Deuteronomy 25:6 kjv
And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
Deuteronomy 25:6 nkjv
And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
Deuteronomy 25:6 niv
The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
Deuteronomy 25:6 esv
And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
Deuteronomy 25:6 nlt
The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
Deuteronomy 25 6 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 38:8 | Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” | Levirate duty principle (earlier example). |
| Gen 38:9 | But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his... he spilled the seed on the ground... | Refusal to perform the duty. |
| Ruth 1:11-13 | Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters... for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope... would you wait for them? No, my daughters!" | Situation requiring levirate marriage. |
| Ruth 4:5 | Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth... in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” | Kinsman-redeemer (go'el) principle; similar aim. |
| Ruth 4:10 | Moreover, I have acquired Ruth... to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off... | Explicit statement of preserving the name. |
| Ruth 4:11 | All the people... and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah..." | Public acknowledgement and blessing for continuity. |
| Num 27:4 | "Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.” | Importance of name/inheritance continuity. |
| Num 36:2 | They said, “The Lord commanded my lord to give the land by lot to the people of Israel... but if they marry into other tribes..." | Protecting tribal inheritance/name. |
| Isa 56:5 | "To them I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." | Spiritual "name" preservation, everlasting. |
| Jer 35:19 | Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts... "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.” | Divine promise of continuous lineage. |
| Ps 72:17 | May his name endure forever! May his name increase through all ages! May people be blessed in him; may all nations call him blessed! | Desired endurance of a king's name/dynasty. |
| Prov 10:7 | The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. | Significance of a lasting name/legacy. |
| Ps 109:13 | May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out from their generation. | The negative consequence of having no posterity. |
| Mal 4:6 | He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. | Familial continuity and divine blessing. |
| Matt 22:24 | "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.'" | Sadducees quoting Deut 25:5 to Jesus. |
| Mark 12:19 | "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother." | Another instance of Sadducees quoting. |
| Luke 20:28 | "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he dies childless, his brother must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother." | Third instance of Sadducees quoting. |
| Matt 22:30 | "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." | Jesus' teaching, showing earthly marriage laws (like levirate) are temporal. |
| Gal 3:29 | And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. | Spiritual inheritance, "seed" of Abraham. |
| Eph 2:19 | So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. | Belonging to God's family/household. |
| Rev 3:5 | The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life... | Divine preservation of name in a spiritual sense. |
| John 1:12-13 | But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. | New birth, spiritual family/identity in Christ. |
Deuteronomy 25 verses
Deuteronomy 25 6 Meaning
Deuteronomy 25:6 details a specific law within the ancient Israelite society concerning the duty of a brother to his deceased sibling's childless widow. This verse stipulates that the firstborn male child conceived through such a union (known as levirate marriage) shall be legally recognized as the offspring of the deceased brother. The primary purpose is to ensure the continuation of the deceased's name and lineage within the tribal and national structure of Israel, preventing his family line from being obliterated.
Deuteronomy 25 6 Context
Deuteronomy 25:6 is part of a series of diverse civil and social laws (Deuteronomy 22-25) given to Israel through Moses. Specifically, verses 5-10 address the custom of levirate marriage (from the Latin levir, "brother-in-law"), a practice rooted in the ancient Near East but codified and regulated within Israelite law. The broader chapter (Deuteronomy 25) includes regulations concerning flogging, muzzling an ox while threshing, and specific instructions for family relations and inheritance. The levirate law highlights the vital importance placed on the continuation of a family line, particularly for securing land inheritance and tribal identity within Israel, and preventing a name from being forgotten or "blotted out."
Deuteronomy 25 6 Word analysis
- And it shall be: This is a common legal formulation, introducing a prescriptive rule or condition. It signals a divine imperative.
- that the firstborn: This emphasizes that only the first male child born of this specific levirate union legally stands in the place of the deceased. Subsequent children born to the living brother and the widow would be considered his own. This clarity avoids disputes over paternity and inheritance for subsequent offspring.
- Hebrew: הבכור (habechôr) - "the firstborn." This specific designation indicates legal standing.
- which she beareth: Refers to the widow bearing the child, clearly identifying the source of this particular offspring within the context of the levirate union.
- shall succeed: This signifies establishment and rising up in place of another. The child doesn't just bear the name but embodies the continuity of the deceased's line and inheritance.
- Hebrew: יקום (yāqûm) - "shall rise up," "shall be established." The root qum implies standing firm, confirming, or establishing, countering the idea of something being "cut off" or dying out. It implies establishing his name and line in a physical sense.
- in the name of his brother which is dead: The heart of the law. The child, although biologically the son of the surviving brother, is legally regarded as the heir and "son" of the deceased. This is not about literally naming the child after the deceased brother, but about transferring legal identity and patrimony. This ensured the land remained with the family of the deceased, safeguarding his legacy.
- Hebrew: על שם אחיו המת (ʿal shēm ʾāḥîw hammēth) - "upon the name of his brother, the dead." The phrase "upon the name" indicates a formal and legal association or attribution.
- that his name be not put out of Israel: The overarching purpose and the greatest motivation for this law. "Name" (shem) in Hebrew thought is more than just an identifier; it represents the person, their reputation, their legacy, their very existence within the community. To have one's name "put out" or "blotted out" was considered a tragic end, implying complete annihilation of identity and legacy, a spiritual and social death within the tribal system. This highlights the communal importance of family continuity.
- Hebrew: לא ימחה (lōʾ yimmāḥeh) - "not be blotted out," "not be erased." The verb māḥâ means to wipe clean, to obliterate, to efface. The passive voice ("be blotted out") indicates an external act of effacing or a state of being lost. Its absence indicates preservation.
Deuteronomy 25 6 Bonus section
- The levirate law primarily focused on a son continuing the line, as inheritance and "name" were primarily passed through the male line in Israelite society.
- While primarily focused on earthly continuity, this law foreshadows in a theological sense the idea of "raising up seed." In the New Testament, the Sadducees' challenge regarding this law to Jesus (Matt 22, Mark 12, Luke 20) leads to Jesus' profound teaching on the nature of resurrection and marriage in the age to come, revealing that while such earthly laws served a temporal purpose, divine immortality transcends human lineage and family structures.
- The ritual described in Deut 25:7-10 for a brother who refuses this duty ("drawing off the sandal" and spitting in his face) underscores the strong societal expectation and moral obligation attached to this law. It carried public shame for shirking one's duty to the deceased brother and his name.
Deuteronomy 25 6 Commentary
Deuteronomy 25:6 establishes the core principle and purpose of levirate marriage within ancient Israel: to preserve the identity and inheritance of a deceased brother who died without an heir. It mandates that the first male child born of the surviving brother's union with the widow would be legally attributed to the deceased. This was not merely a matter of sentiment but a critical socio-economic and religious necessity. In a society where family lineage dictated land tenure and tribal identity, the absence of an heir meant the family name and inheritance risked being extinguished. This divine law underscored God's care for family structure, property rights, and the continuity of His people's heritage, reflecting a profound value on individual and family existence within the covenant community. It safeguarded a family from ceasing to exist in the tribal register of Israel.