The Fallible Synthetic Study Bible — Deuteronomy 17:2

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Deuteronomy 17:2–7 — Purge the Idolater. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Done wickedness ; literally, done the evil . The definite article is prefixed; it is not any kind of wickedness that is here denounced, but the special sin of idolatry

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

In transgressing his covenant — That is, in idolatry, as it is explained Deuteronomy 17:3 , which is called a transgression of God’s covenant made with Israel, both because it was a breach of their faith given to God, and of that law which they covenanted to keep; and because it was a dissolution of that matrimonial covenant with God, a renouncing of God and his worship, and a choosing other gods.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

This section differs slightly from the third section of Deuteronomy 13. The penalty there is directed against the teachers of idolatry, whether prophets, private individuals, or communities in Israel. Here the penalty of death is enacted for every individual, man or woman, found guilty of worshipping any other god but Jehovah.

Ellicott sets this section against Deuteronomy 13: there the seducers are punished, here the seduced — the distinction the Pulpit Commentary also draws.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

Showing that the crime cannot be excused by the frailty of the person.

Geneva's marginal gloss on the word woman — the same point Poole presses.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

No rank or sex could palliate this crime. Every reported case, even a flying rumor of the perpetration of so heinous an offense, was to be judicially examined; and if proved by the testimony of competent witnesses, the offender was to be taken without the gates and stoned to death, the witnesses casting the first stone at him.

JFB's whole-section comment is filed under 17:2 and surveys the entire procedure of vv. 2–7 — rank-and-sex, inquiry, witnesses, stoning, the witness's first stone.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

The sentence was to be carried into effect at "the gates" (compare Genesis 19:1 note) of the town in which the crime was committed; because, as "all the people" were to take a part, an open space would be requisite for the execution. Note the typical and prophetical aspect of the injunction; compare Acts 7:58 ; Hebrews 13:12 .

Barnes is the source who first flags the typological reading — the gate-execution pointing to Acts 7:58 and Hebrews 13:12; the Christ section rests on this verbatim note.

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If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kî- ’îš ’ōw- ’iš·šāh ’ă·šer ḇə·qir·bə·ḵā bə·’a·ḥaḏ šə·‘ā·re·ḵā ’ă·šer- Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā nō·ṯên lāḵ yim·mā·ṣê ya·‘ă·śeh ’eṯ- hā·ra‘ bə·‘ê·nê Yah·weh- ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā la·‘ă·ḇōr bə·rî·ṯōw

Word by word22 · parsed

כִּֽי־kî-IfH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

אִ֣ישׁ’îša manH376

√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personNounmasculine singular

’îš (H376) paired with ’iš·šāh (woman, v.3 of the word-list) — the Geneva note marks the point of the pair: “the crime cannot be excused by the frailty of the person.” Poole: “the weakness and tenderness of that sex shall not excuse her sin.” No rank or sex palliates idolatry.

אוֹ־’ōw-orH176

√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction

אִשָּׁ֗ה’iš·šāhwomanH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanNounfeminine singular

אֲשֶׁ֨ר’ă·šerH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

בְקִרְבְּךָ֙ḇə·qir·bə·ḵāamong youH7130

√ qereb — properly, the nearest part, iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

בְּאַחַ֣דbə·’a·ḥaḏin oneH259

√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iPreposition-bNumbermasculine singular construct

שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָšə·‘ā·re·ḵāof the townsH8179

√ shaʻar — an opening, iNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

אֲשֶׁר־’ă·šer-thatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יְהוָ֥הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

נֹתֵ֣ןnō·ṯêngivesH5414

√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

לָ֑ךְlāḵyou

Prepositionsecond person masculine singular

יִמָּצֵ֤אyim·mā·ṣêis foundH4672

√ mâtsâʼ — properly, to come forth to, iVerbNifalImperfectthird person masculine singular

yim·mā·ṣê (H4672), Niphal “is found” — the passive of discovery; the law is triggered not by accusation alone but by a case that comes to light. Cambridge cross-references the parallel formula at Deuteronomy 13:1, “if there arise.”

יַעֲשֶׂ֧הya·‘ă·śehdoingH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָרַ֛עhā·ra‘evilH7451

√ raʻ — bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)ArticleAdjectivemasculine singular

hā·ra‘ (H7451) — the evil, with the article. The Pulpit Commentary calls it “the wickedness κατ ἐξόχην” — wickedness par excellence. Ellicott will press this masculine-singular “the evil” into a thread reaching the Lord's Prayer (see the notes on v.7).

בְּעֵינֵ֥יbə·‘ê·nêin the sightH5869

√ ʻayin — an eye (literally or figuratively)Preposition-bNouncdc

יְהוָֽה־Yah·weh-of the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵāyour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

לַעֲבֹ֥רla·‘ă·ḇōrby transgressingH5674

√ ʻâbar — to cross overPreposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

בְּרִיתֽוֹ׃bə·rî·ṯōwHis covenantH1285

√ bᵉrîyth — a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh)Nounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

bə·rî·ṯōw (H1285, bᵉrîyth) — His covenant. Benson and Poole both read idolatry as covenant-adultery: it is “a dissolution of that matrimonial covenant with God, a renouncing of God and his worship, and a choosing other gods.” The covenant is the marriage; the idol is the other lover.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

If a man or woman among-you, in one of your-gates which Yahweh your-God is-giving you, is-found doing the-evil in the-eyes-of Yahweh your-God, by-crossing-over His-covenant;

Where the English smooths the original

שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ BSB's “the towns” renders šə·‘ā·re·ḵā (H8179, shaʻar) — literally “your gates.” Hebrew names a city by its gate, the place where it is entered, judged, and (v. 5) where the sentence is carried out. The same word will return in v. 5 as the place of stoning; the English “towns” severs that deliberate inclusio.
הָרַ֛ע BSB's “evil” renders hā·ra‘ (H7451) with the definite article — “the evil.” The Pulpit Commentary insists on it: “literally, done the evil. The definite article is prefixed; it is not any kind of wickedness… but the special sin of idolatry.” The bare English adjective loses the article that singles out one named crime.
לַעֲבֹ֥ר BSB's “by transgressing” renders la·‘ă·ḇōr (H5674, ʻâbar) — whose root sense is “to cross over,” the very verb of fording a river or stepping past a boundary. To break covenant is pictured as stepping across a drawn line; “transgressing” keeps the sense (Latin trans-gredi, to step across) but the Hebrew's spatial bluntness is muted.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

The host of heaven — Those glorious creatures, which are to be admired as the wonderful works of God, but not to be set up in God’s stead. By condemning the most specious of all idolatries, he intimates how absurd a thing it is to worship stocks and stones, the works of men’s hands. I have not commanded — That is, I have forbidden. Such negative expressions are emphatical.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The oldest and simplest, and apparently most innocent form of idolatry. If this was punishable with death, obviously no grosser form of idolatry could be spared. The Book of Job, which knows no other idolatry, admits this to be a denial “of the God that is above” ( Job 31:26-28 ).

