Deuteronomy 18:15

A prophet from the midst [of thee] of thy brethren like unto me shall the LORD thy God raise up to thee] Such is the emphatic order of the original, missed by EVV. A prophetnot individual but collective 1 [143], i.e. a succession of prophets, for the whole spirit of the passage is that God shall never fail to speak directly to His people is placed at the head of the sentence in forcible contrast to the diviners and necromancers just described, a speaker for God as Aaron was spokesman for Moses (J, Exodus 4:16; Exodus 7:1). Like the king (Deuteronomy 17:15) he must be an Israelite (Sam., from the midst of thy brethren); (LXX B etc. from thy, Acts 3:22; Acts 7:37, from your, brethren); diviners and necromancers were foreign (Isaiah 2:6; Nahum 3:4; Isaiah 47:9; Isaiah 47:12). Like unto me, i.e. (as the next v. shows) in being the mediator of God; the phrase does not imply equality in rank with Moses; according to Deuteronomy 34:10, there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, cp. Numbers 12:6-8.

[143] Cp. the use of the sing, kingin Deuteronomy 17:14 ff., and judgein Judges 2:18. - A Prophetis used by enallagefor a number of prophets. Moses is here treating of the continual manner of the Church's government. Not at all more correct is their opinion who apply it strictly to Christ alone, for it is well to bear in mind what I have said respecting God's intention, viz. that no excuse should be left for the Jews, if they turned aside to familiar spirits or magicians, since God would never leave them without prophets and teachers. But if He had referred them to Christ alone, the objection would naturally arise that it was hard for them to have neither prophets nor revelations for two thousand years." (Calvin.)