Moses provides for the Levites' support through sacrificial portions, prohibits Canaanite divination practices, and promises that God will raise up 'a prophet like me' from among Israel's own brothers.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The prophet-like-Moses promise (vv. 15-19) is one of the most consequential prophecies in the Hebrew Bible. A navi kamoni ('a prophet like me') will arise who speaks God's words directly. The criteria for true prophecy are devastatingly simple: if the word comes true, it was from God; if not, the prophet spoke presumptuously. No theological test, no character test — only fulfillment. The passage sits between the king law (ch. 17) and the cities of refuge (ch. 19), placing prophetic authority at the center of Israel's institutional life.
Translation Friction
The list of prohibited practices (vv. 10-11) includes terms of uncertain definition: qosem (diviner), me'onen (soothsayer or cloud-reader), menachesh (one who reads omens), mekhashef (sorcerer), chover chaver (spell-caster), sho'el ov (medium), yidde'oni (spiritist), doresh el ha-metim (necromancer). We translated each descriptively and noted the semantic uncertainty where it exists.
Connections
The prophet-like-Moses promise is applied to Jesus in Acts 3:22-23 and 7:37. The divination prohibition grounds Saul's crisis when he consults the medium at Endor (1 Samuel 28). The Levitical provision connects to Numbers 18:20-24. The test of true prophecy (vv. 21-22) is invoked throughout the prophetic literature, particularly Jeremiah 28.
The Levitical priests — the entire tribe of Levi — shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat from the LORD's fire offerings and from His inheritance.
KJV The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The tribe of Levi receives no territorial allotment — no land, no farms, no herds of their own. Their 'inheritance' (nachalah) is the LORD Himself (v2) and the offerings brought to Him. This arrangement makes the priesthood economically dependent on the faithfulness of the other tribes: if Israel stops bringing offerings, the priests have nothing. The system incentivizes both priestly faithfulness (to maintain their credibility) and communal generosity (to sustain those who serve God full-time).
They shall have no inheritance among their relatives — the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.
KJV Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
YHWH hu nachalato ('the LORD is their inheritance') — one of the most remarkable statements in Deuteronomy. While every other tribe inherits land, Levi inherits God. This is not metaphorical deprivation but theological privilege: the priestly tribe's 'possession' is the covenant relationship itself. The phrase ka'asher dibber-lo ('as He spoke to him') refers to the original Levitical commission, grounded in their loyalty during the golden calf crisis (Exod 32:26-29).
This shall be the priests' rightful portion from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice — whether ox or sheep: the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach shall be given to the priest.
KJV And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Three specific cuts: the zeroa ('shoulder/foreleg'), the lechayaim ('cheeks/jaws'), and the qevah ('stomach/fourth stomach of a ruminant'). These differ from the Levitical priestly portions (breast and thigh, Lev 7:31-34) — Deuteronomy may describe a different tradition or supplementary allocation. The practical effect is the same: the priests are fed from the sacrificial system, ensuring that those who serve God's altar do not go hungry.
You shall give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first shearing of your flock.
KJV The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Four categories of firstfruits: dagan ('grain'), tirosh ('new wine'), yitshar ('fresh oil'), and gez tsonekha ('shearing of your flock'). The firstfruits represent the initial yield — given before the farmer knows whether the harvest will be abundant or meager. Giving first requires trust: you release to God's servants before you know what remains for yourself.
For the LORD your God has chosen him from all your tribes to stand and serve in the name of the LORD — him and his sons, for all time.
KJV For the LORD thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the LORD, him and his sons for ever.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The priestly role is defined as la'amod lesharet beshem-YHWH ('to stand and serve in the name of the LORD'). Two verbs: amad ('to stand' — the posture of readiness and attendance) and sharet ('to serve, to minister' — personal, intimate service). The priests serve 'in the name of the LORD' — they represent God to the people and the people to God. The phrase hu uvanav kol-hayyamim ('he and his sons, all the days') establishes the perpetual, hereditary nature of the office.
If a Levite comes from any of your towns throughout Israel, where he has been residing, and comes with all his heart's desire to the place the LORD will choose,
KJV And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the LORD shall choose;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This provision addresses Levites living in outlying towns who wish to serve at the central sanctuary. The phrase bekhol-avvat nafsho ('with all the desire of his soul') emphasizes the voluntary, passionate nature of this movement — the Levite comes because he wants to serve, not because he is summoned. 'The place the LORD will choose' (hammaqom asher-yivchar YHWH) is Deuteronomy's standard phrase for the central sanctuary, later identified as Jerusalem.
he may serve in the name of the LORD his God, just like all his fellow Levites who stand in service there before the LORD.