Ellicott's note appears under 17:2 in the source but treats the sun-moon idolatry of v.3; placed here where it speaks.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesCambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1880s

The use of the first person here is remarkable; God Himself takes up the speech, as in Deuteronomy 7:4 and frequently in the prophets: e.g. Jeremiah 7:31 ; Jeremiah 19:5 ; Jeremiah 32:35 .

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven: the two great luminaries, and the planets, constellations, and stars, any of them; which kind of idolatry very early obtained, and was in use at this time among the Heathens, and was an iniquity to be punished by the judge, Job 31:26 , which sin, though so strictly forbidden, the people of Israel sometimes fell into, 2 Kings 21:3 .

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and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yê·leḵ way·ya·‘ă·ḇōḏ ’ă·ḥê·rîm ’ĕ·lō·hîm way·yiš·ta·ḥū lā·hem wə·laš·še·meš ’ōw lay·yā·rê·aḥ ’ōw lə·ḵāl ṣə·ḇā haš·šā·ma·yim ’ă·šer lō- ṣiw·wî·ṯî

Word by word16 · parsed

וַיֵּ֗לֶךְway·yê·leḵand goingH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·yê·leḵ (H1980), “and he has gone” — Gill's Targum-paraphrase reads the going as apostasy of the heart: gone “after the evil imagination… lusting after other lovers, and forsaking the true God.” The verb of walking opens the catalogue of the idolater's path.

וַֽיַּעֲבֹד֙way·ya·‘ă·ḇōḏto worshipH5647

√ ʻâbad — to work (in any sense)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

אֲחֵרִ֔ים’ă·ḥê·rîmotherH312

√ ʼachêr — properly, hinderAdjectivemasculine plural

אֱלֹהִ֣ים’ĕ·lō·hîmgodsH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural

וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּway·yiš·ta·ḥūbowing downH7812

√ shâchâh — to depress, iConjunctive wawVerbHitpaelConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

לָהֶ֑םlā·hemto them

Prepositionthird person masculine plural

וְלַשֶּׁ֣מֶשׁ׀wə·laš·še·mešor to the sunH8121

√ shemesh — the sunConjunctive waw, Preposition-l, ArticleNouncommon singular

א֣וֹ’ōworH176

√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction

לַיָּרֵ֗חַlay·yā·rê·aḥmoonH3394

√ yârêach — the moonPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular

א֛וֹ’ōworH176

√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction

לְכָל־lə·ḵālanyH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholePreposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

צְבָ֥אṣə·ḇāof the hostH6635

√ tsâbâʼ — a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially regNouncommon singular construct

ṣə·ḇā haš·šā·ma·yim (H6635 + H8064) — the host of heaven. Benson: “those glorious creatures, which are to be admired as the wonderful works of God, but not to be set up in God’s stead.” Ellicott calls this “the oldest and simplest, and apparently most innocent form of idolatry” — and if even this earns death, no grosser form is spared.

הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםhaš·šā·ma·yimof heavenH8064

√ shâmayim — the sky (as aloftArticleNounmasculine plural

אֲשֶׁ֥ר’ă·šerwhichH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

לֹא־lō-I have forbiddenH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

lō- (H3808), the negative — the hinge of the verse's meiosis. The first-person “I” that follows is itself remarkable: Cambridge notes “God Himself takes up the speech,” as in the prophets (Jer 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).

צִוִּֽיתִי׃ṣiw·wî·ṯî. . .H6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinVerbPielPerfectfirst person common singular

ṣiw·wî·ṯî (H6680, Piel perfect, 1st person) — “I have commanded.” God speaks in His own voice mid-statute. The negative “not commanded” means, by the figure Poole cites from Prov 10:2 and 24:23, its emphatic contrary: I have forbidden.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

and-he-has-gone and-served other gods and-bowed-down to-them, or to-the-sun or to-the-moon or to-any of-the-host-of the-heavens — which I-have-not commanded;

Where the English smooths the original

וַֽיַּעֲבֹד֙ BSB's “to worship” renders way·ya·‘ă·ḇōḏ (H5647, ʻâbad) — a verb whose first meaning is “to work, to serve,” as a slave serves a master or a worshipper a deity. The Hebrew names idolatry as servitude, a change of masters; “worship” captures the cultic act but loses the bondage in the word.
וַיִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ BSB's “bowing down” renders way·yiš·ta·ḥū (H7812, shâchâh) — the Hishtaphel of “to depress, prostrate oneself.” It is the bodily act of flinging oneself face-down. The same verb governs both the idols and the sun-and-moon: the body's prostration, not the mind's opinion, is what the law forbids.
צִוִּֽיתִי BSB's “which I have forbidden” interprets ṣiw·wî·ṯî (H6680) — literally “which I have not commanded.” Benson names the figure: “I have not commanded — That is, I have forbidden. Such negative expressions are emphatical.” The Pulpit Commentary calls it “a meiosis.” The understatement — God merely did not command the heavens be worshipped — carries the full weight of prohibition, and the BSB makes explicit what the Hebrew leaves as devastating litotes.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Told thee by any person, thou shalt not slight so much as a rumour or flying report of so gross a crime. Inquired diligently, by sending messengers, examining witnesses, &c.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

A report of this kind was not to be neglected; though it was not to be concluded upon as certain by hearsay, it was to be looked into, and the persons that brought it thoroughly examined; so the Targum of Jonathan,"and inquired the witnesses well,''what proof and evidence they could give of the fact, who the persons were, when and where, and in what manner the sin was committed: and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain; upon examining the witnesses the case is plain and out of all question: that such abomination is wrought in Israel; to do it in any country was abominable, but much more so in the land of Israel, among the professing people of God

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesCambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1880s

and it be told thee, and thou hast heard ] Similarly Deuteronomy 13:12 (13). shalt thou inquire , etc.] So, but with additions, Deuteronomy 13:14 (15), q.v.

