Deuteronomy 17
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Summary
Worshippers of false gods are to be put to death, and priests and judges are to judge the hard cases. Kings are commanded not to acquire wealth for themselves. The Kings of Israel are commanded to study the laws of the Lord daily.
Commentary
Bible Central Commentary
These free resources were developed for use in the free ScripturePlus app. Many of the contributors are professors of religion and ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.
Historical Commentaries
Many of the commentaries below are in the public domain and were authored over 100 years ago. In many cases, they do not reflect the findings of modern scholarship, but they may be helpful for understanding the history of biblical scholarship.
Videos
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Historical Settings
Time
*All Dates Are Approximate, according to the narrative of the Bible. These dates may reflect literary significance as opposed to the precise dates of history.
See Biblical ChronologyFurther Reading
Book of Mormon Central, “How is the Use of Deuteronomy in the Book of Mormon Evidence for its Authenticity? (1 Nephi 4:34),” KnoWhy 428 (April 27, 2018).
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Was the City of Ammonihah Destroyed and Left Desolate? (Alma 16:9-11),” KnoWhy 123 (June 16, 2016).
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Nephi Rely on Earlier Testimonies of Christ? (Helaman 8:22),” KnoWhy 179 (September 2, 2016).
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Could Seantum Be Convicted Without Any Witnesses? (Helaman 9:35-36),” KnoWhy 180 (September 5, 2016).
Taylor Halverson, “Deuteronomy 17:14–20 as Criteria for Book of Mormon Kingship,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 24 (2017): 1–10.
Taylor Halverson, “Why Did Northern Israel Fall to the Assyrians? A Weberian Proposal,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 30 (2018): 163–178.
Val Larsen, “First Visions and Last Sermons: Affirming Divine Sociality, Rejecting the Greater Apostasy,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 36 (2020): 37–84.
Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible
Matthew Henry (1706)
Commentary on the Bible
Adam Clarke (1831)
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable
Thomas Constable
Rashi’s Commentary
Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki)
Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes (1834)
Exposition of the Entire Bible
John Gill (1746–63)
Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament
Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch (1857–78)
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
John Wesley (1754–65)