Duty

The Old Testament. The Old Testament concept of duty is largely related to the performance of the levirate marriage, where a brother undertakes the obligation to marry his widowed sister-in-law so that his deceased brother will have an heir.

The unusual instructions behind this duty appear in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. If a man dies without having a son, his brother is to marry the sister-in-law and "fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel" (vv. 5-6). If the living brother chooses not to carry out his obligation, the widow then has the right to go to the elders at the town gate, where she can accuse her brother-in-law of his unwillingness to raise up seed for his dead brother. If he still refuses, the widow has the right to shame him, taking off one of his sandals and spitting in his face while saying, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line" (v. 10). Those who refused to carry out this duty caused family lines to die out.

A good illustration of the levirate marriage is that of Boaz, who sought to perform his duty for a deceased relative by marrying Ruth. Actually, a relative who was closer to Ruth's husband than Boaz was willing to redeem the land in restoring the family. When he discovered that he would also have to marry Ruth to raise up an heir to her husband, however, he refused ( Ruth 4 ). Boaz then stepped in and was willing to take Ruth for his wife as well as to be her kinsman redeemer, redeeming the land for the family.

Another kind of duty in the Old Testament was related to the care of the God's dwelling-place. Those who served performed duties in the sanctuary ( Num 3:7 ) or were involved in its care ( Num 18:5 ). These responsibilities involved guarding the furniture in the tabernacle and temple and keeping it clean.

The New Testament. The concept of duty in the New Testament emphasizes service and piety. Jesus says that when a servant has done his best, serving his master, he is only performing his duty ( Luke 17:10 ). The seven deacons who were chosen by the early church were to supervise the daily distribution of food; the apostles turned this responsibility over to them ( Acts 6:3 ). Husbands are told to fulfill their marital duties to their wives ( 1 Cor 7:3 ). Widows are exhorted to practice piety ( 1 Tim 5:4 ), a duty that reflects pious care for the family.

Louis Goldberg

Bibliography. D. K. McKim, ISBE, 1:998-99.

DUTY

du'-ti (dabhar; opheilo):

The word duty occurs only three times in the Old Testament and twice in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it is the translation of dabhar, which, meaning originally "speech," or "word," came to denote any particular "matter" that had to be attended to. In the two places where it is rendered "duty" (2 Chronicles 8:14; Ezra 3:4) the reference is to the performance of the Temple services--praise and sacrifice--and it is probably from these passages that the phrase "taking duty" in church services is derived. In other passages we have different words employed to denote the priests' dues:

the King James Version Leviticus 10:13,14, hok ("statutory portion"); Deuteronomy 18:3, mishpat ("judgment"). In Proverbs 3:27, we have a reference to duty in the moral sense, "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due," ba`-al (i.e. as in the King James Version margin, "from the owners thereof"). In Exodus 21:10 we have the "duty of marriage" (`onah), that which was due to the wife.

In the New Testament "duty" is expressed by opheilo, "to owe," "to be due." In Luke 17:10, we have "Say, ... we have done that which it was our duty to do," and in Romans 15:27 the King James Version, it is said of the Gentiles with reference to the Jewish Christians, "Their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things," the American Standard Revised Version "they owe it." In Matthew 18:34 we have "till he should pay all that was due" (opheilo, "owing"), and in 1 Corinthians 7:3 the King James Version, "Render unto the wife due opheile benevolence," the American Standard Revised Version "her due." See also ETHICS.

W. L. Walker