Cambridge marks the close verbal parallel with the inquiry-procedure of Deuteronomy 13:14 — the apostate-city law.

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and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hug·gaḏ- lə·ḵā wə·šā·mā·‘ə·tā wə·ḏā·raš·tā hê·ṭêḇ wə·hin·nêh had·dā·ḇār ne·‘eś·ṯāh ’ĕ·meṯ nā·ḵō·wn haz·zōṯ hat·tō·w·‘ê·ḇāh bə·yiś·rā·’êl

Word by word13 · parsed

וְהֻֽגַּד־wə·hug·gaḏ-and if it is reportedH5046

√ nâgad — properly, to front, iConjunctive wawVerbHofalConjunctive perfectthird person masculine singular

wə·hug·gaḏ- (H5046, Hophal), “and it is told” — the passive of report. Poole: even a flying rumor must not be slighted — “thou shalt not slight so much as a rumour or flying report of so gross a crime” — yet neither acted on without inquiry.

לְךָ֖lə·ḵā

Prepositionsecond person masculine singular

וְשָׁמָ֑עְתָּwə·šā·mā·‘ə·tāand you hear about itH8085

√ shâmaʻ — to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etcConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

wə·šā·mā·‘ə·tā (H8085, shâmaʻ) — “and you have heard.” The root carries hearing with attention, even obedience; the judge's duty begins with attentive hearing, not credulity.

וְדָרַשְׁתָּ֣wə·ḏā·raš·tāyou must investigate itH1875

√ dârash — properly, to tread or frequentConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

הֵיטֵ֔בhê·ṭêḇthoroughlyH3190

√ yâṭab — to be (causative) make well, literally (sound, beautiful) or figuratively (happy, successful, right)VerbHifilInfinitive absolute

וְהִנֵּ֤הwə·hin·nêhIfH2009

√ hinnêh — lo!Conjunctive wawInterjection

הַדָּבָ֔רhad·dā·ḇārthe reportH1697

√ dâbâr — a wordArticleNounmasculine singular

נֶעֶשְׂתָ֛הne·‘eś·ṯāhisH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbNifalPerfectthird person feminine singular

אֱמֶת֙’ĕ·meṯtrueH571

√ ʼemeth — stabilityNounfeminine singular

’ĕ·meṯ (H571) — true, from a root meaning stability, firmness. Paired with nā·ḵō·wn (H3559, established, set firm), the verse demands the report be doubly steadied before blood is shed: true and fixed.

נָכ֣וֹןnā·ḵō·wn. . .H3559

√ kûwn — properly, to be erect (iVerbNifalParticiplemasculine singular

הַזֹּ֖אתhaz·zōṯand suchH2063

√ zôʼth — this (often used adverb)ArticlePronounfeminine singular

הַתּוֹעֵבָ֥הhat·tō·w·‘ê·ḇāhan abominationH8441

√ tôwʻêbah — properly, something disgusting (morally), iArticleNounfeminine singular

tôwʻêbah (H8441) — abomination. Gill stresses the aggravation of place: to do it “in any country was abominable, but much more so in the land of Israel, among the professing people of God.”

בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃bə·yiś·rā·’êlhas happened in IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobPreposition-bNounpropermasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

and-it-is-told to-you, and-you-have-heard, and-you-shall-inquire thoroughly — and behold, true, the-report is-established, this-abomination has-been-done in-Israel;

Where the English smooths the original

וְדָרַשְׁתָּ֣ BSB's “you must investigate it thoroughly” renders wə·ḏā·raš·tā (H1875, dârash) — a verb whose root sense Strong's gives as “to tread or frequent,” hence to seek by going-over the ground repeatedly. It is the same verb later used for seeking the LORD. The English “investigate” is exact, but the Hebrew pictures a diligent treading-out of the truth, not a glance.
הֵיטֵ֔ב BSB's “thoroughly” renders hê·ṭêḇ (H3190) — an infinitive absolute of “to do well, to make good.” Hebrew intensifies the verb of inquiry by pairing it with this absolute: inquire-and-do-it-well. Poole: “inquired diligently, by sending messengers, examining witnesses.”
הַתּוֹעֵבָ֥ה BSB's “an abomination” renders hat·tō·w·‘ê·ḇāh (H8441, tôwʻêbah) — Strong's: “something disgusting (morally),” with the definite article, “the abomination.” Cambridge ties it to the same word at Deuteronomy 12:31 — idolatry is one of “all the abominations to Jehovah which He hateth.” The bare English “an abomination” drops the article that makes it this named horror.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Unto thy gates ; judicial proceedings were conducted at the gates of the city, and in some place outside the walls the sentence was executed on the condemned criminal ( Nehemiah 8:1, 3 ; Job 29:7 ; Deuteronomy 22:24 ; Acts 7:58 ; Hebrews 13:12 ), just as, during the journey through the wilderness, it had been outside the camp that transgressors were punished ( Leviticus 24:14 ; Numbers 15:36 ).

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

even that man or that woman; this is repeated, and the woman as well as the man is expressed, to show that no compassion is to be had on her as is usual, nor to be spared on account of the weakness and tenderness of her sex, but she as well as the man must be brought forth and executed according to her sentence, without any mercy shown; and this is observed to show the resentment of the divine Majesty, and his indignation at this sin

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesCambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1880s

thou shalt bring forth … unto thy gates ] Cp. Deuteronomy 22:24 : the usual place for stoning was without the gate, so that the city might not be polluted (cp. Leviticus 24:14 , Numbers 15:36 ); where also Stephen was stoned, Acts 7:58 , under this law.

Cambridge names Stephen's stoning (Acts 7:58) as carried out under this very statute — the New-Testament instance of the law in force.

