part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and His portion.
YLT
1`There is not to the
priests the Levites -- all the tribe of Levi -- a portion and inheritance with
Israel; fire-offerings of Jehovah, even His inheritance, they eat,
The priests, the Levites,
and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel,.... That is,
in the land of Canaan, in the division of it among the tribes:
they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his
inheritance; the meat offerings, see Leviticus 2:2, and
whatsoever of the sin offerings and peace offerings which were the Lord's; so
Ben Melech says, the flesh of the offerings which belonged to the priests was
called fire offerings, after part of it was consumed by fire. All these, with
other things, Numbers 18:8, were
given, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it, for their inheritance, in lieu
of their having none in the land of Canaan.
Deuteronomy 18:2 2 Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren;
the Lord is their inheritance, as He said to them.
YLT
2and he hath no inheritance
in the midst of his brethren; Jehovah Himself [is] his inheritance, as He hath
spoken to him.
Therefore shall they have
none inheritance among their brethren,.... Neither of the field,
nor of the vineyard, as the above Targum, because provision was made for them
otherwise, and especially because
the Lord is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them; see Gill on Numbers 18:20,
which as it may be understood in a spiritual sense of their interest in God, as
their covenant God, and of their enjoyment of him, and communion with him; so
chiefly in a temporal sense of all those things in the sacrifices which the
Lord claimed to himself, and these he gave unto them; so the same Targum
interprets this of the twenty four gifts of the priesthood, enumerated Numbers 18:1.
Deuteronomy 18:3 3 “And this shall be the priest’s due from the people,
from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it is bull or sheep: they
shall give to the priest the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.
YLT
3`And this is the priest's
right from the people, from those sacrificing a sacrifice, whether ox or sheep,
he hath even given to the priest the leg, and the two cheeks, and the stomach;
And this shall be the
priest's due from the people, from them that offer sacrifice,.... Not from
the priests, as Jarchi observes, but from those that bring the sacrifices to
the priests, particularly the peace offerings:
whether it be ox or sheep; the one of the herd, the
other of the flock, creatures used in sacrifice, and takes in goats and the
kids of them, rams and lambs:
and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two
cheeks, and the maw; the first of these designs the upper part of the arm that joins
to the neck and back, and the next the two cheeks with the tongue, as both
Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe, and indeed the whole head is meant; the maw,
which the Septuagint interpreters call ενυστρον,
and other writers ηνυστρον,
is, according to the philosopherF16Aristot. Hist. Animal. l. 2. c.
17. , the fourth and last ventricle or stomach, and which he thus
describes;"after the echinus or rough tripe is that which is called ηνυστρον, the maw, which is in
size larger than the echinus, and in form longer, and has many large and smooth
folds;'and ηνυστρον βοος,
the maw of an ox, and the belly of a swine, are reckoned by the poetF17Aristophan.
Equites, Acts 1. Sc. 3. p. 307. & Acts 4. Sc. 1. p. 355. as delicious food.
Deuteronomy 18:4 4 The firstfruits of your grain and your new wine and
your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, you shall give him.
YLT
4the first of thy corn, of
thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy flock, thou
dost give to him;
The firstfruit also of thy
corn, and of thy wine, and of thy oil,.... This is the
"terumah", or heave offering, the offering of the firstfruits; what
the measure or quantity was is not declared, but is fixed by the Jews; See Gill
on Exodus 22:29,
and the first of the fleece of thy sheep shall thou give him: concerning
which in the MisnahF18Cholin, c. 11. sect. 1, 2. it is said, the
first of the fleece is used in the land and without the land, of which they
give the weight of five shekels in Judea, which are ten shekels in Galilee; and
they give white wool, and not defiled, enough to make of it a little garment.
He that buys a fleece of the sheep of a Gentile, he is free from the first of
the fleece; but if he buys it of his neighbour, if he leaves any of it, the
seller is bound, if none the buyer is bound; if there are two sorts, russet and
white, and he sells the russet but not the white, the males but not the
females, everyone gives for himself. It may be observed in this account, that
as much wool was to be given as would make a small garment; enough, says one of
the commentatorsF19Bartenora in ib. , to make a little garment to
minister in; and the least garment fit for a priest to minister in is a girdle.
Jarchi's paraphrase of it is,"when thou shearest thy flock every year,
give the first of it to the priest; it does not determine the quantity, but our
Rabbins fix it to the sixtieth part;'with which agrees the observation of
another writerF20Ibid. , that there is no quantity fixed for the
first of the fleece from the law, but from the words of the Scribes it must not
be less than the sixtieth part. There is no obligation to the first of the
fleece until five sheep are shorn, and the fleece of everyone of the five must
not be less than twelve shekels' weight; but if there is one fleece of them
less than twelve shekels, though the five fleeces are more than sixty shekels,
lo, this is free; so that, as MaimonidesF21In Misn. ib. says, the
first of the fleece is not less than the weight of a shekel.
Deuteronomy 18:5 5 For the Lord your God
has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons forever.
YLT
5for on him hath Jehovah thy
God fixed, out of all thy tribes, to stand to serve in the name of Jehovah, He
and his sons continually.
For the Lord thy God hath
chosen him out of all thy tribes,.... That is, has chosen
the tribe of Levi out of all the other tribes of Israel:
to stand to minister in the name of the Lord; the priests
to minister to the Lord by offering sacrifices, and the Levites to minister to
the priests in assisting them in their service; and both their ministry were in
the name of the Lord, and for his glory, and done standing; for there was no
sitting in the sanctuaryF23Maimon. in Misn. Zebachim, c. 2. sect. 1.
; the priestly ministry was only performed standingF24Bartenora in
ib. , whatever was done sitting was rejectedF25Misn. ib. ; see Hebrews 10:11,
him and his sons for ever; Levi and his posterity,
or the posterity of the tribe of Levi, were chosen by the Lord to this service,
to be employed in it as long as the ceremonial law continued, on which stood
the Levitical priesthood; but both are now abolished by Christ, having their
accomplishment in him, Hebrews 7:11.
Deuteronomy 18:6 6 “So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where
he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the
place which the Lord chooses,
YLT
6`And when the Levite cometh
from one of thy cities out of all Israel, where he hath sojourned, and hath
come with all the desire of his soul unto the place which Jehovah doth choose,
And if a Levite come from
any of thy gates out of Israel, where he sojourned,.... In any of
the cities through the land, for they were dispersed all over the country, and
employed in instructing and teaching the people; and, excepting the cities
which were given them to dwell in out of the various tribes, they were but
sojourners:
and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the
Lord shall choose; the city of Jerusalem, where the temple would be built, and
sacrifices offered, at which the Levites were assisting to the priests, and in
various parts of the service of the sanctuary; and to which they are supposed
to come with an hearty good will, with great eagerness of soul, and a vehement
desire of being employed in the work of the Lord. Though Jarchi interprets it
of a priest, that comes and offers his freewill offerings, or what he is
obliged to, and even in a ward not his own; or, as otherwise expressed, of the
priests that come to the feast, who offer in the ward, and serve in the
offerings that come by virtue of the feast, as the additions of the feast,
though it is not in their own ward; and indeed every priest was a Levite,
though every Levite was not a priest; and the description of him after given,
as standing ministering in the name of the Lord, best agrees with a priest.
Deuteronomy 18:7 7 then he may serve in the name of the Lord his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there
before the Lord.
YLT
7then he hath ministered in
the name of Jehovah his God, like all his brethren, the Levites, who are
standing there before Jehovah,
And he shall minister in
the name of the Lord his God,.... The Targum of Jonathan is,"he
shall minister in the name of the Word of the Lord his God;'in the name of
Christ, as a type of him, as every priest and every sacrifice were: he was to
be allowed to officiate, though it was not his course or turn:
as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the
Lord; daily offering the same sacrifices, and whatsoever are brought
unto them; who might be said to stand before the Lord, because they stood at
the altar of the Lord, and offered the sacrifices of the people to him; and a
country Levite or priest was to be admitted to do the same thing at Jerusalem,
and in the temple there, as they did; and this shows that a priest is meant by
the Levite.
Deuteronomy 18:8 8 They shall have equal portions to eat, besides what
comes from the sale of his inheritance.
YLT
8portion as portion they do
eat, apart from his sold things, with the fathers.
