Deuteronomy 17:15
in Deuteronomy 17you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
thou shalt surely set him king over thee, whom Jehovah thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee; thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother.
KJV
Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 17
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The king, like the judges and officers (compare Deu 16:18), is to be chosen by the people; but their choice is to be in accordance with the will of God, and to be made from among “their brethren.” Compare 1Sa 9:15; 1Sa 10:24; 1Sa 16:1; 1Ki 19:16. Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee - The Jews extended this prohibition to all offices whatsoever (compare Jer 30:21); and naturally attached the greatest importance to it: from where the significance of the question proposed to our Lord, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?” Mat 22:
This site's exposition
When thou art come unto the land
on Deuteronomy 17:14-15
The request is quoted back almost word for word at 1 Samuel 8:5 and 8:20, where Israel asks for a king to judge us like all the nations. Matthew Henry reads the law as permission rather than promise, since the conditions in the verses that follow assume the request will one day be made and granted. The choice belongs to God and the man must come from among thy brethren, which is what 1 Samuel 10:24 and 16:1 show happening. Albert Barnes notes that later Jewish reading stretched the ban on a stranger to cover every office, which is part of what gave the question about tribute to Caesar at Matthew 22:17 its edge.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
God reserved to himself the nomination both of the family, and of the person. Thy brethren -- of the same nation and religion; because such a person was most likely to maintain true religion, and to rule with righteousness, gentleness, and kindness to his subjects; and that he might be a fit type of Christ their supreme king, who was to be one of their brethren.
Their having a king is neither promised as a mercy nor commanded as a duty (nothing could be better for them than the divine regimen they were under), but it is permitted them if they desired it.
Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shall choose,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother--that is, by their free and voluntary choice. But God, in the retributions of His providence, did allow foreign princes to usurp the dominion (Jer 38:17;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
One from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee - It was on the ground of this command that the Jews proposed that insidious question to our Lord, Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, Or No? Mat 22:17; for they were then under the authority of a foreign power. Had Christ said Yes, then they would have condemned him by this law; had he said No, then they would have accused him to Caesar. See this subject discussed in great detail in the notes, Mat 22:16 (note), etc.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
THOU SHALT BY ALL MEANS SET HIM KING OVER THEE, WHOM THE ETERNAL THY G-D SHALL CHOOSE. In the opinion of the commentators. Ibn Ezra in the verse before us.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
‘I WILL SET A KING OVER ME.’ In the opinion of our Rabbis. Sanhedrin 20b.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שׂ֣וֹם | som | indeed <appoint> | H7760 → | 584 times |
| תָּשִׂ֤ים | tasim | you will appoint | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾaleikha | over yourself | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֶ֔לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִבְחַ֛ר | yivchar | he will choose | H977 → | 171 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בּ֑וֹ | bo | <in> <the> him | ||
| מִקֶּ֣רֶב | mikerev | from [the] midst of | H7130 → | 227 times |
| אַחֶ֗יךָ | ʾacheikha | countrymen your | H251 → | 630 times |
| תָּשִׂ֤ים | tasim | you will appoint | H7760 → | 584 times |
| עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾaleikha | over yourself | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֶ֔לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תוּכַ֗ל | tukhal | you will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לָתֵ֤ת | latet | to set | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| עָלֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾaleikha | over yourself | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| נָכְרִ֔י | nakheri | foreign | H5237 → | 45 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָחִ֖יךָ | ʾachikha | [is] countryman your | H251 → | 630 times |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
שׂ֣וֹםindeed <appoint>
somH7760 →584 times
תָּשִׂ֤יםyou will appoint
tasimH7760 →584 times
עָלֶ֙יךָ֙over yourself
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
מֶ֔לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִבְחַ֛רhe will choose
yivcharH977 →171 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
בּ֑וֹ<in> <the> him
bo
מִקֶּ֣רֶבfrom [the] midst of
mikerevH7130 →227 times
אַחֶ֗יךָcountrymen your
ʾacheikhaH251 →630 times
תָּשִׂ֤יםyou will appoint
tasimH7760 →584 times
עָלֶ֙יךָ֙over yourself
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
מֶ֔לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תוּכַ֗לyou will be able
tukhalH3201 →194 times
לָתֵ֤תto set
latetH5414 →2011 times
עָלֶ֙יךָ֙over yourself
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
אִ֣ישׁa man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
נָכְרִ֔יforeign
nakheriH5237 →45 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אָחִ֖יךָ[is] countryman your
ʾachikhaH251 →630 times
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 30:21Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own…
it leads to
- Numbers 16:5
Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one…
- Ezekiel 34:23–24
I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- Ezekiel 37:24
My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.
- Acts 5:31
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
- Mark 11:9–10
The ones who went ahead and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
- Numbers 16:5
Through
1 Chronicles 12:23Now these are the numbers of men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul’s kingdom over to him, in accordance with the word of the LORD:
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 2:3–4
David also took the men who were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns near Hebron.
- 1 Chronicles 11:10
Now these were the chiefs of David’s mighty men, who, together with all Israel, bolstered and strengthened his kingdom, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel.
- 2 Samuel 2:3–4
Through
1 Chronicles 22:10He is the one who will build a house for My Name. He will be My son, and I will be his Father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel…
it leads to
- Hebrews 1:5
For to which of the angels did God ever say: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father”? Or again: “I will be His Father, and He will be My Son”?
- Hebrews 1:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.