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you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hō·w·ṣê·ṯā ’eṯ- ’el- šə·‘ā·re·ḵā ’eṯ- hā·’îš ’ōw ’eṯ- hā·’iš·šāh ha·hū hā·’îš ’ōw ’eṯ- hā·’iš·šāh ha·hi·w ’ă·šer ‘ā·śū ’eṯ- haz·zeh hā·rā‘ had·dā·ḇār ū·sə·qal·tām bā·’ă·ḇā·nîm wā·mê·ṯū

Word by word24 · parsed

וְהֽוֹצֵאתָ֣wə·hō·w·ṣê·ṯāyou must bring outH3318

√ yâtsâʼ — to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proximConjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

אֶל־’el-toH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָšə·‘ā·re·ḵāyour gatesH8179

√ shaʻar — an opening, iNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine singular

šə·‘ā·re·ḵā (H8179) — your gates. Gill records the rabbinic dispute (Jarchi, Maimonides): the stoning is at “the gate where he served or worshipped,” not the court-gate — the place of the crime, marked by the place of the penalty.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָאִ֕ישׁhā·’îšH376

√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personArticleNounmasculine singular

א֖וֹ’ōw. . .H176

√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָאִשָּׁ֑הhā·’iš·šāhH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanArticleNounfeminine singular

הַה֡וּאha·hūH1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)ArticlePronounthird person masculine singular

הָאִ֣ישׁhā·’îšthe manH376

√ ʼîysh — a man as an individual or a male personArticleNounmasculine singular

אוֹ֩’ōworH176

√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָאִשָּׁ֨הhā·’iš·šāhwomanH802

√ ʼishshâh — a womanArticleNounfeminine singular

hā·’iš·šāh (H802) — the woman, deliberately repeated. Gill: she is named again “to show that no compassion is to be had on her as is usual… but she as well as the man must be brought forth and executed.” The law's evenhandedness is written into its repetition.

הַהִ֜ואha·hi·w. . .H1931

√ hûwʼ — he (she or it)ArticlePronounthird person feminine singular

אֲשֶׁ֣ר’ă·šerwhoH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

עָ֠שׂוּ‘ā·śūhas doneH6213

√ ʻâsâh — to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest applicationVerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הַזֶּה֙haz·zehthisH2088

√ zeh — the masculine demonstrative pronoun, this or thatArticlePronounmasculine singular

הָרָ֤עhā·rā‘evilH7451

√ raʻ — bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)ArticleAdjectivemasculine singular

הַדָּבָ֨רhad·dā·ḇārthingH1697

√ dâbâr — a wordArticleNounmasculine singular

וּסְקַלְתָּ֥םū·sə·qal·tāmand you must stone that personH5619

√ çâqal — properly, to be weightyConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singularthird person masculine plural

ū·sə·qal·tām (H5619) — and you shall stone them. The rare verb (20 vv) links this verse to Achan's stoning in Joshua 7:25 — covenant-breaker, stones, and burning-out of evil from the camp (see the threads).

בָּאֲבָנִ֖יםbā·’ă·ḇā·nîm. . .H68

√ ʼeben — a stonePreposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine plural

וָמֵֽתוּ׃wā·mê·ṯūto deathH4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectthird person common plural

wā·mê·ṯū (H4191, mûwth) — “and they shall die.” The plural verb governs the man-or-woman pair; the sentence is stated without euphemism. Cambridge notes the LXX omits the repeated “the man or the woman.”

Literal — word-for-word from the original

then-you-shall-bring-out that man or that woman who has-done this evil thing, to your-gates — the-man or the-woman — and-you-shall-stone them with-stones, and-they-shall-die.

Where the English smooths the original

וְהֽוֹצֵאתָ֣ BSB's “you must bring out” renders wə·hō·w·ṣê·ṯā (H3318, yâtsâʼ, causative) — “you shall cause to go out.” The whole legal logic of exclusion sits in this verb: the offender is led out — Keil, “to indicate the exclusion of the criminal from the congregation, and from fellowship with God.” It is the same outward movement that takes Christ outside the gate (Heb 13:12; see the threads).
שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ BSB's “your gates” here renders the same šə·‘ā·re·ḵā (H8179) that BSB translated “towns” in v. 2 — an inconsistency the Hebrew does not have. The Pulpit Commentary fixes the sense: “judicial proceedings were conducted at the gates of the city, and in some place outside the walls the sentence was executed.” The gate is courtroom and threshold of exile at once.
וּסְקַלְתָּ֥ם BSB's “you must stone that person to death” renders ū·sə·qal·tām (H5619, çâqal) — a rare verb (in only 20 verses) meaning specifically death by stoning, followed by bā·’ă·ḇā·nîm, “with the stones.” Hebrew names the means twice — stone with stones — a redundancy the English smooths but which marks this as the communal, hands-on execution of vv. 6–7.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death; so careful is the Lord of the lives of men, that none should be taken away but upon full and sufficient evidence, even in cases in which his own glory and honour is so much concerned.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Worthy of death be put to death ; i . e . adjudged or appointed to death ; literally, the dead man shall die .

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Witnesses — Namely, credible and competent witnesses. The Jews rejected the testimonies of children, women, servants, familiar friends, or enemies, persons of dissolute lives or evil fame.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesCambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1880s

At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses ] So Sam. and LXX, as in Deuteronomy 19:15 , where the law, here applied to a particular case, is more generally stated. Cp. P, Numbers 35:30 .

Cambridge identifies this as the particular case of the general witness-law (Deut 19:15; Num 35:30) — the spine of the witness-thread.

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On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

‘al- pî šə·na·yim ’ōw šə·lō·šāh ‘ê·ḏîm yū·maṯ ham·mêṯ lō yū·maṯ ‘al- pî ‘êḏ ’e·ḥāḏ ‘ê·ḏîm

Word by word15 · parsed

עַל־‘al-OnH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

פִּ֣י׀pîthe testimonyH6310

√ peh — the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech)Nounmasculine singular construct

pî (H6310) — mouth. The plurality-of-witnesses rule stated here is the particular case of the general law restated at Deuteronomy 19:15 and Numbers 35:30, and carried into the New Covenant by Christ and Paul (Matt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1) — see the threads.

שְׁנַ֣יִםšə·na·yimof twoH8147

√ shᵉnayim — twoNumbermd

א֛וֹ’ōworH176

√ ʼôw — desire (and so probably in Proverbs 31:4)Conjunction

שְׁלֹשָׁ֥הšə·lō·šāhthreeH7969

√ shâlôwsh — threeNumbermasculine singular

עֵדִ֗ים‘ê·ḏîmwitnessesH5707

√ ʻêd — concretely, a witnessNounmasculine plural

‘ê·ḏîm (H5707, ʻêd) — witnesses. Benson restricts them to “credible and competent witnesses,” the Jews rejecting “children, women, servants, familiar friends, or enemies, persons of dissolute lives or evil fame.”

