Deuteronomio 18

VBL · Chapter 18/34

1Los sacerdotes levitas, de hecho toda la tribu de Leví, no tendrán participación en la asignación de tierras con los otros israelitas. Deben comer de las ofrendas de comida presentadas al Señor, que es lo que tienen derecho a recibir.

2Aunque no son dueños de tierras entre las otras tribus, el Señor cuidará de ellos, como lo prometió.

3La parte del sacrificio de un toro o una oveja que es traída por el pueblo para los sacerdotes es la siguiente: A los sacerdotes se les debe dar el hombro, la mandíbula y el interior.

4Darán las primicias de su grano, vino nuevo y aceite de oliva, así como la primera lana esquilada de su rebaño.

5Porque el Señor su Dios ha elegido a Leví y a sus descendientes de todas tus tribus para que estén ante él y sirvan en su nombre para siempre.

6Si un levita se convence de que debe mudarse de cualquier ciudad israelita y va al lugar que el Señor elija,

7entonces se le permitirá servir en el nombre del Señor su Dios como todos sus compañeros levitas que están allí en servicio ante el Señor.

8Todos ellos recibirán las mismas asignaciones de comida, a pesar de que él haya recibido dinero de la venta de la propiedad de su padre.

9Una vez que entres en el país que el Señor tu Dios te da, no imites las costumbres ofensivas de las naciones que están allí.

10No debe haber nadie que sacrifique a su hijo o hija en el fuego, que practique adivinación o adivinación de la fortuna, que utilice magia o la hechicería,

11que practique la brujería, que visite a un médium o espiritista, o que se comunique con los muertos. Cualquiera que haga tales cosas ofende al Señor.

12Es por estas cosas ofensivas que el Señor tu Dios está expulsando a las naciones antes que tú.

13Debes ser inocente de tales cosas en la presencia del Señor tu Dios.

14Aunque estas naciones, cuya tierra ocuparán ustedes, escuchen a los magos y adivinos, el Señor su Dios les prohíbe a ustedes hacer lo mismo.

15El Señor tu Dios les enviará un profeta como yo, y será de entre el mismo pueblo. Deben escucharlo.

16Recuerden lo que le dijeron al Señor su Dios en Horeb cuando estaban reunidos allí. Dijeron: “Por favor, no nos dejes seguir escuchando al Señor nuestro Dios ni ver este fuego aterrador nunca más. ¡De lo contrario moriremos!”

17Entonces el Señor me dijo: “Tienen razón en lo que dicen.

18Voy a enviarles un profeta de su pueblo. Le daré mis mensajes y les dirá todo lo que le ordene.

19Me haré cargo de todo aquel que no escuche mi mensaje que el profeta habla en mi nombre.

20Sin embargo, si algún profeta afirma estar entregando un mensaje en mi nombre que no le he ordenado dar, o habla en nombre de otros dioses, ese profeta debe ser ejecutado”.

21Se preguntarán: “¿Cómo podemos estar seguros de que un mensaje no ha venido del Señor?”

22Cuando un profeta habla en el nombre del Señor y lo que dice no sucede o se hace realidad, entonces eso no es un mensaje del Señor. En ese caso el profeta ha hablado con desprecio hacia el Señor. No se dejen intimidar por él.

📖 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. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 18:3It concretely defines the priests’ due: specific parts of the sacrificed animal, such as the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the maw.
  4. Deuteronomio 18:4Besides the meat, the priests received the firstfruits of grain, wine, oil, and wool, sustaining the service at the sanctuary.
  5. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 18:6It guarantees any Levite, living in any town, the right to go serve at the central sanctuary whenever he wished.
  7. Deuteronomio 18:7Upon arrival, that Levite would have the same rights of service as the Levites already established there.
  8. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 18:10It explicitly forbids child sacrifice and various forms of divination, practices common among Canaanite peoples.
  11. Deuteronomio 18:11It continues the list of prohibitions: charms, consulting spirits, sorcery, and necromancy — speaking with the dead.
  12. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 18:13In contrast to these practices, the requirement for Israel is complete integrity before God.
  14. Deuteronomio 18:14It acknowledges that the neighboring nations rely on diviners and soothsayers, but this was never permitted to Israel.
  15. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 18:17God approves this request from the people, acknowledging that they did well to ask for an intermediary.
  18. Deuteronomio 18:18He promises to raise up a prophet like Moses, putting God’s own words in his mouth to speak to the people.
  19. Deuteronomio 18:19Whoever did not listen to the words of that future prophet would have to answer directly to God.
  20. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 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. Deuteronomio 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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