The 10 Commandments prohibit idolatry. Deuteronomy 13 tells us the punishment for a Jew who suggests practicing idolatry.
Idolatry and Enticement
These 6 verses describe how a person might suggest to friends and family that idolatry is a good idea. Then Moses tells us the proper reaction to him and his punishment.
7. If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known, you, nor your fathers;
8. Of the gods of the people who are around you, near you, or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth;
9. You shall not yield to him, nor listen to him; nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him;
10. But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
11. And you shall stone him with stones, that he die; because he has sought to thrust you away from the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
12. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
Before we go any further, let’s clear up any confusion about the numbering of these verses.
It turns out there are differences in how verses are numbered in Jewish bibles compared to the King James Version and others.
In Jewish bibles, Deuteronomy 12 has 31 verses and Deuteronomy 13 has 19 verses. But the KJV counts the first verse of Deuteronomy 13 as the end of Deuteronomy 12.
In this article I am discussing Deuteronomy 13:7-12 which in the KJV is numbered as Deuteronomy 13:6-11.
It’s well known that one of the 10 Commandments is a prohibition against idolatry.
3. You shall have no other gods before Me.
In Deuteronomy, Moses explains what is enticement, how it is likely to occur, and its punishment.
As Rabbi Steinsaltz writes, this person attempts to attract followers to worship idols. That is enough to seal his fate.
Now let’s take a close look at each verse.
Deuteronomy 13:7 (KJV Deut. 13:6)
If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known, you, nor your fathers;
your brother, the son of your mother – The verse seems to leave out some close family relationships.
Hence Rashi explains the verse means: brother from your father, or brother from your mother. The one “who is as your own soul” means your father.
Chizkuni disagrees. He writes “your brother, the son of your mother” and so too the son of your father. But the verse speaks of the more likely scenario because a person will have a closer relationship with the son of his mother than the son of his father.
Ibn Ezra explains the verse is telling us “even your brother.” Even a person who is this close to you.
your friend who is as your own soul – Daat Mikra disagrees with Rashi and writes this is not a relative like the other ones in the verse, but a close friend. An example is the relationship between David and Jonathon (see 1 Samuel 19 and 20).
entice you – from the Hebrew y’sit’cha (3-letter root: samech-vav-tav).
Rashbam writes that any advice that ends with calamity is called enticement.
secretly – the verse speaks about the most likely situation. [Rashi]
which you have not known, you, nor your fathers – Rashi explains that this is a huge disgrace for you. In general, the nations of the world don’t abandon a tradition that was handed down to them. But this person tells you to abandon the tradition of your fathers.
Deuteronomy 13:8 (KJV Deut. 13:7)
Of the gods of the people who are around you, near you, or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth.
near you, or far off from you – you know that the idols which are near you have no reality. Also those which are far from you have no reality. [Rashi]
from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth – this is the sun, moon, and all heavenly objects which travel all around the world. [Rashi]
Daat Mikra points out Moses speaks in a general way intending to prohibit any idol no matter where it is or what it is.
Deuteronomy 13:9 (KJV Deut. 13:8)
You shall not yield to him, nor listen to him; nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him.
Rashi in his commentary expands on each phrase in this verse and explains why Moses is commanding the Jewish people to act in a way that seems contrary to other teachings in the Torah.
You shall not yield to him – you shall not be desirous of him nor shall you love him. The verse says (Leviticus 19:18), “you shall love your friend as yourself.” But this one you shall not love.
nor listen to him – even though a verse says (Exodus 23:5), “you shall surely not abandon him.” This one you abandon when he implores you to save him.
nor shall your eye pity him – even though a verse says (Leviticus 19:16), “don’t stand on the blood of your friend.” For this one you have no pity.
nor shall you spare him – don’t occupy yourself to find any thing favorable about him.
nor shall you conceal him – if you know of his guilt, you are not permitted to remain silent.
Rabbi Steinsaltz summarizes: no matter how close this person is to you, it’s your duty to expose him.
Deuteronomy 13:10 (KJV Deut. 13:9)
But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Daat Mikra clarifies that verses 10-12 are instructions to the Jewish court. Even so, the one who was enticed is mentioned because he has a significant role in the execution of the enticer.
But you shall surely kill him – Rashi comments if the court absolves him, then he may be brought back to court if there is new evidence of his guilt. But if he is found guilty, then he cannot be brought back to court even if there is new evidence of his innocence.
your hand shall be first upon him – the person who was enticed should be the one to kill him. If that person does not kill him, then others shall kill him – “and afterwards the hand of all the people.” [Rashi]
Deuteronomy 13:11 (KJV Deut. 13:10)
And you shall stone him with stones, that he die; because he has sought to thrust you away from the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
that he die – Daat Mikra explains that stoning does not necessarily result in death. Therefore, this verse emphasizes that the enticer is to be stoned until he dies.
For example, we read that King David and others with him were pelted with stones but were not killed.
6. And he [Shimei son of Gera] stoned David with stones, and all the servants of King David…
because he has sought to thrust you away – Sforno writes even though he did not do this damage [he did not cause anyone to worship the idol]. In general, the court only punishes actions, not thoughts and plans. Even so, he deserves a death penalty because he “sought to thrust you away.”
His death accomplishes the goal that he will not be able to entice anyone else.
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery –
Vilna Gaon writes that this refers to the 2 redemptions of the Jewish people from Egypt. At night [the death of the firstborn] they were redeemed from being slaves. By day God took them out of Egypt. (He develops this idea in depth in his comment on Deuteronomy 13:6.)
The Gaon adds, even if the only thing God did was “brought you out of the land of Egypt,” that would be enough.
Deuteronomy 13:12 (KJV Deut. 13:11)
And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
Rabbi Hirsch writes that for only four sins is there an obligation to publicize the execution of the sinner:
- the enticer
- the rebellious elder (Deuteronomy 17:8-13)
- conspiring witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:18-20)
- the rebellious son (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)
He explains, in general punishments in Jewish law are not designed to deter other people. However, these four sins and their punishment are publicized to deter others from committing the same sin.
The Solution
Rashi on Deuteronomy 13:7 wrote that the enticer is telling his friends and relatives to abandon the tradition of their fathers.
I think people are most likely to abandon traditions they either forgot or don’t understand.
Psalm 78 highlights many things God did for the Jewish people. It begins by describing how these traditions are to be remembered and passed on from generation to generation.
2. My mouth will open with a tale. I will recount stories from ancient times.
3. Those that we heard and knew [from tradition], for our fathers told us.
4. We will not conceal it from their children, but will tell a later generation of the praises of the Lord and His might and the wonders He has done.
Rabbi Berel Wein passed away recently. In a short eulogy (Israel Realtime Telegram Channel, August 17, 2025) he was quoted as saying, “In my opinion, a lack of knowledge of Jewish history, a lack of attachment to the Jewish story, is the greatest cause of the secularization of the Jewish People today. Without knowing Jewish history, we know neither who we were nor what we are meant to be.”
In The Future
The enticer of Deuteronomy 13 is trying to lead people away from serving God.
By way of contrast, the prophet Zecharia writes about a time when people will encourage each other to worship God.
20. Thus says the Lord of hosts: It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities;
21. And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will go also.
He writes more about that future time, but this article is already long enough.
Further Reading
Deuteronomy 13 is part of the weekly parshat Re’eh.
You can read more about the 10 Commandments here.