They shall have like
portions to eat,.... Equal parts of the sacrifices with the priests that usually
ministered there; hence we learn, says Jarchi, that they divided the skins and
flesh of the sin offerings; perhaps even such as did not come by virtue of the
feast, as the daily sacrifices, and the additions of the sabbath, and the vows,
and the freewill offerings:
beside that which cometh by the sale of his patrimony: for though
the priests and Levites had no inheritance divided to them in the land, yet
they might buy houses and fields, and leave them to their children, and this
may be called their patrimony; now it was not reasonable that they should
wholly live upon this, or spend what their fathers left them; but, besides the
income of that, were to have their part and portion with their brethren in the
sacrifices of the sanctuary. But some interpret these words in a different way,
as if they had respect to the gifts and oblations in the several wards in which
the priests ministered, as they were ordered by their fathers, Eleazar,
Ithamar, Samuel, David, and Solomon; so the Targums of Onkelos, Jonathan, and
Jarchi. In the times of Eleazar and Ithamar, there were only eight wards or
courses, which ministered in their turns, but in the days of David they were
divided into twenty four; See Gill on Luke 1:8; now the
ordering and fixing these in their turns is called a vendition or sale; and
these country priests might partake of all sacrifices at the feast, excepting
those which belonged to him whose course it was that week.
Deuteronomy 18:9 9 “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the
abominations of those nations.
YLT
9`When thou art coming in
unto the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, thou dost not learn to
do according to the abominations of those nations:
When thou art come into
the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,.... The land of Canaan,
often thus described, to express the goodness of God in bestowing it on them,
as a mere favour of his, without any desert of theirs; and so typical of the
heavenly Canaan, or eternal life, which is the free gift of God through Christ:
thou shall not learn to do after the abominations of these nations; the seven
nations which before inhabited it; they might learn, as Jarchi observes, to
know how corrupt their works were, and to show to their children, that they
might not do so; but they were not to learn them so as to practise them, but to
have them in the utmost abhorrence, as being abominable to God, and which
should be so to them; some of which are as follow.
Deuteronomy 18:10 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who
makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who
practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a
sorcerer,
YLT
10there is not found in thee
one causing his son and his daughter to pass over into fire, a user of
divinations, an observer of clouds, and an enchanter, and a sorcerer,
There shall not be found
among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire,.... To
Moloch, which was a sort of lustration by fire, two fires being made, and the
child led by a priest between them, and which was an initiation of him into the
religion of that deity, and devoting him to it; so Jarchi says, this is the
service of Moloch, making piles of fire here and there (on this side and on
that), and causing (the children) to pass between them both. Besides this they
used to burn them with fire to this deity, perhaps after the performance of
this ceremony; see Deuteronomy 12:31,
or that useth divination: according to Aben Ezra this is a general name, and so
Ben Melech, the particulars of which are what follow:
an observer of times, &c. Cicero saysF26De
Divinatione, l. 1. c. 8. , there are two sorts of divination, one is of art,
the other of nature. What nation or what city is not moved by prediction,
either by the entrails of beasts, or of those that interpret strange things and
lightnings, or of soothsayers, or astrologers, or of lots (for these are mostly
of art); or of dreams or prophecies, for these two are thought to be natural?
Again he saysF1Ibid. , the Phrygians, Pisidians, and Cilicians, pay
a great respect to the signs of birds--from the beginning of the world it was
that certain signs were forerunners of certain things; some in the entrails of
beasts, some in birds, others in lightnings, others in marvellous things,
others in the stars; some in visions and dreams, and others in the words of
frantic persons. So the comedian remarksF2Terent Phormio, Act. 4.
Sc. 4. "introit in aedes", &c. , that if a strange black dog
comes into a house, or a snake falls from the tiles through rain, or a hen
crows, these, are observed as ominous, by the diviner or soothsayer. Porphyry
saysF3De Abstinentia, l. 3. c. 4. , that soothsayers divine by the
noise of crows and ravens; and it is saidF4Philostrat. Vit. Apollon.
l. 1. c. 14. the Arabians, from birds as from oracles, divine what shall come
to pass; and that they attain to, as they say, by eating the heart and liver of
dragons. Jarchi on this place asks, who is the diviner? one that lays hold on
his staff, and says, shall I go? or shall I not go? that is, to such a place;
and according as it fell, so judgment was made; see Hosea 4:12. Now
such sort of diviners and divinations are cautioned against, as not to be
admitted among the people of Israel, and regarded by them:
or an observer of times: and such things the
Egyptians were very inquisitive about, what month or day belonged to the gods,
what day any one was born on, what shall befall him, how he will die, and what
he shall be, as HerodotusF5Enterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 82. relates; and
such are they who are here meant, according to R. AkibaF6Apud R.
Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 24. 1. that count times and hours, and say such a
time is beautiful (or seasonable) to go out in and trade; but the wise men say,
as Jarchi observes, these are they that hold the eyes, cast a mist over
people's eyes, that they cannot perceive their juggling tricks. Some think the
word has the signification of clouds, and so designs such that observed them
and their motions, and made their conclusions according to them; see Leviticus 19:26,
or an enchanter; according to Jarchi, one that remarks
things as ominous; as when a morsel falls out of a man's mouth, a roe stops him
in the way, or his staff falls out of his hands: the word has the signification
of a serpent in it, and so may signify one that enchants them; see Psalm 58:4 or makes
observations by them, as portending this and that, and the other, as before
observed of the snake falling from the tiles; and HoraceF7"Rumpat
et serpens iter institutum", &c. Horat. Carmin. l. 3. Ode 27. speaks
of a serpent lying in the way, and frightening horses, as taken notice of by
soothsayers:
or a witch; of whom see Exodus 22:18.
Deuteronomy 18:11 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a
spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
YLT
11and a charmer, and one
asking at a familiar spirit, and a wizard, and one seeking unto the dead.
Or a charmer,.... That
pretends to cure diseases by charms, or a charmer of serpents; according to
Jarchi, one that gathers together serpents and scorpions, and other animals,
into one place; with which agree the Targums of Jonathan and
Jerusalem,"which bind serpents and scorpions, and all kind of creeping
things;'but, according to Aben Ezra, one that says certain words to gather
demons together:
or a consulter with familiar spirits; or the
inquirer of "Ob", or the bottle, which the Jews interpret of Python,
or one that has the spirit of Python; see Acts 16:16, a
ventriloquist, one that spoke or seemed to speak out of his belly, or from
under his armpits; so it is said in the MisnahF8Misn. Sanhedrin, c.
7. sect. 7. of Ob, this is Python, one that speaks out of his arm holes;
agreeably to which, Jarchi says, this is that sort of witchcraft which is
called Python, and he speaks from his arm holes, and brings up the dead
thither: of Baal Ob, or the master of the bottle, say some Jewish writers, one
way he uses is, he takes the skull of a dead man, the flesh of which is
consumed from it, and he hides it and burns incense to it, and mutters words by
it, and hears from it, as if from a dead manF11Maimon. &
Bartenora in ib. : or a wizard: a knowing one, as the word signifies, such an
one as we call a cunning man; See Gill on Leviticus 19:31.
or a necromancer that inquiries of the dead, or seeks
instruction from them, as the Targum of Jerusalem. Aben Ezra describes him as
one that goes to burying grounds, and takes the bone of a dead man, and because
of his wild imagination there appears to him the likeness of forms; or as
MaimonidesF12In ib. , better still, he is one that fasts and sleeps
in graveyards, and utters words; and, according to his imagination, sees future
things in dreams.
Deuteronomy 18:12 12 For all who do these things are an abomination
to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
YLT
12`For the abomination of
Jehovah [is] every one doing these, and because of these abominations is
Jehovah thy God dispossessing them from thy presence.
For all that do these
things are an abomination to the Lord,.... Not that do all
these things, but whoever does any of them, as Jarchi notes; all such persons
that use such unlawful methods, or any of them, to gain knowledge; and likewise
all those that consult them, and make use of them; and especially it must be
very abominable in the people of Israel to encourage such persons and
practices, who had the knowledge of the true God, and him to consult on all
occasions; had his law and testimony to attend unto as the rule of their
conduct, and his prophets to advise with in matters of difficulty; see Isaiah 8:20.
and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them
out from before thee; as well as other sins mentioned in Leviticus 18:24
and, as before observed from Cicero, all nations have been addicted to the arts
of divination here condemned.
Deuteronomy 18:13 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.
YLT
13Perfect thou art with
Jehovah thy God,
Thou shalt be perfect with
the Lord thy God. Sincerely serve and worship him, faithfully adhere to his word,
laws, statutes, and ordinances, and walk uprightly before him.
Deuteronomy 18:14 14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened
to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God
has not appointed such for you.
YLT
14for these nations whom thou
art possessing, unto observers of clouds, and unto diviners, do hearken; and
thou -- not so hath Jehovah thy God suffered thee.
