28<\/strong>. Reverence to be shewn to God, and to those in authority.<\/p>\n revile<\/em> ] the word ( lal<\/em>) usually rendered curse<\/em> (e.g. Exo 21:17<\/span>): here represented by revile<\/em>, because of the syn. ( ’rar<\/em>) in v.<\/em> 28b.<\/p>\n God<\/em> ] The paraphrase judges<\/em> (RVm.) is not here admissible; for though ‘to go to God’ might mean to go to the judges, as the representatives or spokesmen of God, this would not justify ‘God’ in any connexion being taken to signify judges<\/em>. LXX. , Vulg. diis<\/em>, AV. the gods<\/em>; and so Jos. Ant.<\/em> iv. 8, 10, c. Ap.<\/em> ii. 33, and Philo, Vit. Mos.<\/em> iii. p. 166, de Mon.<\/em> i. p. 219 (cited by Kn.), understanding the passage, in a sense agreeable the circumstances of their own time, of heathen gods: but this, rough quite legitimate grammatically, would make the precept one very alien to the spirit of the OT.<\/p>\n a ruler<\/em> ] lit. one lifted up<\/em>, i.e. placed above others in a position of authority. A word very common (see on Exo 16:12<\/span>) in P and Ezek., but rare elsewhere. The command is quoted by St Paul in Act 23:5<\/span>, almost exactly as it stands in the LXX. Cf. Pro 24:21<\/span>, Rom 13:1 , 1Pe 1:17<\/span>; 1Pe 2:13<\/span>.<\/p>\n The gods – <\/B>Heb. <\/span> ‘elohym<\/I>. See Exo 21:6<\/span> note. Many take it as the name of God (as in Gen 1:1<\/span>), and this certainly seems best to represent the Hebrew, and to suit the context.<\/P> Curse the ruler … – <\/B>See Act 23:5<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n Exo 22:28<\/span><\/p>\n The ruler of thy people.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Divine right of magistrates to respect<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Because they administer that which, when it is law at all, is based on the will and authority of God (Rom 13:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Because they administer that which is the bulwark of national stability and personal safety (Rom 13:3<\/span>).<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Because they are but the servants of the law.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Because if through human infirmities, justice should occasionally miscarry, it is better to suffer than to bring the law into disrepute (Pro 24:21-22<\/span>).<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>But if their decisions violate conscience, then Act 4:19-20<\/span>; Act 5:29<\/span>.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>Fear will warp the judgment.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Fear will divert the course of justice.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>That they are responsible to God (2Sa 23:3<\/span>). Let them see<\/p>\n (1)<\/strong> that they accurately know the law, and<\/p>\n (2)<\/strong> that their administration is conscientious and courageous (Psa 72:1-20<\/span>; Psa 4:12-14).<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>That they are responsible to man. Upon their decisions depend the well-being of the citizen, and the stability of the realm.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>That their title to sympathy and veneration is recognized by the people at large. (J. W. Burn.<\/em>)<\/p>\n Verse 28<\/span>. Thou shalt not revile the gods<\/B><\/I>] Most commentators believe that the word gods<\/I> here means magistrates<\/I>. The original is Elohim<\/I>, and should be understood of the true God only: Thou shalt not blaspheme or make light of<\/I> [ tekallel] God<\/I>, the fountain of justice and power, nor curse the ruler of<\/I> thy people<\/I>, who derives his authority from God. We shall ever find that he who despises a good civil government, and is disaffected to that under which he lives, is one who has little fear of God before his eyes. The spirit of disaffection and sedition is ever opposed to the religion of the Bible. When those who have been pious get under the spirit of misrule, they infallibly get shorn of their spiritual strength, and become like salt that has lost its savour. He who can indulge himself in speaking evil of the civil ruler, will soon learn to blaspheme God. The highest authority says, Fear God: honour the king<\/I>.<\/P> <\/p>\n Gods; <\/B>not gods falsely so called, as some would have it, as appears by 1Ki 18:27<\/span>; Jer 10:11<\/span>; but magistrates and governors, whether civil or ecclesiastical, as it is evident both from Act 23:3-5<\/span> and from the following words, which explain the former, according to the common use of Scripture, and from the title of gods commonly given to such, as Exo 7:1<\/span>; Psa 82:6<\/span>; Joh 10:34<\/span>,35<\/span>. <\/P> The ruler of thy people.