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In Deuteronomy 18:15, it says that G-d will raise up a prophet from the Jewish people. It says "from your amongst you from your brethren". Why does it have to say both, surely it could have said just one of them.

Additionally, in verse 18, it says "from amongst your brethren". The same question applies. Surely it could have just said one word?

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    Perhaps to be inclusive of all of the shevatim?
    – Dude
    Jul 23, 2018 at 13:51
  • A similar case is Deuteronomy 17:15 which says that a king must be מִקֶּ֣רֶב אַחֶ֗יךָ (from among your brothers). This was interpreted to forbid a non-Jew by ancestry from becoming a king (see Mishna Sota 7:8). The Kuzari (1:115) famously says that a non-Jewish convert to Judaism can never be a prophet, so maybe he got it from this verse. I'm not sure if this answers why it would say both מקרבך and מאחיך though.
    – b a
    Jul 23, 2018 at 18:53

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Ramban to 18:15 suggests that "from your midst" hints that prophecy will only be in (or relating to, I guess) the Land of Israel, and "from your brethren" means only from the Jewish nation will prophets arise.

See also Rav David Tzvi Hoffman there who disagrees with Ramban in Peshat, and provides an alternative.

For 18:18, the wording of "from among your brethren", various Mefarshim explain that a prophet will not just be anyone from among the nation, but rather a special/chosen person (see Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Ibn Balaam, Netziv).

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  • What does Rav Dovid Tzvi Hoffman say?
    – Joshua Pearl
    May 30, 2019 at 11:54

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