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Deuteronomy 18:2

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 18:2 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And they shall have no inheritance among their brethren: Jehovah is their inheritance, as he hath spoken unto them.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And they shall have no inheritance among their brethren: Jehovah is their inheritance, as he hath spoken unto them.
Deuteronomy 18:2 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 18

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
1The priests the Levites, [even] all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, and his inheritance.
2And they shall have no inheritance among their brethren: Jehovah is their inheritance, as he hath spoken unto them.
3And this shall be the priests` due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.
4The first-fruits of thy grain, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.
5For Jehovah thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of Jehovah, him and his sons for ever.
← Deuteronomy 18:1Deuteronomy 18:3 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Therefore shall they have none inheritance among their brethren, etc.] Neither of the field, nor of the vineyard, as the above Targum, because provision was made for them otherwise, and especially because the Lord is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them, (see Gill on “<041820>Numbers 18:20”), which as it may be understood in a spiritual sense of their interest in God, as their covenant God, and of their enjoyment of him, and communion with him; so chiefly in a temporal sense of all those things in the sacrifices which the Lord claimed to himself, and these he gave unto them; so the same Targum interprets this of the twenty four gifts of the priesthood, enumerated (<041801>Numbers…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“18:2 The Lord himself is their special possession: The allotment of the Levites was spiritual, not territorial or material. They possessed the Lord by giving their whole lives to his service. This idea is a remarkable inverse of the idea that Israel was the Lord’s possession (see 7:6).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the Lord: Gen 15:1; Psa 16:5, Psa 73:24-26, Psa 84:11, Psa 119:57; Isa 61:6; Lam 3:24; Pe1 2:5, Pe1 2:9; Rev 1:5, Rev 1:6 Deuteronomy 18:3”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification