Deuteronomy 25:5-10
25:5 a 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 b; Ruth 3:12-13 c; 4:1-12 d; Luke 20:27-33 e.25:9 f 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 g).
• spit in his face: This is an almost universal gesture of utter contempt (see Num 12:14 h).
25:10 i 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.
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