Deu 25 | TNotes

25:3 ^a At a flogging, the maximum number of strikes allowed was forty lashes. Fewer could be applied depending on the case (25:2 ^b). As people created in the image of God, even wrongdoers were entitled to mercy and respect. In later Judaism, thirty-nine lashes were given (see 2 Cor 11:24 and note ^c).
25:4 ^d You must not muzzle an ox: The animal had to be able to eat the grain as it worked (cp. 1 Cor 9:9-14 ^e; 1 Tim 5:17-18 ^f).
25:5 ^g The term rendered duties of a brother-in-law refers to the levirate (Latin for brother-in-law) marriage custom. The brother of a deceased man was encouraged to marry his brother’s widow and father her children so that the name of the dead brother would not be forgotten. For examples of this custom, see Gen 38:6-11 ^h; Ruth 3:12-13 ⁱ; 4:1-12 ^j; Luke 20:27-33 ^k.
25:9 ^l 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 ^m).

• spit in his face: This is an almost universal gesture of utter contempt (see Num 12:14 ⁿ).
25:10 ^o his family will be referred to: If a man refused to perpetuate his brother’s name, he would be spoken of in a derogatory way.
Summary for Deut 25:11-12: 25:11-12 ^p cut off her hand: The woman’s act would emasculate the man, depriving him of (or cutting off from him) any offspring. As with the previous law (25:9 ^q), the punishment fits the crime (lex talionis; see study note on 19:21).
Summary for Deut 25:13-14: 25:13-14 ^r You must use accurate scales ... full and honest measures (Hebrew you must not have stone and stone, large and small, ... ephah and ephah, large and small): Merchants were not to use two sets of weights and measures for cheating customers—a heavier weight or measure when purchasing goods (thus reducing their own cost) and a lighter one when selling them (thus increasing their own profit).
25:17 ^s The Amalekites were tribal peoples who attacked Israel’s rear flanks during the Sinai wilderness wandering (Exod 17:8-16 ^t). They were apparently related to the Edomites (Gen 36:12 ^u).
25:19 ^v destroy: God authorized war against his enemies. Later, Samuel commanded Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, something he only partially accomplished (1 Sam 15 ^w). As a result, God rejected Saul as king.

• from under heaven: The Amalekites were to be obliterated completely (see study note on Deut 2:34).