For those nations which
thou shall possess hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners,.... Such as
are before mentioned, and did as they directed them:
but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do; or, "but
thou not so"F13ואתה לא כן "et tu non sic",
Montanus. thou shouldest not do so, not hearken to such persons, but to the
Lord thy God, and to his law and testimony; nor art thou left to the deception
of such persons:
the Lord thy God hath given thee: his word and statutes,
as a rule to go by, which he has not given to other nations: the Targum of
Jonathan adds,"the priests shall ask by Urim and Thummim, and a true
prophet shall the Lord your God give unto you;'so that they had no need to
hearken to such impostors and deceivers: or, "as for thee, not so are they
whom the Lord thy God giveth thee"F14"De teau tem non ita
sunt quos dat tibi Jehova Deus tuus", Junius & Tremellius. ; that is,
the prophets whom the Lord would give unto them would not be like the diviners
of the Heathens, who imposed on the people and deceived them; but would be men
sent and inspired by God, and true and faithful in the discharge of their
office; and to hearken to these they are encouraged by the promise of a very
eminent one, like to Moses, in the next verse.
Deuteronomy 18:15 15 “The Lord your God
will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren.
Him you shall hear,
YLT
15`A prophet out of thy
midst, out of thy brethren, like to me, doth Jehovah thy God raise up to thee
-- unto him ye hearken;
The Lord thy God will
raise up unto thee a prophet,.... Not Joshua, as Aben Ezra, not Jeremiah,
as Baal Haturim, nor DavidF15Herbanus in Disputat. cum Gregent. p.
13. col. 2. , as others; nor a succession of prophets, as Jarchi; for a single
person is only spoken of; and there is a dissimilitude between Moses and anyone
of the prophets, and all of them in succession, Deuteronomy 34:10,
but the Messiah, with whom the whole agrees; and upon this the expectation of a
prophet among the Jews was raised, John 6:14 and is
applied to him, and referred to as belonging to him in Acts 3:22, who was
a prophet mighty in word and deed, and not only foretold future events, as his
own sufferings and death, and resurrection from the dead, the destruction of
Jerusalem, and other things; but taught and instructed men in the knowledge of
divine things, spake as never man did, preached the Gospel fully and
faithfully, so that as the law came by Moses, the doctrine of grace and truth
came by him; and he was raised up of God, called, sent, commissioned and
qualified by him for the office of a prophet, as well as was raised from the
dead as a confirmation of his being that extraordinary person:
from the midst of thee; he was of Israel,
according to the flesh, of the tribe of Judah, and of the house of David, born
of a virgin in Bethlehem, preached only in Judea, and was raised from the dead
in the midst of them, and of which they were witnesses:
of thy brethren; the Israelites, of whom, as concerning the
flesh, Christ came, and to whom he was sent as a prophet, and among whom he
only preached:
like unto me; the Targum of Jonathan adds,"in the
Holy Spirit;'which he received without measure, and in respect of which was
superior to Moses, or any of the prophets: he was like to Moses in the faithful
discharge of his office, in his familiar converse with God, in the miracles
which he wrought; as well as in his being a Mediator, and the Redeemer of his
people, as Moses was a mediator between God and the people of Israel, and the
deliverer of them out of Egypt; and it is a saying of the JewsF16Midrash
Kohelet, fol. 63. 2. themselves,"as was the first redeemer, so is the
second:"
unto him ye shall hearken; externally attend on his
ministry, internally receive his doctrine, embrace and profess it; do what is
heard from him, hear him, and not another, always and in all things; see Matthew 17:5.
Deuteronomy 18:16 16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not
hear again the voice of the Lord my God,
nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’
YLT
16according to all that thou
didst ask from Jehovah thy God, in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, saying,
Let me not add to hear the voice of Jehovah my God, and this great fire let me
not see any more, and I die not;
According to all that thou
desiredst of the Lord thy God at Horeb,.... This was promised
them, in answer to their request at Horeb or Mount Sinai, when the law was
delivered to them in the terrible manner it was: in the day of the assembly; in
which the tribes were gathered together to receive the law, when they were
assembled at the foot of the mount for that purpose:
saying, let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God; which was
such a voice of words, attended with so much terror, that they that heard
entreated the word might not be spoken to them any more, as the apostle says in
Hebrews 12:19,
neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not; out of which
the Lord spoke; the congregation of Israel is here represented speaking as if a
single person.
Deuteronomy 18:17 17 “And the Lord said to
me: ‘What they have spoken is good.
YLT
17and Jehovah saith unto me,
They have done well that they have spoken;
And the Lord said unto me,.... Unto
Moses, who carried the above request to the Lord:
they have well spoken that which they have spoken; see Deuteronomy 5:28.
Deuteronomy 18:18 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among
their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them
all that I command Him.
