Deuteronomy 5:23

5:23 Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me.

Deuteronomy 19:12

19:12 The elders of his own city must send for him and remove him from there to deliver him over to the blood avenger ¹  to die.

Deuteronomy 21:2

21:2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse. ² 

Deuteronomy 21:6

21:6 and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse ³  must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 22:15-16

22:15 Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity ⁵  for the elders of the city at the gate. 22:16 The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected ⁶  her.

Deuteronomy 25:8

25:8 Then the elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, “I don’t want to marry her,”

Deuteronomy 27:1

The Assembly at Shechem

27:1 Then Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Pay attention to all the commandments ⁷  I am giving ⁸  you today.

Deuteronomy 29:10

29:10 You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God – the heads of your tribes, ⁹  your elders, your officials, every Israelite man,

Deuteronomy 32:7

32:7 Remember the ancient days;

bear in mind ¹⁰  the years of past generations. ¹¹ 

Ask your father and he will inform you,

your elders, and they will tell you.

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¹ tn The גֹאֵל הַדָּם (go’el haddam, “avenger of blood”) would ordinarily be a member of the victim’s family who, after due process of law, was invited to initiate the process of execution (cf. Num 35:16-28). See R. Hubbard, NIDOTTE 1:789-94.

² tn Heb “surrounding the slain [one].”

³ tn Heb “slain [one].”

⁴ tn Heb “wadi,” a seasonal watercourse through a valley.

⁵ sn In light of v. 17 this would evidently be blood-stained sheets indicative of the first instance of intercourse. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (NAC), 302-3.

⁶ tn Heb “hated.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.

⁷ tn Heb “the whole commandment.” See note at 5:31.

⁸ tn Heb “commanding”; NAB “which I enjoin on you today” (likewise in v. 10).

⁹ tc Heb “your heads, your tribes.” The Syriac presupposes either “heads of your tribes” or “your heads, your judges,” etc. (reading שֹׁפְטֵכֶם [shofÿtekhem] for שִׁבְטֵיכֶם [shivtekhem]). Its comparative difficulty favors the originality of the MT reading. Cf. KJV “your captains of your tribes”; NRSV “the leaders of your tribes”; NLT “your tribal leaders.”

¹⁰ tc The Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read 2nd person masculine singular whereas the MT has 2nd person masculine plural. The former is preferred, the latter perhaps being a misreading (בִּינוּ [binu] for בִּינָה [binah]). Both the preceding (“remember”) and following (“ask”) imperatives are singular forms in the Hebrew text.

¹¹ tn Heb “generation and generation.” The repetition of the singular noun here singles out each of the successive past generations. See IBHS 116 §7.2.3b.