KJV Then he shall minister in the name of the LORD his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the LORD.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Equal access: the traveling Levite serves on the same terms as those already stationed at the sanctuary (kekhol-echav haleviyyim ha'omedim sham). No distinction is made between 'local' and 'visiting' Levites — all who desire to serve may serve equally. This provision protects the rural Levite from being treated as second-class when he arrives at the central sanctuary.
He shall eat equal portions with them, in addition to whatever he has from the sale of family property.
KJV They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Equal food allocation: cheleq kecheleq ('portion like portion'). The arriving Levite receives the same share as the permanent staff. The final clause — levad mimmkarav al-ha'avot ('apart from what comes from the sale of ancestral property') — acknowledges that some Levites may have private resources from family transactions, and these do not reduce their sanctuary allotment. Private means do not diminish communal rights.
When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not learn to practice the abominations of those nations.
KJV When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The chapter shifts abruptly from priestly provision (v1-8) to forbidden practices (v9-14). The connection is purposeful: Israel will not need Canaanite divination practices because God provides prophets (v15-22). The verb tilmad ('learn') suggests these practices are acquired behaviors, not instincts — Israel must choose not to learn what Canaan teaches. The to'avot ('abominations') are specified in v10-11.
There must not be found among you anyone who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, anyone who practices divination, reads omens, interprets signs, or practices sorcery,
KJV There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The forbidden list begins with the most horrific: ma'avir beno-uvitto ba'esh ('making a son or daughter pass through fire') — child sacrifice, associated with the Canaanite god Molech. Four additional categories follow: qosem qesamim ('practicing divination' — seeking knowledge through forbidden means), me'onen ('reading omens' — from clouds, animal behavior, etc.), menachesh ('interpreting signs' — serpent omens or whispered spells), and mekhashef ('sorcerer' — using supernatural manipulation). Each represents an attempt to access information or power outside God's authorized channels.
anyone who casts spells, consults mediums, practices spiritism, or seeks out the dead.
KJV Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Four more forbidden categories: chover chaver ('spell-caster' — binding through incantation), sho'el ov ('consulting a medium' — ov refers to a spirit of the dead or the pit from which it speaks), yidde'oni ('spiritist' — from yada, 'to know' — one who claims forbidden knowledge through spirits), and doresh el-hammetim ('inquirer of the dead' — necromancy). The comprehensive list of nine forbidden practices (v10-11) covers every known form of Canaanite occult activity. Israel is prohibited from all of them without exception.
For everyone who does these things is an abomination to the LORD, and it is because of these abominations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you.
KJV For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Canaanite dispossession is explicitly linked to these practices — ubighlal hatto'evot ha'elleh ('because of these abominations'). The conquest is not arbitrary but judicial: the land's previous inhabitants are removed because of their occult practices. This creates a warning for Israel: the same behavior that caused the Canaanites' expulsion will cause Israel's expulsion if adopted. The land does not tolerate to'evah regardless of who commits it.
Deuteronomy 18:13
תָּמִ֣ים תִּֽהְיֶ֔ה עִ֖ם יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
You shall be wholehearted with the LORD your God.
KJV Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Tamim tihyeh im YHWH Elohekha ('you shall be wholehearted/blameless with the LORD your God') — the same tamim required of Abraham (Gen 17:1) and of sacrificial animals (Lev 1:3). For a person, tamim means undivided loyalty — not moral perfection but complete devotion. The contrast with v9-12 is clear: instead of dividing loyalty between God and occult practices, Israel must be tamim — whole, integrated, entirely committed to the LORD.
These nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen-readers and diviners, but the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
KJV For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The pivotal contrast: the nations listen to diviners — ve'attah lo khen natan lekha YHWH Elohekha ('but as for you, the LORD your God has not given you such a thing'). Israel does not need divination because God provides something better: prophetic revelation (v15-22). The denial creates a vacuum that v15 fills: no omens, no sorcery — instead, a prophet.
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet from among you, from your own people, like me. You shall listen to him.
