10. Laws arising from the tenth commandment 25:5-19

The tenth commandment is, "You shall not covet . . . anything that belongs to your neighbor"(5:21). The four laws in this section all deal with desire or intention as opposed to deed.

 Selfishness in levirite marriage 25:5-10

The purpose of the levirate marriage ordinance was to enable a man who died before fathering an heir to obtain one and so perpetuate his name and estate. "Levirate"comes from the Latin word levirmeaning husband's brother.

"The practice was common in the patriarchal period [cf. Gen. 38:1-10]. . . . Presumably the prohibition of sexual union with a brother's wife in Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21 refers to such an act while the brother is still living."²⁷⁹

"The taking off of the shoe was an ancient custom in Israel, adopted, according to Ruth iv. 7, in cases of redemption and exchange, for the purpose of confirming commercial transactions. The usage arose from the fact, that when any one took possession of landed property he did so by treading upon the soil, and asserting his right of possession by standing upon it in his shoes [cf. e.g., Gen. 13:17]. In this way the taking off of the shoe and handing it to another became a symbol of the renunciation of a man's position and property. . . . But the custom was an ignominious one in such a case as this, when the shoe was publicly taken off the foot of the brother-in-law by the widow whom he refused to marry. He was thus deprived of the position which he ought to have occupied in relation to her and to his deceased brother, or to his paternal house; and the disgrace involved in this was still further heightened by the fact that his sister-in-law spat in his face."²⁸⁰

The Israelites were to practice levirate marriage only in cases where the brothers had lived together (v. 5) and the remaining brother was not already married. Living together meant sharing the same estate, not necessarily residing under the same roof. When another kinsman voluntarily assumed the responsibility of the surviving brother, that brother was apparently under no obligation to marry his sister-in-law (cf. Ruth 4).

There were several reasons for this provision. These reasons were the importance of descendants in God's purposes for Israel, the welfare of the widow, and the demonstration of love for one's brother (cf. Gen. 38).²⁸¹

 Unfair defense by a wife 25:11-12

God forbade an Israelite woman from gaining unfair advantage of her husband's adversary in hand-to-hand fighting. This is a rare example of punishment by mutilation in the Pentateuch (cf. Exod. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:19-20; Deut. 19:21).

 Dishonest weights and measures 25:13-16

The Israelites were to use the same weights and measures for both buying and selling to insure fairness in business (vv. 13-16).

 Desire for peace at any price 25:17-19

When the Israelites had entered the Promised Land and had attained a measure of rest there, they were to remember that God had commanded them to exterminate the Amalekites. They were to exterminate the Amalekites for their treatment of Israel in the wilderness (vv. 17-19; cf. Exod. 17:8-16; Num. 24:20; 1 Chron. 4:42-43).

"Particular importance is attached to the fate of the Amalekites in the Pentateuch, especially as a sign of God's faithfulness in fulfilling his promises."²⁸²

"Taken together, the laws of love and hate amount to the single requirement to love God, and consequently to love whom he loves and hate whom he hates."²⁸³