Deuteronomy 17:10-11

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 17:10

And thou shalt do according to the sentence which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall show thee ,.... The judges of the inferior courts were to return and proceed on the difficult case according to the judgment of the great court at Jerusalem, and follow the directions and instructions they should give them: and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee ; not only observe and take notice of what they say, but put it in practice, and not in some... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:11

According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee ,.... For they were not to make any new law, but to teach the law of God, and so far as their sense and opinion of things agreed with that law they were to be regarded: and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do ; what were law and justice, what were fit and right to be done, according to the will of God, which they should declare unto them, that was carefully to be done by them: thou shalt... 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

High court of appeal. We can imagine a condition of human society in which wrong-doing would at once declare itself by some visible pain or sign. We can imagine a condition of society in which God would himself step forth and punish every offence against truth or virtue. But then, men would lose the benefits of moral training which the present system ensures. This necessity for men to take part in the administration of justice brings large advantage. I. HUMAN INTERESTS OFTEN ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:10-12

This sentence, being founded on the Law, the suitors were to accept and implicitly obey. If any through pride or arrogance should refuse to accept the interpretation of the Law given by the priests, or to submit to the sentence pronounced by the judge, he was to be regarded as a rebel against God, and to be put to death, that others might be deterred from the like presumption ( Deuteronomy 13:11 ). The sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall show thee ; rather,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

The cases in question are such as the inferior judges did not feel able to decide satisfactorily, and which accordingly they remitted to their superiors (compare Exodus 18:23-27).The Supreme court Deuteronomy 17:9 is referred to in very general terms as sitting at the sanctuary Deuteronomy 17:8. “The judge” would no doubt usually be a layman, and thus the court would contain both an ecclesiastical and a civil element. Jehoshaphat 2 Chronicles 19:4-11 organized his judicial system very closely... read more

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