<\/B> Compare <\/B>Sir 10:20, Jdg 1:8<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n 28. gods<\/B>a word which isseveral times in this chapter rendered “judges” ormagistrates. <\/P> the ruler of thy people<\/B>andthe chief magistrate who was also the high priest, at least in thetime of Paul (Ac 23:1-5<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n Thou shalt not revile the gods<\/strong>,…. Meaning not the idols of the Gentiles, which they reckon gods, and worship as such; which is the sense of Philo, and some others, particularly Josephus i, who, to curry favour with the Roman emperors given to idolatry, has from hence inserted the following among the laws given to Moses;<\/p>\n “let no man blaspheme the gods, which other cities think are such, nor rob strange sacred places, nor receive a gift dedicated to any deity;”<\/p>\n but this cannot be the sense of the text, being contrary to De 12:2<\/span> nor can it be thought that care should be taken, lest the honour of the Heathen deities should be detracted from; but civil magistrates, the judges of the land, and the like, are meant, who are powers ordained of God, are in his stead, and represent him, and therefore respect should be shown them; nor should they be treated with any degree of slight and contempt, which may discourage and intimidate them, and deter them from the execution of their office: the Targum of Jonathan interprets them of judges very rightly, agreeably to Ps 82:1<\/span> and so Aben Ezra says,<\/p>\n “they are the judges and the priests, the sons of Levi, with whom the law is:”<\/p>\n nor curse the ruler of thy people<\/strong> whether civil or ecclesiastic; the last mentioned Jewish writer intend of the king, who is the supreme ruler in things civil, and ought to be honoured and loved, served and obeyed, and not hated and cursed, no, not secretly, not in the bedchamber, nor in the thought of the heart, since not only the thing is criminal but dangerous; it is much if it is not discovered, and then ruin follows upon it, Ec 10:20<\/span>. The Apostle Paul applies it to the high priest among the Jews, who was the ruler in sacred things, Ac 23:5<\/span> and may be applicable to the prince of the sanhedrim, or chief in the grand court of judicature; and even to all dignified persons, who ought not to be spoken ill of, and to be abused in the execution of their office, and especially when they perform well.<\/p>\n i Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 10. Contr. Apion. 1. 2. c. 33.<\/p>\n “ Thou shalt not despise God, and the prince among thy people thou shalt not curse.<\/em> ” Elohim<\/em> does not mean either the gods of other nations, as Josephus, Philo<\/em>, and others, in their dead and work-holy monotheism, have rendered the word; or the rulers, as Onkelos<\/em> and others suppose; but simply God, deity in general, whose majesty was despised in every break of the commandments of Jehovah, and who was to be honoured in the persons of the rulers (cf. Pro 24:21<\/span>; 1Pe 2:17<\/span>). Contempt of God consists not only in blasphemies of Jehovah openly expressed, which were to be punished with death (Lev 24:11<\/span>.), but in disregard of His threats with reference to the oppression of the poorer members of His people (Exo 22:22-27<\/span>), and in withholding from them what they ought to receive (Exo 22:29-31<\/span>). Understood in this way, the command is closely connected not only with what precedes, but also with what follows. The prince ( , lit., the elevated one) is mentioned by the side of God, because in his exalted position he has to administer the law of God among His people, and to put a stop to what is wrong.<\/p>\n Verse 28:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Gods” here appears to refer to those agents whom God appoints to rule over His people. In this case, the “judges.” The text affirms the principle of respect for civil authority, see Ro 13:1-8.