Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:12
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
12. The sabbath, treated here as a day of cessation from (in particular) field-labour, designed with a humanitarian end.
thy work ] The word ( ma‘seh), which is not the same as the one ( m e l’khh) rendered ‘work’ in Exo 20:10, though in itself a general one, seems rather from the context to suggest work in the field: cf. v. 16, where it is twice rendered ‘labours’; also Deu 14:29; Deu 16:15; Deu 24:19; DeuExo 28:12 (note in each case the context).
rest ] desist (from work), or keep sabbath (RVm.): see on Exo 20:8.
and thine ass may rest ] as Exo 20:11. This is the word that expresses the positive idea of rest (Job 3:13; Job 3:17). (‘Have rest’ in RV. is intended for distinction from ‘rest’ just before; but it is better to be express the distinction by giving a more exact rendering of shbath.)
the son of thy bondwoman ] i.e. a slave ‘born in the house’ (cf. on Exo 12:44), of parents who were themselves slaves intended, it must be supposed, to represent slaves in general (cf. Deu 5:14 end): as Di. remarks, most slaves were probably of this kind. Bertholet ( Die Stellung der Isr. u. der Juden zu den Fremden, p. 55) and B. think ‘the son of thy concubine’ to be meant (cf. the sense of ’mh in Exo 21:7 [see note]); but there seems no sufficient reason for this limitation.
the sojourner ] the sojourner in thy employment (Exo 20:10).
be refreshed ] properly, get breath: so Exo 31:17, 2Sa 16:14 .
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Exo 23:12
On the seventh day thou shalt rest.
Labour and rest
I. That rest is needful–May be refreshed.
1. Rest is needful that the exhausted faculties may repose after past work.
2. Rest is needful that those faculties may be invigorated for future service.
3. Rest is needful that work may not become irksome; for if so
(1) it will be done slovenly; and
(2) done imperfectly.
4. Rest is needful that work may be free and joyous.
II. That rest is mercifully provided.
1. This rest is provided by God, lest man should overlook its necessity.
2. This rest is provided by God lest the servant, the foreigner, or the beast should be defrauded of their right to it.
III. That rest should be diligently earned. Six days shalt thou do thy work.
1. Not lounge over it;
2. Not neglect it; but
3. Do it earnestly, conscientiously, and well.
Application:
1. A lesson to employers. God has provided this rest; beware how you steal what God has given to man.
2. A lesson to working-men. This rest is yours by right. Then
(1) claim it;
(2) dont abuse it;
(3) dont curtail that of others;
(4) work during your own time, rest during Gods.
3. A lesson to the world at large. Sabbath-breaking is the direct cause of
(1) intellectual evils; overtaxed brains, etc.;
(2) moral evils; neglect of the rights of God and man;
(3) physical evils. Science has demonstrated the need of one days rest in seven. (J. W. Burn.)
Need of rest
We know well enough that if trains are run at fifty miles an hour over roads built to endure only a speed of thirty miles an hour, everything in a short time begins to give way, and to wear out, and the whole road and all the rolling stock gets into a dangerous condition. Every rail, every tie, every joint, every nail, every wheel and bit of machinery feels the strain and wear. The human mechanism is not less sensitive than are railroads and locomotives. The tendency of the time is to increase the speed of individual movement and progress. The over-driven human being needs constant rest and repairs, as do railroads and locomotives, and a thousand-fold more, for his mechanism is infinitely more complicated and delicate. Instead of adding more fuel to a disordered engine to make it go, we would send it to the repair shop, and let it be restored by skilled workmen to soundness. So when the mind and body are worn and weary, send them to the repair shop for rest. Sleep, quiet, nutritious food, the absence of all stimulants and whips, and goads–these skilled positive and negative workmen of nature will restore (if anything can) the wasted vitality, and bring back health and strength and soundness. (Christian Advocate.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. Six days thou shalt do thy work] Though they were thus bound to keep the sabbatical year, yet they must not neglect the seventh day’s rest or weekly Sabbath; for that was of perpetual obligation, and was paramount to all others. That the sanctification of the Sabbath was of great consequence in the sight of God, we may learn from the various repetitions of this law; and we may observe that it has still for its object, not only the benefit of the soul, but the health and comfort of the body also. Doth God care for oxen? Yes; and he mentions them with tenderness, that thine ox and thine ass may rest. How criminal to employ the labouring cattle on the Sabbath, as well as upon the other days of the week! More cattle are destroyed in England than in any other part of the world, in proportion, by excessive and continued labour. The noble horse in general has no Sabbath! Does God look on this with an indifferent eye? Surely he does not. “England,” said a foreigner, “is the paradise of women, the purgatory of servants, and the hell of horses.
