Deuteronomy 17:12 NIV

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 17:12

The judge of the country court that makes his application to that at Jerusalem for information and direction; if, after all, he is conceited in his own opinion, and rejects theirs, and is obstinate, and will not be guided and directed, but will take his own way, and pursue his own sense of things, and act according to that: and will not hearken to the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God ; the priests of the tribe of Levi, of whom the court generally consisted, ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:12

The man that will do presumptuously - The man who refused to abide by this final determination forfeited his life, as being then in a state of rebellion against the highest authority, and consequently the public could have no pledge for his conduct. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:12

Verse 12 He pronounces a similar punishment on those who shall have contumaciously rejected the judgment of the priests. We have already seen that the prophetical office was united with the priesthood; since, according to Malachi 2:4, the covenant of God was with Levi, that his descendants might be the guardians of His knowledge, and the interpreters of His law: yet God often punished the laxity of the priests, by setting other teachers over his people. At any rate, both were ambassadors for... 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

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:12

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:12

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 17:12

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

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:8-13

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 17:10-12

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