Deuteronomy 18
Deuteronomy 18:1 “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat Yahveh’s fire offerings;[1] that is their inheritance.
Deuteronomy 18:2 Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, Yahveh is his inheritance, as he promised him.
Deuteronomy 18:3 This is what the priests legally deserve from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach.
Deuteronomy 18:4 You are to give him the first of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the first sheared wool of your flock.
Deuteronomy 18:5 You see, Yahveh, your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and minister in his name from now on.
Deuteronomy 18:6 When a Levite leaves one of your towns in Israel where he was a guest[2] and wants to go to the place Yahveh chooses,
Deuteronomy 18:7 he may minister in the name of Yahveh, his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there in the presence of Yahveh.
Deuteronomy 18:8 They will eat equal portions besides what he has received from the sale of the family estate.
Deuteronomy 18:9 “When you enter the land Yahveh your God is giving you, do not imitate the repulsive customs of those nations.
Deuteronomy 18:10 No one among you is to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery,
Deuteronomy 18:11 cast spells, consult a medium or a spiritist, or inquire of the dead.
Deuteronomy 18:12 Everyone who does these acts is repulsive to Yahveh, and Yahveh, your God, is taking possession from the nations before you because of these repulsive acts.
Deuteronomy 18:13 You must be complete[3] before Yahveh, your God.
Deuteronomy 18:14 Though these nations you are about to take possession from listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, Yahveh, your God has not permitted you to do this.
Deuteronomy 18:15 “Yahveh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.
Deuteronomy 18:16 This is what you requested from Yahveh your God at Horeb on the day of the collected assembly, and this is what you said: ‘Let us not hear the voice of Yahveh our God again or see this great fire any longer so that we will not die! ‘
Deuteronomy 18:17 Then Yahveh said to me, ‘They have spoken well.
Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
Deuteronomy 18:19 I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.
Deuteronomy 18:20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to say, or who speaks in the name of other gods — that prophet must die.’
Deuteronomy 18:21 You may say to yourself, ‘How can we recognize a message Yahveh has not spoken?’
Deuteronomy 18:22 When a prophet speaks in Yahveh’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message Yahveh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be intimidated by him.
[1]אִשֶּׁה = fire offering.
[2]גּוּר = guest. Deuteronomy 18:6; 26:5.
[3]תָּמִים = perfect. Deut. 18:13; 32:4.
Deuteronomy 18 quotes:
“Here, as in every part of the book of Deuteronomy, the priests are classed with the Levites in a very marked way. We have called the reader’s attention to this as a special characteristic feature of our book, and shall not dwell upon it now, but merely, in |)assing, remind the reader of it, as something claiming his attention. Let him weigh the opening words of our chapter, “^The priests the Levites,” and compare them with the way in which the priests the sons of Aaron are spoken of in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers ; and if he should be disposed to ask the reason of this distinction, we believe it to be this, that in Deuteronomy the divine object is, to bring the whole assembly of Israel more into prominence, and hence it is that the priests in their official capacity come rarelj^ before us. The grand Deuteronomic idea is, Israel in immediate relationship ivith Jehovah.
Now, in the passage just quoted, we have the priests and the Levites linked together, and presented as the Lord’s servants, wholly dependent upon Him, and intimately identified with His altar and His service. This is full of interest, and opens up a very important field of practical truth, to which the Church of God would do well to attend.”
Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 281.
“None of the Levites would share a portion and an inheritance with Israel (v. 1)—that is to say, the Levites as a tribe would not have a portion of the promised land assigned to them as tribal land or territory. They shall eat offerings made by fire to the Lord, and his inheritance. If the word ʾishsheh means “offerings by fire,” then the sense is that the Levites would participate in portions of such offerings (cf. v. 3 below). However, it is possible that the word should simply be translated “gifts, offerings,” without any implications of sacrifice. This possibility seems quite likely in the context of the most general part of the legislation; the Levites would be supported by the generosity of the people, who have already been urged not to forget or neglect them.”
Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (pp. 258-259). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.
Deuteronomy 18 links:
called to serve elsewhere
completeness in Christ
in retrospect- those who minister
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, June 7, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, June 9, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Wednesday, June 9, 2021
selfish spiritism
telling the difference
the alternative to Mount Doom
the audience factor
The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.
jeffersonvann 