The priests the Levites, even all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of YAHWEH made by fire, and his inheritance. 2They shall have no inheritance among their brothers: YAHWEH is their inheritance, as he has spoken to them. 3This shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give to the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. 4The first fruits of your grain, of your new wine, and of your oil, and the first of the fleece of your sheep, shall you give him. 5For YAHWEH your God has chosen him out of all your tribes, to stand to minister in the name of YAHWEH, him and his sons for ever.
6If a Levite comes from any of your gates out of all Israel, where he lives as a foreigner, and comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which YAHWEH shall choose; 7then he shall minister in the name of YAHWEH his God, as all his brothers the Levites do, who stand there before YAHWEH. 8They shall have like portions to eat, besides that which comes of the sale of his patrimony.
9When you are come into the land which YAHWEH your God gives you, you shall not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices sorcery, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, 11or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12For whoever does these things is an abomination to YAHWEH: and because of these abominations YAHWEH your God does drive them out from before you. 13You shall be fully devoted to YAHWEH your God. 14For these nations, that you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice sorcery, and to diviners; but as for you, YAHWEH your God has not allowed you so to do. 15YAHWEH your God will raise up for you a PROPHET like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him;1 16according to all that you desired of YAHWEH your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, “Let me not hear again the voice of YAHWEH my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I not die.”
17YAHWEH said to me, “They have well said that which they have spoken. 18I will raise them up a PROPHET from among their brothers, like you; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. 19It will be, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.2 20But the prophet, who shall speak a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who shall speak in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.”
21If you say in your heart, “How shall we know the word which YAHWEH has not spoken?” 22when a prophet speaks in the name of YAHWEH, if the thing does not follow, nor happen, that is the thing which YAHWEH has not spoken: the prophet has spoken it presumptuously, you shall not be afraid of him.
- 18:15 This verse is quoted twice in the Injil, and in both cases, is applied to only one individual–Prophet ‘ISA Ibn Maryam. The first quotation is found in Acts 3:22, partway through a message the Apostle Peter spoke to people who had witnessed the public crucifixion of Prophet ‘ISA. Acts 3:19-26 says, “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send AL-MASIH ‘ISA, who was ordained for you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets. For Musa indeed said to the fathers, ‘THE LORD your God will raise up for you a PROPHET like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him in all things whatever he tells you. It will be, that whoever will not listen to that PROPHET will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days. You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Ibrahim, ‘In your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, ‘ISA, sent him to you first, to bless you, in turning every one of you away from your wickedness.”
The second quotation is Acts 7:37, where the holy Martyr Stephen speaks to a hostile crowd before they kill him, “This is that Musa, who said to Bani-Israel, ‘THE LORD your God will raise up for you a PROPHET like me from among your brothers.'” Before Stephen can finish speaking, “They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, ‘Lord ‘ISA, receive my spirit!’ He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60)
With these two quotations, there is no question that the Injil teaches that ‘ISA Ibn Maryam is the PROPHET whose coming Deuteronomy 18:15 predicts. ↩︎ - 18:19 Referred to in the Injil, Acts 3:23, which says, “It will be, that whoever will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.” ↩︎