Deuteronomy 1:16

Deu 1:16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brethren, and judge righteously between [every] man and his brother, and the stranger [that is] with him.

Ver. 16. Hear the causes, &c.] Hear them out. In the Forum of Rome the accuser had six hours allotted him to accuse, the accused had nine hours to make his answer {a}

And judge righteously.] So upright was the sentence of the Areopagites in Athens, that none could ever say he was unjustly condemned; nay, both parties, as well those that are cast as they that cast, are alike contented. {b}

{a} Ulpian., in Orat. Demosth. de fal legat.

{b} ηππωμενοι σπεργουσιν ομοιως τοιν κεκρατηκοσι.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu 1:16. The stranger — That converseth or dealeth with him. To such God would have justice equally administered as to his own people, partly for the honour of religion, and partly for the interest which every man hath in matters of common right.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:16-17 Be . . . impartial (literally Do not notice faces): People appearing before the court should be treated as though they were wearing a mask to conceal their identity. Judges were not to be influenced by rich and powerful persons in the community but were to judge on the basis of God’s own impartiality (10:17) and treat all persons equally under the law.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(16) And I charged your judges . . . saying.—These instructions given by Moses are an admirable expansion, but only an expansion, of those of Jethro(Exo_18:21), that the judges must be “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness”—a sentence older than the Decalogue itself.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. judges] Unless the previous emendation be accepted the term judges appears here for the first time in the passage.

Hear … and judge righteously] The two indispensables: patient, equal hearing, and impartial decision.

your brethren] Your fellow-Israelites.

the stranger that is with him] His Gêr or sojourner: any non-Israelite who leaving his own kin settles under the protection of an Israelite family or individual; in distinction from the ‘ezraḥ or born Israelite (Jos_8:33). The Ar. equivalents are ǧar and ṣarîḥ. See W. R. Smith, OTJC2, 342n., and Rel. Sem. 75 ff. In E the Gêr is not to be wronged, Exo_22:21; Exo_23:9, and to have rest on the Sabbath, Exo_23:12; cp. Exo_20:8. In D his equal rights at law are reiterated here, Deu_24:17, Deu_27:19; not to be oppressed, Deu_24:14, but cherished, Deu_10:19; to share with the Levite and the poor, Deu_14:29, Deu_16:11-14, Deu_24:19 ff., Deu_26:11 ff.; to rest on the Sabbath, Deu_5:14; enter the covenant, Deu_29:11; and keep the Law, Deu_31:12; only he is to have freedom in meats forbidden to Israel, Deu_14:21; if Israel persists in sin the Gêr shall rise over him, Deut 18:43. See on Deu_10:19 and Deu_14:21 where the different treatment of the Gêr in P is noted.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I charged your judges at that time,.... When they were appointed and constituted, even the heads and rulers before spoken of; this charge is also new, and not recorded before:

saying, hear the causes between your brethren; hear both sides, and all that each of them have to say; not suffer one to say all he has to say, and oblige the other to cut his words short, as the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it; but give them leave and time to tell their case, and give the best evidence they can of it:

and judge righteously; impartially, just as the case really appears to be, and according to the evidence given:

between every man and his brother; between an Israelite and an Israelite:

and the stranger that is with him; between an Israelite and proselyte, whether a proselyte of the gate, or of righteousness; the same justice was to be done to them as to an Israelite.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That converseth or dealeth with him. To such God would have justice equally administered as to his own people, partly for the honour of religion, and partly for the interest which every man hath in matters of common right.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The stranger - That converseth or dealeth with himn. To Such God would have justice equally adtninistred as to his own people, partly for the honour of religion, and partly for the interest which every man hath in matters of common right.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ואצוה את שפטיכם AND I COMMANDED YOUR JUDGES — I said to them: be deliberate in judgment: if a certain point of law comes before you once, twice, three times, do not say, "This point of law has already come before me several times”, but discuss it well on that occasion also (Sifrei Devarim 16:1).

בעת ההוא [AND I COMMANDED YOUR JUDGES] AT THAT TIME — As soon as I appointed them, I said to them, "It is not now as heretofore: heretofore you were your own masters (lit., under your own control), now you are in the service of the Community!” (Sifrei Devarim 16:2).

שמע — This grammatical form expresses constant doing: oyant in old French, be hearing, just as זכור and שמור (see Rashi on Numbers 25:17).

ובין גרו AND BETWEEN HIS גר — this is his opponent in the lawsuit who merely heaps up (אוגר) words against him. Another explanation of AND BETWEEN HIS גר — also in a matter concerning a dwelling house (גור = to dwell), — in the division of property amongst brothers, even if it be a dispute about an oven and a kitchen range (cf. Sifrei Devarim 16:8-9; Sanhedrin 7b).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.