Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Commentary for Deuteronomy 17:4

וְהֻֽגַּד־לְךָ֖ וְשָׁמָ֑עְתָּ וְדָרַשְׁתָּ֣ הֵיטֵ֔ב וְהִנֵּ֤ה אֱמֶת֙ נָכ֣וֹן הַדָּבָ֔ר נֶעֶשְׂתָ֛ה הַתּוֹעֵבָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

and it be told thee, and thou hear it, then shalt thou inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel;

Rashi on Deuteronomy

נכון [AND, BEHOLD, IT BE TRUE, AND THE THING BE] CERTAIN — i.e. the evidence of the witnesses is in agreement (מְכֻוָּן‎)
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Tur HaArokh

והוגד לך ושמעת, “and you have been informed, and you will hear, etc.” The apparent repetition of the same thought means that whenever and wherever this accusation is brought to your attention you must immediately commence an investigation. As soon as you establish that the rumours you have heard are factual, you have to lead the guilty party to his or her place of execution where you will stone the guilty party to death.
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Rabbeinu Bahya

ודרשת היטב, “you shall investigate thoroughly;” the numerical value of the word היטב equals the numerical value of the letters in the tetragrammaton, i.e. 26. It is as if the Torah had written “you shall investigate him in your capacity as the agent of Hashem.”
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