Deuteronomy 13:6

If thy brother, the son of thy mother,.... A brother by mother's side, which is generally supposed to be the nearest relation, at least most out of question, so more liable to be regarded as being

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods,

The son of thy mother: this is added to restrain the signification of the word brother, which is oft used generally for one near akin, and to express the nearness of the relation, the mother’ s side being the surest, and usually the ground of the truest and most fervent affection. See . Or thy daughter; thy piety must overcome both thy affection to thy nearest relation, and thy compassion to the weaker sex. The wife of thy bosom; either, 1. That is near to thy heart, that hath thy dearest love. Or rather, 2. That lieth in thy bosom, as it is expressed, . Compare . So we read of the husband of her bosom, . As thine own soul; as dear to thee as thyself. The father and mother are here omitted, not, as some fancy, because children might not in this nor in any case accuse their parents, for certainly they owe more reverence and duty to God, who is injured in this case, than to their parents, and Levi is commended for neglecting his father and mother in this case; but because they are sufficiently contained in the former examples; for since men’ s love doth usually descend more strongly than it ascends, and thee relation of a with is and ought to be nearer and dearer than of a parent, that favour which is denied to wives and children cannot be thought fit to be allowed to parents. Entice thee, though it be without success, because the very attempt of such all abominable crime deserved death, as it is judged in case of treason. Other gods; unknown and obscure and new gods; which greatly aggravates the crime, to forsake a God whom thou and thy fathers have long known, and had great and good experience of, for such upstarts.

Deuteronomy 13:6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;Ver. 6. Thy friend, which is as thine own soul.] Amicitia fit tantum inter binos qui sunt veri, et bonos qui sunt pauci. Entice thee secretly, saying.] Christ found the devil in Peter, persuading him to spare himself. Cassianus reports of a young man that had given himself up to a Christian life, and his parents, misliking that way, wrote letters to him to dissuade him, which when he knew, he would not once open them, but threw them in the fire. Mention is also made in ecclesiastical history, of one Phileas, a nobleman and constant martyr, who going to execution, seemed as one deaf at the persuasions, and blind at the tears of his dearest friends: as the waters use to break themselves on a rock, so was he inflexible.

(6) If thy brother.—The substance of this law is that individual idolaters might be executed in Israel. It justifies Jehu and Jehoiada in destroying Baal out of Israel and Judah (2 Kings 10:19-27; 2 Kings 11:18). It also accounts for the covenant made in the time of Asa (2 Chronicles 15:13), that whosoever would not serve the Lord God of Israel should be put to death whether man or woman. The law may seem harsh, but its principle is reproduced in the Gospel: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). It is impossible to deny or escape the identity of the Lord Jesus with the Jenovah of the Old Testament He does not always put the execution of His judgments into human hands, but He is the same for ever.

Verse 6. If thy brother - or thy son] The teacher of idolatry was to be put to death; and so strict was this order that a man must neither spare nor conceal his brother, son, daughter, wife, nor friend, because this was the highest offence that could be committed against God, and the most destructive to society; hence the severest laws were enacted against it.

6–11 (7–12 in Heb.). Against Israelites, who entice to Strange Gods A subtler source of seduction to idolatry may be found in one’s own kith and kin: one of the many proofs of D’s sympathy with, and understanding of, the influences of family life. Deuteronomy 13:6. If thy brother, the son of thy mother] With Sam. and LXX, after brother add the son of thy father or; so that both full brother and half-brother are included. or thy son, or thy daughter] Completing the blood relations (very significantly and characteristically father and mother are not mentioned as possible sources of temptation) only after whom we come to— or the wife of thy bosom] Deuteronomy 28:54; Deuteronomy 28:56, cp. ‘Mi.’ Deuteronomy 7:5 : a tribute (cp. daughter) to the spiritual influence of women in D’s view. As a matter of fact the danger was as great here as anywhere else. or thy friend, which is as thine own soul] or self. 1 Samuel 18:1; 1 Samuel 18:3; 1 Samuel 20:17. entice] or allure, in D only here. secretly] In contrast to the public enticements of the prophet. saying, Let us go, etc.] See on Deuteronomy 13:2. Deuteronomy 13:7. of the gods of the peoples which are round about you] The Pl. you (confirmed by LXX) shows that the words which are round-about-you are merely an editorial echo of Deu 6:14, and ought to be deleted; they are unnecessary and awkward with the following nigh unto thee, etc. or far off from thee, etc.] By the 8th and 7th centuries (under Ahaz and Manasseh) the evil influence of cults of peoples at a distance had been added to those of the Canaanites, prevalent in the previous centuries. Deuteronomy 13:8. consent] be willing, cp. Deuteronomy 1:26. neither shalt thine eye pity him] Deuteronomy 7:16, Deuteronomy 19:13; Deuteronomy 19:21, Deuteronomy 25:12. spare] In D only here. conceal] That is by silence (Psalms 32:5; Psalms 40:11): cp. secretly, Deuteronomy 13:6. Deuteronomy 13:9. thou shalt surely kill him] No such previous procedure as in Deuteronomy 17:4 is necessary in this case, for the persons commanded to slay are themselves witnesses of the fact. Note, however, that LXX has here, thou shalt report or denounce him (ἀναγγέλλωνἀναγγελεῖςπερὶαὐτοῦ) which is possible by a small change in the consonants of the Hebrew text. thine hand shall be first upon him] As that of the witness of his crime and also because the family responsibility precedes that of the people. But— afterwards the hand of all the people] For throughout D the people is the ultimate judiciary: see on Deuteronomy 1:13, Deuteronomy 16:18. Deuteronomy 13:10. stone him with stones] Also in Deuteronomy 17:5, Deuteronomy 21:21, Deuteronomy 22:21; Deuteronomy 22:24 : cp. Joshua 7:25. This form of capital punishment was natural because of the ready supply of stones on the soil of Palestine, because it was a form in which all the people responsible for its execution could share, and also because of the belief that by covering the corpses the spirits of the dead were also finally laid to rest.

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods,

6. If thy brother, etc. — Should the enticement to idolatry come from the bosom of the family, the head of the household was to see that the law was administered.