The son of thy handmaid, and the stranger – be refreshed.] yinnaphesh may be respirited or new-souled; have a complete renewal both of bodily and spiritual strength. The expression used by Moses here is very like that used by St. Paul, Ac 3:19: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing ( , the times of re-souling) shall come from the presence of the Lord;” alluding, probably, to those times of refreshing and rest for body and soul originally instituted under the law.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This command is here repeated, lest any should think the weekly rest might cease when the whole year was consecrated to rest. There were three sorts of sabbaths to the Jews:
1. Of days.
2. Of years, to wit; the seventh year.
3. Of weeks of years, to wit, the jubilee; and all these are types of the eternal rest in heaven.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Six days thou shalt do thy work,and on the seventh day thou shalt restThis law is repeated [Ex20:9] lest any might suppose there was a relaxation of itsobservance during the sabbatical year.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Six days thou shalt do thy work,…. That is, they might do what work they would on the six days of the week:
and on the seventh day thou shall rest; from all the work and labour done on other days, and give up themselves to religious exercises:
that thine ox and thine ass may rest; and so every other beast, as horses, camels, c.
and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed the former, the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi, interprets, of one uncircumcised, and the latter, of a proselyte of the gate: this law is here repeated, partly to show that it is of the same kind with the former, namely, ceremonial and temporary; and partly, as Jarchi observes, lest it should be said, since all, the year is called the sabbath, there was no need to observe the weekly sabbath.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. Six days thou shalt do thy work. In this passage the incidental use of the Sabbath is again referred to, although it is no inherent part of its original institution, viz., that by its means the family also and the cattle shall be benefited. There is no impropriety in reckoning this amongst the other blessings which enhance the value of the Sabbath, although it is a portion of the Second Table. And we know that this rude people required to be attracted by every possible means to present cheerfully to God the worship due to Him. The sum therefore is, that they were thus to testify not only their piety towards God, but also their kindness towards their servants. I have already shewn that their authority as masters was to be exercised in moderation by them, if they were mindful of their former condition:, since they also had been servants in Egypt. If any one should suppose that the argument does not hold good, because; they were oppressed by cruel and dreadful tyranny, the reply is easy, that so much the better could they determine from their own feelings how detestable and intolerable a thing cruelty is.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) The law of the weekly Sabbath is here repeated in conjunction with that of the Sabbatical year, to mark the intimate connection between the two, which were parts of one and the same systema system which culminated in the Jubilee year (Lev. 25:8-13). Nothing is added to the requirements of the fourth commandment; but the merciful intention of the Sabbath day is more fully brought outit is to be kept in order that the cattle may rest, and the slave and stranger may be refreshed.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. The seventh day See note on Exo 20:8.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
Ver. 12. Six days. ] See Trapp on “ Exo 20:8 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
refreshed. Hebrew verbal form of nephesh (soul) = quickened, have new life put in, renewed, or revived.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Six days: Exo 20:8-11, Exo 31:15, Exo 31:16, Luk 13:14
and the son: Deu 5:13-15, Isa 58:3
Reciprocal: Gen 2:2 – And on Gen 2:3 – blessed Exo 20:9 – General Exo 34:21 – Six Exo 35:2 – Six days Lev 23:3 – General Deu 5:14 – thy manservant Neh 13:16 – men of Tyre Jer 17:22 – neither do Mat 12:2 – Behold Mar 2:27 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 23:12. The seventh day thou shalt rest This command is here repeated lest any should think the weekly rest might cease when the whole year was consecrated to rest. There were three sorts of sabbaths to the Jews, 1st, Of days: 2d, Of years, namely, the seventh year: 3d, Of weeks of years, namely, the jubilee. And all these are types of the eternal rest in heaven, where pain and sorrow shall never enter.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
God intended Sabbath observance to give His people and even their laboring animals needed rest (Exo 23:12).