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 

Deuteronomy 26:3

26:3 You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, “I declare today to the Lord your ³  God that I have come into the land that the Lord ⁴  promised ⁵  to our ancestors ⁶  to give us.”

Deuteronomy 31:7

31:7 Then Moses called out to Joshua ⁷  in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will accompany these people to the land that the Lord promised to give their ancestors, ⁸  and you will enable them to inherit it.

Deuteronomy 34:9

The Epitaph of Moses

34:9 Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had placed his hands on him; ⁹  and the Israelites listened to him and did just what the Lord had commanded Moses.

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 tc For the MT reading “your God,” certain LXX mss have “my God,” a contextually superior rendition followed by some English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, TEV). Perhaps the text reflects dittography of the kaf (כ) at the end of the word with the following preposition כִּי (ki).

⁴ tc The Syriac adds “your God” to complete the usual formula.

⁵ tn Heb “swore on oath.”

⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 15).

⁵ tn The Hebrew text includes “and said to him.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 20).

⁷ sn See Num 27:18.