Deuteronomy 17:8, Deuteronomy 17:9 KJV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

Courts of judgment were ordered to be erected in every city (Deut. 16:18), and they were empowered to hear and determine causes according to law, both those which we call pleas of the crown and those between party and party; and we may suppose that ordinarily they ended the matters that were brought before them, and their sentence was definitive; but, 1. It is here taken for granted that sometimes a case might come into their court too difficult for those inferior judges to determine, who... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8

If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment ,.... This is spoken to inferior judges in cities in the country, who sometimes might have cases too wonderful and mysterious, as the word signifies, or secret and hidden, such as were out of their reach and beyond their capacity, and so be very difficult for them to determine what should be done: between blood and blood ; that is, whether a man is guilty of shedding innocent blood or not; when such a case is depending between a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:8

If there arise a matter too hard for thee - These directions are given to the common magistrates, who might not be able to judge of or apply the law in all cases that might be brought before them. The priests and Levites, who were lawyers by birth and continual practice, were reasonably considered as the best qualified to decide on difficult points. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:8

Verse 8 8If there arise a matter too hard for thee. The principal office of the priests is here described under a single head, viz., that they should declare what was right in doubtful and obscure matters out of the Law of God; for although God seems only to refer to civil controversies, yet there is no doubt but that by synecdoche He appoints them to be interpreters of the doctrine of the Law. That their authority might be more reverenced in general, He commands the people to acquiesce in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:4-8

Criminal procedure. I. THE RIGHT OF THE CRIMINAL TO A PAIR AND PULL TRIAL . The right is asserted in the Law of Moses as strenuously as it could be anywhere. However abhorrent his crime, the criminal had every protection against unjust treatment which the Law could afford him. He must be formally impeached, tried before judges, and legally convicted under stringent conditions of proof. The evidence of one witness, however apparently conclusive, was not to be accepted... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8

A matter too hard for thee ; literally, too marvelous ; something extraordinary, and which could not be decided by the ordinary rules of the judicature. Between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke ; i . e . in cases where blood had been shed and death had ensued, either accidentally or from murderous intent (cf. Exodus 21:13 , etc.; Numbers 35:9 , etc.); in cases of disputed rights and claims (cf. 2 Chronicles 19:10 ); and in cases where... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

So long as Moses was with the people, they had in him one to whom, in the last resort, eases might be brought for decision which were found too difficult for the ordinary judges ( Exodus 18:19-26 ). But, as he was not to be always with them, it was needful to provide a supreme court, to which such cases might be carried when they could no longer be decided by him; and such a court is here appointed to be held at the sanctuary. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

Religion the guard of justice. In the preceding chapter, Deuteronomy 17:18-20 , judges and officers are specified as appointed by Goel to be the guardians of justice and right. The Hebrew is very emphatic in Deuteronomy 17:20 , "Justice, justice, shalt thou follow," etc. Manifold complications, however, would be sure to arise as the nation advanced, and as the primitive simplicity of their first settlement passed into more fixed arrangements as to property, etc. In such difficult... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

The priest and the judge. The priests, in association with a judge or judges ( Deuteronomy 19:17 ), constituted a supreme tribunal to which difficult causes were carried, and whose judgment was to be final. The priest had naturally a place in this supreme court: 1. As representing God in the theocracy. 2. As a member of the distinctively learned class of the nation. 3. As one whose special office it was to teach and interpret the Law of God (Le Deuteronomy 10:11 ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

The ruling -power of the priests in the Jewish Church. The government among the Israelites was first by an eldership elected on the representative principle. Thus in Genesis 1:7 we find at the funeral of Jacob "all the elders of the land of Egypt." Again, when Moses came from Midian to emancipate his brethren, he was directed to consult "the elders of Israel," who were to go in with him before Pharaoh ( Exodus 3:16 , Exodus 3:18 ). After the Exodus, the priests were appointed as the... read more

Deuteronomy 17:8, Deuteronomy 17:9 Kjv

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:8

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:4-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

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