יוּמַ֣תyū·maṯa man shall be put to deathH4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)VerbHofalImperfectthird person masculine singular

הַמֵּ֑תham·mêṯ. . .H4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)ArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine singular

ham·mêṯ (H4191) — the dead one. The Pulpit Commentary equates it with bēn māweth, “son of death” (1 Sam 20:31), and ʼîš māweth, “a man of death” (1 Kings 2:26): the participle marks a man already forfeit.

לֹ֣אlōbut he shall notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

lō (H3808) — the flat negative that forbids conviction on one witness. Gill: “so careful is the Lord of the lives of men, that none should be taken away but upon full and sufficient evidence, even in cases in which his own glory and honour is so much concerned.”

יוּמַ֔תyū·maṯbe executedH4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)VerbHofalImperfectthird person masculine singular

עַל־‘al-onH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

פִּ֖יpîthe testimonyH6310

√ peh — the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech)Nounmasculine singular construct

עֵ֥ד‘êḏ. . .H5707

√ ʻêd — concretely, a witnessNounmasculine singular

אֶחָֽד׃’e·ḥāḏof a loneH259

√ ʼechâd — properly, united, iNumbermasculine singular

עֵדִ֖ים‘ê·ḏîmwitnessH5707

√ ʻêd — concretely, a witnessNounmasculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

On the-mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall the-dead-one be-put-to-death; he-shall-not be-put-to-death on the-mouth of one witness.

Where the English smooths the original

פִּ֣י BSB's “on the testimony” renders pî (H6310, peh) — literally “on the mouth of.” Gill draws a rule from the idiom: “because it is said ‘at the mouth’ of these witnesses, it is concluded, that a testimony should be verbal and not written.” The English “testimony” is correct in sense but hides the spoken mouth on which the whole evidentiary rule was built.
הַמֵּ֑ת BSB's “a man shall be put to death” renders the participle ham·mêṯ (H4191) — literally “the dead one.” Ellicott: “Literally, he that dieth.” The Pulpit Commentary unfolds it: “the dead man shall die… one assigned to death, already the property of death, and so as good as dead.” The verdict is spoken as already accomplished; the English flattens a Hebrew that treats the condemned as a dead man walking.
אֶחָֽד BSB's “a lone witness” renders ’e·ḥāḏ (H259) — simply “one.” The Hebrew has no word for “lone”; it sets the bare number against the “two or three” of the first clause. The whole safeguard turns on a numeral: not one mouth, but two or three.

The Voices✦ 5 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

Put . . . away. —Literally, consume. The primary meaning of the word is “burn.” Taberah, “burning,” is a derivative. The evil. —The Greek version renders this “the wicked man,” and the sentence is taken up in this form in 1Corinthians 5:13 , “and ye shall put away from among you that wicked person.” The phrase is of frequent occurrence in Deuteronomy, and if we are to understand that in all places where it occurs “the evil” is to be under. stood of an individual, and to be taken in the masculine gender, the fact seems to deserve notice in considering the phrase “deliver us from evil” in the Lord’s Prayer.

Ellicott's note appears under 17:2 in the source but expounds the closing words of v.7; placed here, where the phrase occurs.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

First upon him — God thus ordered it, for the caution of witnesses, that, if they had, through malice or wrath, accused him falsely, they might now be afraid to imbrue their hands in innocent blood; and for the security and satisfaction of the people in the execution of this punishment.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

"He assigned this part to the witnesses, chiefly because there are so many whose tongue is so slippery, not to say good for nothing, that they would boldly strangle a man with their words, when they would not dare to touch him with one of their fingers. It was the best remedy, therefore, that could be tried for restraining such levity, to refuse to admit the testimony of any man who was not ready to execute judgment with his own hand" (Calvin).

Keil quotes Calvin verbatim on why the witnesses cast the first stone — the procedure as a curb on perjury.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

The hands of the {d} witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the {e} people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. (d) By which they declared that they testify the truth. (e) To signify a common consent to maintain God's honour and true religion.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

Let all who in our day set up idols in their hearts, remember how God punished this crime in Israel.

Henry's whole-section comment (filed across 17:1–7) closes with the devotional turn — the outward idolatry the law executed is answered by the inward idol of the heart (cp. Ezek 14:3); placed at v.7 where the purge is sealed.

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The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yaḏ hā·‘ê·ḏîm tih·yeh- bōw ḇā·ri·šō·nāh la·hă·mî·ṯōw bā·’a·ḥă·rō·nāh wə·yaḏ kāl- hā·‘ām ū·ḇi·‘ar·tā hā·rā‘ miq·qir·be·ḵā

Word by word13 · parsed

יַ֣דyaḏThe handsH3027

√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcNounfeminine singular construct

yaḏ (H3027) — hand. Geneva's gloss on the witnesses' hand: “By which they declared that they testify the truth”; on the people's hand: “To signify a common consent to maintain God's honour and true religion.” The execution is corporate worship of the offended God.

הָעֵדִ֞יםhā·‘ê·ḏîmof the witnessesH5707

√ ʻêd — concretely, a witnessArticleNounmasculine plural

תִּֽהְיֶה־tih·yeh-shall beH1961

√ hâyâh — to exist, iVerbQalImperfectthird person feminine singular

בּ֤וֹbōw

Prepositionthird person masculine singular

בָרִאשֹׁנָה֙ḇā·ri·šō·nāhthe firstH7223

√ riʼshôwn — first, in place, time or rank (as adjective or noun)Preposition-b, ArticleAdjectivefeminine singular

ḇā·ri·šō·nāh (H7223) — first. Poole gives the alternative gesture: the witness's hand “either laid upon his head to design the person, or stretched out to throw the first stone at him.” Either way the accuser is made the executioner.

