25:3 He may beat him with forty lashes This law addresses the judicial procedure for flogging a criminal guilty of an offense that calls for such punishment (e.g., see Deut 22:18).

he shall not do more Punishment in excess of 40 lashes might result in incredibly degrading circumstances—such as a person losing control of their bowels; they could even die from such a punishment.

25:4 when he is threshing It was normal for animals threshing grain—pulling a threshing sledge over the stalks—to eat some of the crop. This law appears to stem from a humanitarian motivation (see Exod 23:19; Deut 14:21; 22:6; Prov 12:10).

25:5 brothers dwell together Either in the same camp, tent, or geographical vicinity.

shall have sex with her Have sexual intercourse with her (e.g., Gen 16:2; 19:34; 29:21; 30:3). Here, the husband is dead. Since Lev 18:16; 20:21 do not specify this situation for condemnation, there is no necessary contradiction.

he shall perform his duty as a brother-in-law This custom is known today as “the law of the levir” (from levir, Latin for “a husband’s brother”).

25:6 shall represent his dead brother That son would inherit the property of the deceased husband as if he were a direct descendant.

25:7 does not want to take The reasons for such a refusal, though unspecified, could include marital tension with existing wives or the economic burden of having additional children.

to the gate The city gate functioned as a civic center. See note on Deut 17:5.

25:9 she shall pull off his sandal from his foot While the biblical text provides no explanation for this gesture, it is well known from other literatures in the eastern Mediterranean. Both this act and the spitting that follows—both performed by the woman—humiliate the kinsman who refused the marital obligation (vv. 9–10).

does not build the house of his brother Or, ensure there were children to carry on his name and preserve his property.

25:12 you shall cut off her hand The severity of the punishment makes more sense in the context of the law of levirate marriage (vv. 5–10). In the ancient Near East, a person’s name (memory) was understood to be erased without heirs. Thus, the act of grabbing the genitals functioned like a death sentence since the man might then be unable to have children. In ancient Israelite thought, his name would then cease to exist. This punishment is an example of lex talionis: punishment must be meted out in exact equivalence to the crime (see Lev 24:17–22).

25:16 detestable to Yahweh your God The same word (and estimation) occurs in 18:12; 22:5.

25:17 what Amalek did to you The Amalekites lived in the Negev, the desert area south of Israel. Moses and Israel encountered and defeated them in battle on their way to Sinai (Exod 17:8–16). They are portrayed elsewhere as being bent on the annihilation of Israel (Psa 83:4–9).

25:19 from under the heavens According to the book of Esther, Haman and all his sons are hanged (Esth 7:10; 9:10, 12–15). If there is a genealogical connection between Haman and Amalek, the hanging appears to be the fulfillment of this duty. Compare Deut 25:17; note on Esth 3:1.