Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 25:7
And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.
7. shall go up to the gate ] Rth 4:1, only here, in D; so also the terms like not and refuseth (see introd. note).
elders ] Deu 21:19, Deu 22:15. See on Deu 16:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To raise up unto his brother a name; to revive his brothers name and memory.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the man like not to take his brother’s wife,…. The provision here made by this law, when this was the case, is such as did not take place before it became a law; for then Onan would have taken the advantage of it, and refused marrying his brother’s wife, which it is plain was not agreeable to him, Ge 38:9; as many do now on one account or another. Leo of Modena l says,
“it was anciently accounted the more laudable thing to take her, than to release her; but now the corruption of the times, and the hardness of men’s hearts, are such, as that they only look after worldly ends, either of riches, or of the beauty of the woman; so that there are very few that in this case will marry a brother’s widow, especially among the Dutch and Italian Jews, but they always release her:”
then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate; to the gate of the city, where the judges sit for public affairs; to the gate of the sanhedrim, or court of judicature, as the Targum of Jonathan; and this affair was cognizable by the bench of three judges, and might be dispatched by them; for so it is said m,
“the plucking off the shoe, and the refusal of marriage, are by three:”
i.e. three judges, which was the lowest court of judicature with the Jews:
unto the elders, and say; which according to the above Targum were to be five wise men, of which three were to be judges, and two witnesses; and she was to say in the Hebrew language, in which, according to the Misnah n, she was to pronounce what follows:
my husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother; that is, in a few words, he will not marry her.
l Ut supra, sect. 3. (Leo Modena’s History of Rites, &c. l. 1 sect. 3.) m Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 1. sect. 3. n Sotah, c. 7. sect. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7. If the man like not If the brother-in-law was unwilling to marry the widow of his deceased brother, then she was to bring the matter before the elders for their adjudication. For an illustration see the case of Boaz and Ruth, Ruth chapters 4 and 5.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Reciprocal: Deu 21:19 – and bring Rth 4:1 – to the gate Rth 4:7 – a man plucked off