לַהֲמִית֔וֹla·hă·mî·ṯōwin putting him to deathH4191

√ mûwth — to die (literally or figuratively)Preposition-lVerbHifilInfinitive constructthird person masculine singular

בָּאַחֲרֹנָ֑הbā·’a·ḥă·rō·nāhand after thatH314

√ ʼachărôwn — hinderPreposition-b, ArticleAdjectivefeminine singular

וְיַ֥דwə·yaḏthe handsH3027

√ yâd — a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etcConjunctive wawNounfeminine singular construct

כָּל־kāl-of allH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

הָעָ֖םhā·‘āmthe peopleH5971

√ ʻam — a people (as a congregated unit)ArticleNounmasculine singular

hā·‘ām (H5971) — the people. All Israel completes the act; Poole: they are “bound to express their zeal for his honour and service, and their detestation of all persons and things so highly dishonourable… to him.”

וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ū·ḇi·‘ar·tāSo you must purgeH1197

√ bâʻar — to kindle, iConjunctive wawVerbPielConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine singular

ū·ḇi·‘ar·tā (H1197) — burn out. Cambridge: “so thou shalt put away the evil) burn out.” The recurring Deuteronomic refrain (13:5; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21) of purging evil by fire-language; Gill reads it double — both “the evil man and the evil committed by him.”

הָרָ֖עhā·rā‘the evilH7451

√ raʻ — bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral)ArticleAdjectivemasculine singular

מִקִּרְבֶּֽךָ׃פmiq·qir·be·ḵāfrom among youH7130

√ qereb — properly, the nearest part, iPreposition-mNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

The-hand of-the-witnesses shall-be against-him first to-put-him-to-death, and-afterward the-hand of-all the-people; so-you-shall-burn-out the-evil from-among-you.

Where the English smooths the original

יַ֣ד BSB's “The hands of the witnesses” renders yaḏ (H3027) — singular, “the hand,” a noun of power, agency, responsibility. The witness must lay his own hand to the death he swore to. Keil quotes Calvin: God assigned this “to refuse to admit the testimony of any man who was not ready to execute judgment with his own hand.” The English plural loses the singular weight of the accusing hand.
בָרִאשֹׁנָה֙ BSB's “the first” renders ḇā·ri·šō·nāh (H7223) — “at the first, foremost.” Benson reads the order as a deterrent built into the procedure: “that, if they had, through malice or wrath, accused him falsely, they might now be afraid to imbrue their hands in innocent blood.” The witness who throws the first stone stakes his own conscience on his oath.
וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ BSB's “you must purge” renders ū·ḇi·‘ar·tā (H1197, bâʻar) — whose primary meaning, Ellicott and the Pulpit Commentary both insist, is “to burn.” Ellicott: “Literally, consume. The primary meaning of the word is ‘burn.’ Taberah, ‘burning,’ is a derivative.” The English “purge” is a cleansing metaphor; the Hebrew is fire — burn the evil out.
הָרָ֖ע BSB's “the evil” renders hā·rā‘ (H7451), the same articular phrase as v. 2. Ellicott marks a remarkable datum: “The Greek version renders this ‘the wicked man,’ and the sentence is taken up in this form in 1 Corinthians 5:13.” Whether “the evil” is the abstract sin or the concrete wicked person is a real and weighty ambiguity — one Ellicott connects to the petition “deliver us from evil” in the Lord's Prayer (see the Christ section).

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The covenant as marriage — idolatry as adultery (vv. 2–3) — 2–3

The unit opens not with the act but with the relationship it breaks: the idolater is “crossing-over His covenant” (la·‘ă·ḇōr bə·rî·ṯōw, vv. 2). Benson and Poole read that covenant as a marriage, and so read the idolatry as adultery — it is “a dissolution of that matrimonial covenant with God, a renouncing of God and his worship, and a choosing other gods” (Benson, verbatim). Jamieson, Fausset & Brown name the stakes plainly: “The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called ‘a transgression of His covenant.’” ⚙ The Hebrew verb ʻâbar (H5674) literally means to cross over a line — the same root that fords the Jordan a few chapters on; covenant-breaking is pictured as stepping across a drawn boundary. Ellicott marks the form of idolatry the law singles out — the sun, moon, and host of heaven — as “the oldest and simplest, and apparently most innocent form of idolatry. If this was punishable with death, obviously no grosser form of idolatry could be spared.” The law begins at the gentlest idolatry precisely so that none can plead its innocence.

ii. Due process before death — the architecture of restraint (vv. 4–6) — 4–6

What stands out against the severity of the penalty is the care with which the law guards against shedding innocent blood. The report must be told, heard, and then inquired into thoroughly (v. 4): Poole warns that even “a rumour or flying report of so gross a crime” must not be slighted — yet Gill insists it “was not to be concluded upon as certain by hearsay.” The verdict rests on “the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses” (v. 6), never one; Cambridge identifies this as the particular case of the general evidentiary law stated at Deuteronomy 19:15 and Numbers 35:30. ⚙ The Hebrew of v. 6, ham·mêṯ (the dead one), already speaks of the convicted idolater as a corpse: Ellicott, “Literally, he that dieth”; the Pulpit Commentary, “one assigned to death, already the property of death, and so as good as dead.” The condemnation is so sure once proven that the man is named dead before the first stone falls — but the proving is hedged with every safeguard. Gill draws the moral: “so careful is the Lord of the lives of men, that none should be taken away but upon full and sufficient evidence.”

