Deuteronomy 25:9

Deu 25:9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.

Ver. 9. And loose his shoe.] To show that he was worthy to go barefoot, and had no right howsoever to tread upon that ground, as any part of his estate. See Rth 4:7. The Turks have a ceremony somewhat like this; {a} the woman may sue a divorce, when her husband would abuse her against nature: which she doth by taking off his or her shoe before the judge, and holding it the sole upward, but speaking nothing, for the uncleanness of the fact.

And spit in his face.] As unworthy to show his face amongst his brethren. See Num 12:14 Isa 50:6.

That will not build up his brother’s house.] {See Trapp on "Exo 1:21"}

{a} Blunt’s Voyage.

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 25:9-10. Loose his shoe — As a sign of his resignation of all his right to the woman, and to her husband’s inheritance; for as the shoe was a sign of one’s power and right, (Psa 60:8; Psa 108:9,) so the parting with the shoe was a token of the alienation of such right; and as a note of infamy, to signify that by this disingenuous action he was unworthy to be among free men, and fit to be reduced to the condition of the meanest servants, who used to go barefoot, Isa 20:2; Isa 20:4. His name — That is, his person, and his posterity also. So it was a lasting blot.

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

25:9 pull his sandal from his foot: Using footwear, which touched the ground, the brother-in-law showed that he relinquished any claim to his dead brother’s estate (Ruth 4:7). • spit in his face: This is an almost universal gesture of utter contempt (see Num 12:14).

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

Verse 9. And loose his shoe] It is difficult to find the reason of these ceremonies of degradation. Perhaps the shoe was the emblem of power; and by stripping it off, deprivation of that power and authority was represented. Spitting in the face was a mark of the utmost ignominy; but the Jews, who are legitimate judges in this case, say that the spitting was not in his face, but before his face on the ground. And this is the way in which the Asiatics express their detestation of a person to the present day, as Niebuhr and other intelligent travellers assure us. It has been remarked that the prefix ב beth is seldom applied to פני peney; but when it is it signifies as well before as in the face. See Jos 21:44; Jos 23:9; Es 9:2; and Eze 42:12; which texts are supposed to be proofs in point. The act of spitting, whether in or before the face, marked the strong contempt the woman felt for the man who had slighted her. And it appears that the man was ever after disgraced in Israel; for so much is certainly implied in the saying, De 25:10: And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. come unto] The same vb. in Deu_20:2, Deu_21:5, of the formal approach Of priests.

and strip his sandal from off his foot] ‘As one occupied land by treading on it, the shoe became the symbol of taking possession (Psa_60:8; Psa_108:9); when a man renounced property to another, he drew off and gave him his shoe. So among the ancient Germans the taking off of the shoe was a symbol for giving up property and heritable rights, and with the delivery of the shoe or the throwing of it away goods were conveyed to another. Similarly among Hindoos and Arabs, Burckhardt, Bed. 91’ (abridged from Knobel). Cp. the Bedawee form of divorce: ‘She was my slipper, I cast her off’ (W. R. Smith, Kinship, etc., 269). That the right was a duty, which should not be renounced, is marked by the woman’s drawing off the sandal, and spitting in the face of the recusant (Num_12:14, Job_30:10, Isa_50:6). Sandal, Heb. na‘al, Ar. na‘l.

answer] testify or solemnly assert as in Deu_5:20, etc.

the man that doth not build up, etc.] Such was his sin. But the excuse of the kinsman who refused to take Ruth and her possession was that he was unwilling to mar his own heritage (Rth_4:6). Build up, Rth_4:11.

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.

Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders,.... The time and place being appointed the evening before by three Rabbins, and two witnesses, as Leo of Modena says (p); of which she was apprized, and ordered to come tasting:

and loose his shoe from off his foot; his right foot, which was thus done;"they bring him a leather shoe, which has a heel, but not sewed with linen (linen thread), and he puts it on the right foot, and binds the latchet on his foot, and stands, he and she, in the court; he fixes his foot on the ground, and she sits and stretches out her hand in the court, and looses the latchet of his shoe from off his foot, and pulls off his shoe, and casts it to the ground (q):''this he suffered to be done to show that he gave up his right to her; and he was so used by way of reproach, to signify that he deserved not to be reckoned among freemen, but among servants and slaves, that went barefooted, having no shoes on: and in the mystical sense of it, as Ainsworth observes, it spiritually signified, that such as would not beget children unto Christ (or preach his Gospel for that purpose), it should be declared of them that their feet are not shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Christ, Eph 6:15,

and spit in his face; in a way of contempt, as a token of shame and disgrace; but the Jewish writers generally interpret this in a softer manner, as if it was not in his face, but in his presence, upon the floor, and seen by the judges (r):

and shall answer and say, so shall it be done unto the man that will not build up his brother's house; that is, in this contemptuous and shameful manner shall he be used.

(p) Ut supra, sect. 4. (Leo Modena's Hostory of Rites, &c. l. 1. sect. 4.) (q) Maimon. ut supra, (Yebum Vechalitzab, c. 4.) sect. 6. (r) Ibid. sect. 7. Targum & Jarchi in loc.

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

In his face, or presence, upon the ground, as appears from the Gemarra of Jerusalem, where we read this form: (Haydock) "In our presence, (the three judges are specified) N, widow of N, hath taken off the shoe of N, son of N. She brought him before us, and took off the shoe from his right foot, and spat in our presence, so that we saw her spittle upon the ground; and she said to him, So shall he be treated who will not establish the house of his brother." Before this ceremony took place, the widow was obliged to wait three months, to prove that she was not in a state of pregnancy; for if she were, the brother could not marry her. He was never obliged to do it, but if he refused he was deemed infamous. The taking off the shoe was intended to humble him, as well as to shew that he relinquished all his claim to the inheritance. Josephus ([Antiquities?] v. 11) says, that Ruth gave the relation, who would not marry her, a slap on the face, or rather, as it ought to be printed, "she spat in his face," which was a mark of the greatest ignominy, chap. xii. 14., Isaias l. 6., and Matthew xxvi. 67. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Loose his shoe; partly as a sign of his resignation of all his right to the woman, and to her husband’s inheritance; for as the shoe was a sign of one’s power and right, Psa 60:8; 108:9; so the parting with the shoe was a token of the alienation of such right, and that he would not, and henceforth might not, enter upon his brother’s land; and partly as a note of infamy, to signify that by this unnatural and disingenuous action he was unworthy to be amongst free-men, and fit to be reduced to the condition of the meanest servants or captives, who used to go barefoot, Isa 20:2,4.

Spit in his face, as a return of his contempt upon himself. See Num 12:14; Isa 1:6; Mat 26:67; 27:30. This was not done, Rth 4, either because he was not a brother, but a remoter kinsman, and so deserved less shame; or because Ruth did not prosecute him to the utmost, but freely consented to this exchange.

Build up; a phrase oft used for the procreation of children, and the increase of a family. See Gen 16:2; Exo 1:21; 1Ki 11:38; 1Ch 17:25.

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

9. Loose his shoe from off his foot — Loosing the shoe and handing it to another denoted the transfer of a right. It arose from the custom of a person’s standing upon a piece of land he had bought when he took formal possession of it.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Loose his shoe - As a sign of his resignation of all his right to the woman, and to her husband's inheritance: for as the shoe was a sign of one's power and right, Psalm lx, 8; cviii, 9, so the parting with the shoe was a token of the alienation of such right; and as a note of infamy, to signify that by this disingenuous action he was unworthy to be amongst free-men, and fit to be reduced to the condition of the meanest servants, who used to go barefoot, Isaiah xx, 2, 4.

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

General Information:

Moses continues speaking to the people of Israel.

must come up to him in the presence of the elders

"must walk up close to him with the elders there watching"

who does not build up his brother's house

Here "house" is a metonym for the family. AT: "who does not give his brother a son and continue his brother's family line" (See: Metonymy)

His name will be called in Israel

"People in Israel will know his family as"

The house of him whose sandal has been taken off

Here removing the sandal symbolizes that the brother would not receive any of the property of his dead brother. The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. This can also be stated in active form. AT: "The house of him whose sandal his brother's widow took off his foot" or "The family of a man who did not marry the wife of his dead brother" or "The family whom everyone despises" or "The family who is shameful" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Active or Passive)

translationWords

brother

elder

sandal

house

name

call

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

וירקה בפניו THEN SHE SHALL SPIT BEFORE HIS FACE — on the ground (not in his face) (Yevamot 106b).

אשר לא יבנה [SO SHALL IT BE DONE UNTO THAT MAN] THAT WILL NOT BUILD UP [HIS BROTHER’S HOUSE] — from here the Rabbis derived the law that one who has once given his deceased brothers wife חליצה shall not afterwards marry her, for it does not state “[Thus shall it be done to the man] who hath not built up his brother’s house”, but אשר לא יבנה: “[Thus shall be done to the man] that he shall never build up” — because he has not built up, he shall never after build it up (Yevamot 10b; cf. Sifrei Devarim 291:8).

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.