Bible Commentary

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 … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:12”

But the seventh [year] thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, [and] with thy oliveyard. 11. thou shalt let it drop and abandon it ] viz. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:11”

And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 10, 11. The fallow year. In every seventh year the fields, vineyards, and olive-gardens are to remain uncultivated, such produce as they bear naturally being not gathered by the owners, but left to the poor. The terms in which the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:10”

Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 9. The gr, or foreigner ‘sojourning’ in Israel, not to be ‘crushed.’ Identical, in great measure verbally, with Exo 22:21: here, no doubt, directed specially against unfair judgement (cf. Deu 24:17 … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:9”

And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 8. gift (twice)] bribe, as the same word is rendered in EVV. of 1Sa 8:3, Isa 33:15, and in RV. of Eze 22:12. It is true, ‘gift’ had this sense in Old English; but the Heb. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:8”

Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 7. a false matter ] i.e., as the context shews, a case that can only be carried through with the help of false statements, and false witnesses. slay thou not ] by false … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:7”

Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 6. Cf. Deu 1:17; and, more generally, Lev 19:15 (H), Deu 16:19. As is well known, the maladministration of justice is, and always has been, a crying evil among Oriental nations; and the poor, especially, are rarely able to get their rights. Comp. … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:6”

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. 5. and wouldest forbear, &c.] This rend. (= AV.) of the existing text is quite impossible: ‘zab means to leave, forsake, &c., but never to ‘help.’ That of the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:5”

If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 4. thine enemy’s ox ] that such a service would be rendered to a friend, is taken for granted. In Dt. the comprehensive term ‘brother,’ i.e. fellow-countryman, is employed, in accordance with the prevalent usage … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:4”

Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. 3. Judgement to be given with strict impartiality. favour ] lit. adorn, i.e. honour (Lev 19:15; Lev 19:32, Lam 5:12) in a bad sense, honour unduly = favour, viz. out of false sympathy, or antipathy to the rich and powerful. ‘The sense is good, and … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 23:3”