Deuteronomy 25:9

25:9 then his sister-in-law must approach him in view of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. ¹  She will then respond, “Thus may it be done to any man who does not maintain his brother’s family line!” ² 

Job 30:10

30:10 They detest me and maintain their distance; ³ 

they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

Isaiah 50:6

50:6 I offered my back to those who attacked, ⁴ 

my jaws to those who tore out my beard;

I did not hide my face

from insults and spitting.

Matthew 26:67

26:67 Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists. And some slapped him,

Hebrews 12:9

12:9 Besides, we have experienced discipline from ⁵  our earthly fathers ⁶  and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life? ⁷ 

¹ sn The removal of the sandal was likely symbolic of the relinquishment by the man of any claim to his dead brother’s estate since the sandal was associated with the soil or land (cf. Ruth 4:7-8). Spitting in the face was a sign of utmost disgust or disdain, an emotion the rejected widow would feel toward her uncooperative brother-in-law (cf. Num 12:14; Lev 15:8). See W. Bailey, NIDOTTE 2:544.

² tn Heb “build the house of his brother”; TEV “refuses to give his brother a descendant”; NLT “refuses to raise up a son for his brother.”

³ tn Heb “they are far from me.”

⁴ tn Or perhaps, “who beat [me].”

⁵ tn Grk “we had our earthly fathers as discipliners.”

⁶ tn Grk “the fathers of our flesh.” In Hebrews, “flesh” is a characteristic way of speaking about outward, physical, earthly life (cf. Heb 5:7; 9:10, 13), as opposed to the inward or spiritual dimensions of life.

⁷ tn Grk “and live.”