Deuteronômio 18

ARC · Chapter 18/34

1Os sacerdotes levitas, toda a tribu de Levi, não terão parte nem herança em Israel: das offertas queimadas do Senhor e da sua herança comerão.

2Pelo que não terá herança no meio de seus irmãos: o Senhor é a sua herança, como lhe tem dito.

3Este pois será o direito dos sacerdotes, a receber do povo, dos que sacrificarem sacrificio, seja boi ou gado miudo: que dará ao sacerdote a espadoa, e as queixadas, e o bucho.

4Dar-lhe-has as primicias do teu grão, do teu mosto e do teu azeite, e as primicias da tosquia das tuas ovelhas.

5Porque o Senhor teu Deus o escolheu de todas as tuas tribus, para que assista a servir no nome do Senhor, elle e seus filhos, todos os dias.

6E, quando vier um levita de alguma das tuas portas, de todo o Israel, onde habitar, e vier com todo o desejo da sua alma ao logar que o Senhor escolheu,

7E servir no nome do Senhor seu Deus, como tambem todos os seus irmãos, os levitas, que assistem ali perante o Senhor;

8Egual porção comerão, além das suas vendas paternas.

9Quando entrares na terra que o Senhor teu Deus te dér, não aprenderás a fazer conforme as abominações d'aquellas nações.

10Entre ti se não achará quem faça passar pelo fogo a seu filho ou a sua filha, nem adivinhador, nem prognosticador, nem agoureiro, nem feiticeiro;

11Nem encantador de encantamentos, nem quem pergunte a um espirito adivinhante, nem magico, nem quem pergunte aos mortos:

12Pois todo aquelle que faz tal coisa é abominação ao Senhor; e por estas abominações o Senhor teu Deus as lança fóra de diante d'elle

13Perfeito serás, como o Senhor teu Deus.

14Porque estas nações, que has de possuir, ouvem os prognosticadores e os adivinhadores: porém a ti o Senhor teu Deus não permittiu tal coisa.

15O Senhor teu Deus te despertará um propheta do meio de ti, de teus irmãos, como eu; a elle ouvireis;

16Conforme a tudo o que pediste ao Senhor teu Deus em Horeb, no dia da congregação, dizendo: Não ouvirei mais a voz do Senhor meu Deus, nem mais verei este grande fogo, para que não morra.

17Então o Senhor me disse: Bem fallaram n'aquillo que disseram.

18Eis lhes suscitarei um propheta do meio de seus irmãos, como tu, e porei as minhas palavras na sua bocca, e elle lhes fallará tudo o que eu lhe ordenar.

19E será que qualquer que não ouvir as minhas palavras, que elle fallar em meu nome, eu o requererei d'elle.

20Porém o propheta que presumir soberbamente de fallar alguma palavra em meu nome, que eu lhe não tenho mandado fallar, ou o que fallar em nome de outros deuses, o tal propheta morrerá.

21E, se disseres no teu coração: Como conheceremos a palavra que o Senhor não fallou?

22Quando o tal propheta fallar em nome do Senhor, e tal palavra se não cumprir, nem succeder assim; esta é palavra que o Senhor não fallou: com soberba a fallou o tal propheta: não tenhas temor d'elle.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses details the support of priests and Levites through the people's offerings, forbids every form of divination, sorcery, and occultism practiced by the Canaanite nations, and promises that God would raise up 'a prophet like unto Moses' to continue guiding the people, with clear criteria for distinguishing true prophecy from false.

Explanation

The extensive prohibition of occult practices (divination, sorcery, necromancy) contrasts the legitimate way of seeking divine guidance — through the authentic prophets God would raise up — with the manipulative and deceptive methods common among Israel's neighboring nations. The promise of 'a prophet like unto Moses' is one of the most significant messianic prophecies of the Old Testament: while it had an immediate fulfillment in the succession of prophets throughout Israel's history, both Jewish and Christian tradition (Acts 3:22, 7:37) saw in it an anticipation of a definitive, singular prophetic figure. The practical test for a prophet — whether his word came to pass or not — offered an objective, verifiable test, though it required patience and time to confirm.