YLT
18a prophet I raise up to
them, out of the midst of their brethren, like to thee; and I have given my
words in his mouth, and he hath spoken unto them all that which I command him;
I will raise them up a
prophet from among their brethren like unto thee,.... So that it seems
this promise or prophecy was first made at Mount Sinai, but now renewed and
repeated, and which is nowhere else recorded; see Deuteronomy 18:15
when they were not only made easy for the present by appointing Moses to
receive from the Lord all further notices of his mind and will, but were
assured that when it was his pleasure to make a new revelation, or a further
discovery of his mind and will, in future times, he would not do it in that
terrible way he had delivered the law to them; but would raise up a person of
their own flesh and blood, by whom it should be delivered, which was sufficient
to prevent their fears for the future:
and will put my word in his mouth; the doctrines of the
Gospel, which come from God, and are the words of truth, faith, righteousness,
peace, pardon, life, and salvation; and which Christ says were not his own, as
man and Mediator, but his Father's, which he gave unto him, and put into his
mouth, as what he should say, teach, and deliver to others; see John 7:16.
and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him; nor did he
keep back, but faithfully declared the whole counsel of God; and as he gave him
a commandment what he should say, and what he should speak, he was entirely
obedient to it; see John 12:49.
Deuteronomy 18:19 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My
words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.
YLT
19and it hath been -- the man
who doth not hearken unto My words which he doth speak in My name, I require
[it] of him.
And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever will not hearken unto my words,.... To the doctrines of
the Gospel, but slight and despise them:
which he shall speak in my name; in whose name he came,
and whose words or doctrines he declared them to be; not as his own, but his
Father's, John 5:43.
I will require it of him; or, as the Targums of
Onkelos and Jonathan,"my Word shall require it of him, or take vengeance
on him;'as Christ the Word of God did in the destruction of the Jewish nation,
city, and temple; see Luke 19:27.
Deuteronomy 18:20 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My
name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of
other gods, that prophet shall die.’
YLT
20`Only, the prophet who
presumeth to speak a word in My name -- that which I have not commanded him to
speak -- and who speaketh in the name of other gods -- even that prophet hath
died.
But the prophet which
shall presume to speak in my name,.... Pretending a mission
and commission from God, and yet was never sent by him, like the prophets in Jeremiah 23:21,
which I have not commanded him to speak; which though
true was not to be spoken in a public manner, by assuming a public office,
without a divine authority or a commission from God, and much less what was
false, and never commanded to be spoken at all by any:
or, that shall speak in the name of other gods; the idols of
the people, as the Targum; as if any should affirm they were sent by Jove, or
inspired by Apollo, as some are said to prophesy by Baal, as if they had
received their orders and instructions from him, and were inspired by him, Jeremiah 2:8.
even that prophet shall die; the Targum of Jonathan
is, be killed by the sword, but the JewsF17Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 10.
sect. 1. Bartenora in ib sect. 5. and Jarchi in loc. generally interpret it of
strangling.
Deuteronomy 18:21 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the
word which the Lord has not spoken?’—
YLT
21`And when thou sayest in
thy heart, How do we know the word which Jehovah hath not spoken? –
And if thou say in thine
heart, &c. Such a thought arises in the mind, and it appears to be
a difficulty, and a query is made upon it:
how shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken? What marks,
signs, and criterions are those by which it may be known that it is not a word
that comes from the Lord?
Deuteronomy 18:22 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the
thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall
not be afraid of him.
YLT
22that which the prophet
speaketh in the name of Jehovah, and the thing is not, and cometh not -- it
[is] the word which Jehovah hath not spoken; in presumption hath the prophet
spoken it; -- thou art not afraid of him.
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord,.... Says he
comes from God, is sent by him, and has a commission from him to say so:
if the thing follow not, nor come to pass; as the
prophecy of Hananiah, Jeremiah 28:3 that
is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken; or otherwise it would have come to
pass, unless when a condition is either expressed or implied, as the repentance
or disobedience of a people; see Jeremiah 18:7.
but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; in a bold and
daring manner, with great impiety and impudence, out of his own head and heart,
being a mere device and imagination of his own, which, not having the fear of
God, he delivered as coming from the Lord:
thou shall not be afraid of him; not only to reprove him
for his wickedness, but also to punish him for it; showing no regard to the
high character he assumes, nor to the great pretensions he makes to sanctity,
knowledge, and familiarity with God.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》