iii. The witness's own hand — and the burning-out of evil (v. 7) — 7

The law's most striking feature is reserved for last: “the hand of the witnesses shall be against him first.” Keil & Delitzsch preserve Calvin's reasoning verbatim — the rule exists to curb the perjurer “whose tongue is so slippery… that they would boldly strangle a man with their words, when they would not dare to touch him with one of their fingers.” Benson agrees: the witness who must throw the first stone will fear “to imbrue their hands in innocent blood.” Then “the hand of all the people,” which Geneva glosses as “a common consent to maintain God's honour.” ⚙ The closing verb is not a metaphor of cleansing but of fire: Ellicott, “Literally, consume. The primary meaning of the word is ‘burn.’ Taberah, ‘burning,’ is a derivative.” And one datum reaches across the Testaments: “The Greek version renders this ‘the wicked man,’ and the sentence is taken up in this form in 1 Corinthians 5:13, ‘and ye shall put away from among you that wicked person’” (Ellicott, verbatim). Whether “the evil” (hā·rā‘, articular, masculine) is the abstract sin or the concrete wicked person is a genuine ambiguity — and Ellicott carries it as far as the Lord's Prayer.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Read on its own terms, Deuteronomy 17:2–7 is a chapter about blood and proof. It holds two things together that a careless reader tears apart: a penalty of unflinching severity (stoning, by the whole community, for worshipping the sun) and a procedure of almost obsessive restraint (a thorough inquiry, two-or-three witnesses, never one, and the witness made to strike the first blow). ⚙ The severity is not cruelty for its own sake; it measures how the law weighs idolatry — as covenant-adultery, the breaking of a marriage (Benson, Poole), the one crime that unmakes Israel as Israel. But the restraint measures something else: how the same law weighs a human life. Gill's verbatim sentence is the hinge — “so careful is the Lord of the lives of men, that none should be taken away but upon full and sufficient evidence, even in cases in which his own glory and honour is so much concerned.” Even where God's own honour is at stake, He will not have it vindicated by perjury or rumor. The two-witness rule and the witness's-hand-first rule are not softenings of the law; they are the law taking innocent blood as seriously as it takes idolatry. ⚙ And the closing word — burn out the evil from among you — leaves a deliberate ambiguity the Greek text resolved one way: the sin, or the sinner? The New Testament, in Paul's hand, kept the personal form (1 Cor 5:13), but transferred the instrument from the stone to the censure of the church. The fallible reading offered here, to be tested: the unbroken thread from Sinai to Corinth is not the death-penalty but the communal responsibility to keep the holy people holy — and the means change, from the stone in the hand to the word of separation, when the One who was Himself led outside the gate bears the curse the law pronounced.

Even where His own honour is at stake, God will not have it vindicated by a single mouth or a rumor — the law guards the idolater's blood as fiercely as it condemns his idol. (an interpretive line, not Scripture)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

Transgressing the covenant — the same idiom in Joshua and Deuteronomy structural / thematic — confirmed

The opening charge, “crossing-over His covenant” (ʻâbar + bᵉrîyth), is a fixed Deuteronomic idiom for apostasy. Cambridge points the reader to Joshua 7:11, 7:15 and Joshua 23:16 — “all deuteron.” — as the same phrase. ⚙ The Verifier confirms the verbal overlap at Deuteronomy 17:2 ↔ Joshua 7:11: the two words ʻâbar (H5674, cross over) and bᵉrîyth (H1285, covenant) are shared, the precise pair that forms the idiom. This is Hebrew↔Hebrew, so the shared Strong's lexemes are the recorded basis; but because both verses share the same legal idiom rather than one quoting the other, the honest tier is structural/thematic, not verbal. At Joshua 7 the covenant-crosser is Achan, and the penalty is the same as here: stoning and the burning-out of evil from Israel.

Joshua 7:11 · Joshua 23:16

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Verifier-confirmed shared lexemes at Deut 17:2↔Josh 7:11: H5674 ʻâbar (cross over, 492 vv) + H1285 bᵉrîyth (covenant, 264 vv) — the two-word idiom 'transgress the covenant.' Same fixed idiom, not a quotation; tiered structural/thematic. Cambridge independently cites Josh 7:11, 7:15, 23:16 as the deuteronomic parallel.

Stoned for covenant-breaking — Achan and the rare verb çâqal structural / thematic — confirmed

The execution prescribed here, “you shall stone them with stones” (v. 5), is carried out in narrative on Achan, who “crossed the covenant” by taking the devoted thing. ⚙ The link rests on a genuinely rare lexeme: çâqal (H5619, to stone to death) occurs in only 20 verses in the whole Hebrew Bible. The Verifier finds it shared between Deuteronomy 17:5 and Joshua 7:25, alongside ʼeben (stone, H68). A shared lexeme this rare ordinarily lifts a pair toward the verbal tier; but because Joshua 7 is legal narrative enacting this law rather than quoting it, the honest tier is structural/thematic — with the rarity of çâqal noted as the strong basis. The same rare verb ties Deuteronomy 17:5 to the betrothed-virgin law of Deuteronomy 22:21, 22:24, where the place of stoning is likewise “the gate.”

Joshua 7:25 · Deuteronomy 22:21 · Deuteronomy 22:24

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew. Verifier-confirmed rare shared lexeme H5619 çâqal (stone to death, in only 20 vv) at Deut 17:5↔Josh 7:25, with H68 ʼeben (stone). Rarity approaches verbal weight, but Josh 7 enacts rather than quotes the statute, so tiered structural/thematic. Same çâqal links Deut 22:21/22:24 (stoning 'at the gate').

Two or three witnesses — the evidentiary law carried into the New Covenant structural / thematic — confirmed

The rule of v. 6 — “on the mouth of two witnesses or three… he shall not be put to death on the mouth of one witness” — is the particular application of a law stated more broadly at Deuteronomy 19:15 and Numbers 35:30 (Cambridge notes Sam. and LXX read both clauses with “at the mouth of”). ⚙ The Verifier confirms the Hebrew↔Hebrew overlap: Deut 17:6 ↔ Deut 19:15 share ʻêd (witness, H5707, 59 vv), peh (mouth, H6310), ʼechâd (one), and the numbers two/three; Deut 17:6 ↔ Numbers 35:30 share the same four-word formula. These OT links are structural/thematic. ⚙ The same standard is taken up in the New Testament — Christ requires “two or three witnesses” for church discipline (Matt 18:16) and Paul invokes it twice (2 Cor 13:1; 1 Tim 5:19). That carry-over is cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew) and so cannot rest on a shared Strong's number; it rests on the New Testament writers' explicit citation of the principle, and is the oldest reading of the church.

Deuteronomy 19:15 · Numbers 35:30 · 2 Corinthians 13:1 · Matthew 18:16

basis: OT links Hebrew↔Hebrew: Verifier-confirmed shared formula H5707 ʻêd + H6310 peh + H259 ʼechâd (+ numbers) at Deut 17:6↔Deut 19:15 and ↔Num 35:30. NT links (Matt 18:16; 2 Cor 13:1) are cross-Testament Greek↔Hebrew — cannot use shared Strong's; rest on explicit NT citation of the two-or-three-witnesses principle. Whole basis tiered structural/thematic, not verbal.