Fun facts

  • The promise of 'a prophet like unto Moses' (v. 15, 18) is quoted directly by Peter in Acts 3:22 and by Stephen in Acts 7:37 as referring to Jesus, making it one of the Old Testament texts most cited in the New Testament as a fulfilled messianic prophecy.
  • The list of forbidden practices ('that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire... a divinator, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer,' v. 10-11) is one of the most complete enumerations of occult practices in the whole Bible, and remains a reference point for theological discussions about spiritism and the occult to this day.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronômio 18:1It establishes that the Levitical priests live off the offerings made by fire to God, since they receive no land like the other tribes.
  2. Deuteronômio 18:2It repeats that the lack of a territorial inheritance is made up for by the LORD Himself being the symbolic “inheritance” of the Levites.
  3. Deuteronômio 18:3It concretely defines the priests’ due: specific parts of the sacrificed animal, such as the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the maw.
  4. Deuteronômio 18:4Besides the meat, the priests received the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, and wool, sustaining the service at the sanctuary.
  5. Deuteronômio 18:5It justifies these privileges by divine choice: God set apart the tribe of Levi from among all the others to serve permanently in His name.
  6. Deuteronômio 18:6It guarantees any Levite, living in any town, the right to go serve at the central sanctuary whenever he wished.
  7. Deuteronômio 18:7Upon arrival, that Levite would have the same rights of service as the Levites already established there.
  8. Deuteronômio 18:8He would also be entitled to an equal share of support, regardless of whether he already had some family income of his own.
  9. Deuteronômio 18:9The list of forbidden practices — divination, sorcery, consulting spirits, magic — describes the religious methods common among neighboring peoples for predicting the future or speaking with the dead. The alternative offered in the next verse is listening to a prophet sent by God, not these methods.
  10. Deuteronômio 18:10It explicitly forbids child sacrifice and various forms of divination, practices common among Canaanite peoples.
  11. Deuteronômio 18:11It continues the list of prohibitions: charms, consulting spirits, sorcery, and necromancy — speaking with the dead.
  12. Deuteronômio 18:12The reason given is direct: these practices are an abomination to God, and it is because of them that He drives these nations out of the land.
  13. Deuteronômio 18:13In contrast to these practices, the requirement for Israel is complete integrity before God.
  14. Deuteronômio 18:14It acknowledges that the neighboring nations rely on diviners and soothsayers, but this was never permitted to Israel.
  15. Deuteronômio 18:15The promise of a “Prophet... like unto me” raised up by God was read by generations of Jews as pointing to a specific future prophet, and later, by New Testament writers, as a reference to Jesus. It’s a verse with different readings depending on the tradition.
  16. Deuteronômio 18:16It explains the origin of this arrangement: the people themselves, at Horeb, asked not to hear God’s direct voice or see the fire anymore, for fear of dying.
  17. Deuteronômio 18:17God approves this request from the people, acknowledging that they did well to ask for an intermediary.
  18. Deuteronômio 18:18He promises to raise up a prophet like Moses, putting God’s own words in his mouth to speak to the people.
  19. Deuteronômio 18:19Whoever did not listen to the words of that future prophet would have to answer directly to God.
  20. Deuteronômio 18:20But the prophet who spoke on his own, without a command from God, or in the name of other gods, was to be put to death.
  21. Deuteronômio 18:21The test for knowing whether a prophet truly speaks for God is simple: his word must come true. If what he announced doesn’t happen, it’s a sign he spoke on his own, not in the name of the LORD.
  22. Deuteronômio 18:22It gives the practical criterion for recognizing a false prophet: if a word spoken in God’s name does not come true, it did not come from God.

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