KJV The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken:
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
נָבִיא ... כָּמֹנִיnavi ... kamoni
"a prophet ... like me"—prophet, spokesperson, one who speaks for God, authorized revelatory figure
The navi ('prophet') is God's authorized alternative to pagan divination. Where other nations seek knowledge through forbidden channels, Israel receives it through a human spokesperson whom God raises up. The phrase 'like Moses' sets the highest possible standard for the prophetic office — Moses spoke with God face to face, and the promise implies that this level of intimate communication will continue through the prophetic succession.
Translator Notes
Navi miqqirbekha me'achekha kamoni ('a prophet from your midst, from your brothers, like me') is Moses's designation of the prophetic office as his institutional successor. The word kamoni ('like me') is ambiguous: it could mean 'a prophet like me' (one specific future figure) or 'prophets like me' (a succession of prophetic voices). Both readings have been maintained across Jewish and Christian traditions. The command elav tishma'un ('to him you shall listen') echoes the Shema — the same verb shama ('listen/obey') that governs the entire covenant relationship.
This is what you requested from the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, 'Do not let me hear the voice of the LORD my God again or see this great fire anymore, or I will die.'
KJV According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Moses connects the prophetic promise back to the people's request in Deuteronomy 5:23-27: the nation asked for a mediator because direct divine encounter was unbearable. The prophet is God's answer to that request — authorized human speech replacing the terrifying divine voice from the fire. The prophetic office is born from the people's own acknowledged limitation: they cannot endure God's direct presence.
The LORD said to me, 'What they have said is right.
KJV And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God's validation — heitivu asher dibberu ('they spoke well in what they said') — repeats verbatim from 5:28. God approves the request for mediated revelation. The prophet is not a concession to weakness but a divinely endorsed arrangement. Direct encounter with God's voice and fire is legitimate but unsustainable; prophetic mediation is God's preferred long-term communication method.
I will raise up for them a prophet from among their own people, like you, and I will put My words in his mouth. He shall speak to them everything I command him.
KJV I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God speaks in first person, confirming v15: navi aqim lahem ('I will raise up a prophet for them'). The mechanism of prophetic authority: venatatti devaray befiv ('I will put My words in his mouth'). The prophet does not generate his own message — God places the words there. The prophet is a vessel, not a source. The phrase vedibber aleihem et kol-asher atsavvennu ('he shall speak to them everything I command him') defines the prophet's total obligation: nothing added, nothing withheld.
Anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name — I Myself will hold that person accountable.'
KJV And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The consequence of rejecting the prophet's message: anokhi edrosh me'immo ('I Myself will hold them accountable,' literally 'I will seek it from them'). God takes personal responsibility for enforcing the prophet's authority. To reject the prophet is to reject God, because the prophet speaks beshmi ('in My name') — with God's full authorization. The first-person anokhi ('I Myself') is emphatic.
But a prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods — that prophet must die.
KJV But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Two capital offenses for prophets: speaking unauthorized words in God's name (asher lo-tsivvitiv ledabber — words God did not command) and speaking in the name of other gods. The verb yazid ('presumes, acts presumptuously') describes arrogant overreach — the prophet who puts his own words in God's mouth. The death penalty for false prophecy protects the community from being misled by someone claiming divine authority fraudulently. The same verb yazid connects to Nadab and Abihu's unauthorized fire (Lev 10:1) — presumptuous approach to God is lethal.
You may ask in your heart, 'How can we recognize a word that the LORD has not spoken?'
KJV And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The practical question: how do you tell a true prophet from a false one? The question arises 'in your heart' (bilevavekha) — it is an internal struggle, not merely an academic inquiry. The question is legitimate: if prophets claim to speak for God, how does the community evaluate the claim? The answer (v22) provides one criterion, though the Hebrew Bible elsewhere adds others (Deut 13:1-5, Jer 28).
When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the thing does not happen or come true, that is a word the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously — do not be afraid of him."
KJV When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The fulfillment test: if the predicted event does not occur (velo-yihyeh haddavar velo yavo — 'the thing does not happen and does not come'), the prophet spoke without divine authorization. The closing imperative — lo tagur mimmennu ('do not be afraid of him') — frees the community from the intimidation of false prophetic authority. A false prophet may be charismatic and convincing, but failed prediction exposes the fraud. The test is retrospective: it evaluates prophecy after the predicted time has passed. The chapter's logic is complete: instead of divination (v9-14), God provides prophets (v15-19), with a test to distinguish true from false (v20-22).