The witness's hand first, and the burning-out of evil — the Deuteronomic refrain structural / thematic — confirmed

Verse 7 binds two formulas that recur across Deuteronomy. The witnesses' hand “first” mirrors the seducer-law of Deuteronomy 13:9 (Cambridge: “so they would feel more seriously the responsibility of their testimony!”). ⚙ The Verifier confirms Deut 17:7 ↔ Deut 13:9 share riʼshôwn (first, H7223), ʼachărôwn (afterward/last, H314), mûwth (die), and yâd (hand). And the closing “so you shall burn out the evil from among you” is the standing Deuteronomic refrain: ⚙ the Verifier confirms Deut 17:7 ↔ Deut 13:5 share bâʻar (burn out, H1197, 90 vv), qereb (midst, H7130), raʻ (evil, H7451), and mûwth (die) — the same four-word formula that closes 13:5; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21. Both are Hebrew↔Hebrew structural/thematic links, the formulaic spine of Deuteronomy's purge-laws.

Deuteronomy 13:5 · Deuteronomy 13:9 · Deuteronomy 19:19

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew, both Verifier-confirmed. Deut 17:7↔Deut 13:9 share H7223 riʼshôwn + H314 ʼachărôwn + H3027 yâd + H4191 mûwth (witnesses'-hand-first formula). Deut 17:7↔Deut 13:5 share H1197 bâʻar (burn out, 90 vv) + H7130 qereb + H7451 raʻ + H4191 mûwth ('purge the evil' refrain). Formulaic repetition, not quotation — tiered structural/thematic.

Worshipping the host of heaven — the forbidden bowing of Deuteronomy 4 and Jeremiah 8 structural / thematic — confirmed

The specific idolatry of v. 3 — “served other gods and bowed down to them, or to the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven” — is the exact sin against which Deuteronomy 4:19 warns, and the sin Jeremiah indicts Judah for in the same words. ⚙ The Verifier confirms Deut 17:3 shares with both Deuteronomy 4:19 and Jeremiah 8:2 the triad ʻâbad (serve, H5647), shâchâh (bow down, H7812), and shâmayim (heaven, H8064) — three content verbs/nouns describing the same act of astral worship. These are Hebrew↔Hebrew structural/thematic links. Jeremiah 8:2 darkens the picture: the bones of those who “served and bowed to the host of heaven” are spread out before the very sun they worshipped — the law's penalty answered by the prophet's curse.

Deuteronomy 4:19 · Jeremiah 8:2

basis: Hebrew↔Hebrew, Verifier-confirmed. Deut 17:3 shares with Deut 4:19 and Jer 8:2 the same three content words: H5647 ʻâbad (serve) + H7812 shâchâh (bow down) + H8064 shâmayim (heaven). Shared motif/vocabulary of astral worship, no quotation claim — structural/thematic.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Put away the wicked person — Deuteronomy 17:7 in Paul's hand (1 Corinthians 5:13) ancient/widely-held

Ellicott records the seam directly: “The Greek version renders this ‘the wicked man,’ and the sentence is taken up in this form in 1 Corinthians 5:13, ‘and ye shall put away from among you that wicked person’” (verbatim). Paul, expelling the incestuous man from the Corinthian church, ends with the Septuagint wording of this very verse — the Deuteronomic “burn out the evil from among you.” ⚙ The link is cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew), so it cannot rest on a shared Strong's number; it rests on Paul's explicit, word-for-word reuse of the LXX of Deuteronomy 17:7 (and the parallel purge-formulas). What changes in Christ is the instrument: the stone in the hand becomes the censure of the gathered church — the community's responsibility to keep the holy people holy is unbroken, but the death-penalty is not carried over. This is the ancient and widely-held reading.

1 Corinthians 5:13 · Deuteronomy 17:7

Led outside the gate — the place of the curse, and the place of the Cross (Hebrews 13:12) ancient/widely-held

The offender is “brought out to the gates” (v. 5) and stoned outside the walls — Keil: “to indicate the exclusion of the criminal from the congregation, and from fellowship with God.” Barnes flags “the typical and prophetical aspect of the injunction; compare Acts 7:58 ; Hebrews 13:12 ,” and the Pulpit Commentary, Cambridge, and Keil all chain the same New-Testament references. ⚙ Stephen was stoned outside the gate under this law (Acts 7:58, named by Cambridge); and Hebrews reads the place itself typologically — “And so Jesus also suffered outside the gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood” (Heb 13:12, BSB). The One who bore the curse stood in the very place the law reserved for the cut-off covenant-breaker. The link is cross-Testament and typological — it rests not on a shared lexeme but on the shared place of exclusion, read figurally; and it is the church's ancient reading that Christ took the idolater's exile upon Himself.

Hebrews 13:12 · Acts 7:58 · Deuteronomy 17:5

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

This unit is a legal text on capital idolatry, and the synthesis is built up from the Hebrew. Every commentary excerpt is a verbatim, contiguous substring of the sourced voices_raw — trimmed at the ends to a pointed quotation, never altered, reordered, or stitched. A few honesty notes specific to Deuteronomy 17:2–7:

Two notes carry words from a neighbouring verse-page. The biblehub source files Ellicott's whole-section comment and Keil's whole-section comment under 17:2, but those comments expound words that fall in v.3 (Ellicott on the host of heaven) and v.7 (Ellicott on “the evil” / 1 Cor 5:13; Keil's Calvin quotation on the witnesses' hand). They are placed under the verse whose words they treat; the source_url is left pointing to the page where the text was published (17-2.htm), so the provenance is traceable and unfalsified.

The masculine 'the evil.' Ellicott's observation that the LXX read hā·rā‘ as “the wicked man” (concrete, masculine) rather than “the evil thing” (abstract) is a genuine interpretive crux, not a settled fact. The Hebrew articular adjective is grammatically ambiguous; Ellicott himself only says the personal reading “seems to deserve notice.” The synthesis carries it as a weighed possibility — it is the basis for the 1 Corinthians 5:13 link — not as a proven reading.

The witness-formula and the New Testament. The two-or-three-witnesses links to Matthew 18:16 and 2 Corinthians 13:1 are cross-Testament (Greek↔Hebrew). They are tiered structural/thematic and explicitly cannot use shared Strong's numbers; their basis is the New Testament writers' citation of the principle, not a lexical match. The Old-Testament legs of that thread (Deut 19:15, Num 35:30) are Verifier-confirmed by shared Hebrew lexemes.

On the standing directive. This unit is not in Joshua and does not contain a 1:5; the Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 flag does not apply here.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)