John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 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 F12 Ut supra, sect. 3. (Leo Modena's History of Rites, &c.; l. 1 sect. 3.) says,"it was anciently accounted... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 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... read more