20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry 1 and troops 2 who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.
25:5 If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, 3 and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. 4
1 tn Heb “horse and chariot.”
2 tn Heb “people.”
3 tn Heb “take her as wife”; NRSV “taking her in marriage.”
4 sn This is the so-called “levirate” custom (from the Latin term levir, “brother-in-law”), an ancient provision whereby a man who died without male descendants to carry on his name could have a son by proxy, that is, through a surviving brother who would marry his widow and whose first son would then be attributed to the brother who had died. This is the only reference to this practice in an OT legal text but it is illustrated in the story of Judah and his sons (Gen 38) and possibly in the account of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 2:8; 3:12; 4:6).
5 tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX
6 tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.
7 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
8 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).
7 tn Heb “besiege,” redundant with the noun “siege.”
9 tn The words “I also call on you” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text vv. 19-20 are one long sentence, which the translation divides into two.
10 tn Heb “he is your life and the length of your days to live.”
11 tn Heb “on that day.” This same expression also appears later in the verse and in v. 18.
12 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
13 tn Heb “find,” “encounter.”
14 tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
15 tn Heb “he.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “they.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.
16 tn Heb “evils.”
17 tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.
18 tn Heb “my.”
19 tn Heb “me.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “us,” which is necessary in any case in the translation because of contemporary English style.