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Exo 22:28<\/span><\/p>\n . Thou shalt not revile the gods. These four passages confirm what I have said, that in the: Fifth Commandment are comprised, by synecdoche all superiors in authority.: For it was not the design of God to add to the Two Tables, as if something better and more perfect had afterwards come into His mind; which it is sinful to suppose. He was therefore content with the rule once laid down, although He afterwards spoke in a more explanatory manner. But the precepts here given would be unconnected with the Law, if they were not an adjunct, and therefore a part, of the Fifth Commandment. <\/p>\n First of all, He commands that we should think and speak reverently of judges, and others, who exercise the office of magistrate: nor is it to be questioned, that, in the ordinary idiom of the Hebrew language, He repeats the same thing twice over; and consequently that the same persons are called “gods,” and “rulers of the people.” The name of God is, figuratively indeed, but most reasonably, applied to magistrates, upon whom, as the ministers of His authority, He has inscribed a mark of His glory. For, as we have seen that honor is due to fathers, because God has associated them with Himself in the possession of the name, so also here His own dignity is claimed for judges, in order that the people may reverence them, because they are God’s representatives, as His lieutenants, and vicars. And so Christ, the surest expositor, explains it, when He quotes the passage from Psa 82:6<\/span>, “I have said, Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High,” (Joh 10:34<\/span>,) viz., “that they are called gods, unto whom the word of God came,” which is to be understood not of the general instruction addressed to all God’s children, but of the special command to rule. <\/p>\n It is a signal exaltation of magistrates, that God should not only count them in the place of parents, but present them to us dignified by His own name; whence also it clearly appears that they are not to be obeyed only from fear of punishment, “but also for conscience sake,” (Rom 13:5<\/span>,) and to be reverently honored, lest God should be despised in them. If any should object, that it would be wrong to praise the vices of those whom we perceive to abuse their power; the answer is easy, that although judges are to be borne with even if they be not the best, (13) still that the honor with which they are invested, is not a covering for vice. Nor does God command us to applaud their faults, but that the people should rather deplore them in silent sorrow, than raise disturbances in a licentious and seditious spirit, and so subvert political government. <\/p>\n (13) “Encore qu’ils ne sont pas tels qu’ils devroyent;” even though they be not what they should. — Fr. <\/p>\n (28) Thou shalt not revile the gods.<\/strong>The LXX. <\/strong>And Vulgate give the passage this sense; and so it was understood, or at any rate expounded, by Philo (De Vit. Mos. <\/em>ii. 26) and Josephus (Ant. Jud. <\/em>iv. 8, 10), who boasted that the Jews abstained from reviling the gods of the nations. But the practice of the most pious Israelites in the best times was different (1Ki. 18:27<\/span>; Psa. 115:4-8<\/span>; Psa. 135:15-18<\/span>; Isa. 41:29<\/span>; Isa. 44:9-20<\/span>; Jer. 10:11-15<\/span>, &c.). The gods of the heathen were uniformly, and with the utmost scorn. reviled. It has been suggested that the true meaning of elohim <\/em>in this place is judges (Rosenmller, Zunz, Herxheimer); but to have that sense, the word requires the article. It is best, therefore, to translate by God, as is done by De Wette, Knobel, Keil, Kalisch, Canon Cook, &c., and to understand the entire passage as intended to connect the sin of cursing a ruler with that of reviling God, the ruler being regarded as Gods representative.<\/p>\n 28<\/strong>. <\/strong> Thou shalt not revile the gods <\/strong> Rather, God<\/em> .<\/em> <\/em> Our version follows the Sept . , Vulg . , and other versions, and conveys the idea that even the gods of the heathen are not to be reviled . Others understand the reference to be to judges, but this seems sufficiently comprehended in the words ruler of thy people<\/strong>, which immediately follow . This verse associated God and the civil ruler <\/strong> in a very noticeable way . The latter is, according to Rom 12:4<\/span>, God’s minister, and a becoming respect and reverence for the civil magistrate is one way of honouring God himself.<\/p>\n Regulations About Duty to God ( Exo 22:28-31<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ). <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Again we might discern a pattern as follows: <\/p>\n a <\/strong> Not to revile God or ruler (Exo 22:28<\/span>). <\/p>\n b <\/strong> Not to delay offering firstfruits of corn and vintage (Exo 22:29<\/span> a). <\/p>\n c <\/strong> The firstborn of their sons to be given to Yahweh (Exo 22:29<\/span> b). <\/p>\n c <\/strong> Firstborn of ox and sheep to be given to Yahweh (Exo 22:30<\/span>). <\/p>\n b <\/strong> Israel to be holy to Yahweh (Exo 22:31<\/span> a). <\/p>\n a <\/strong> And is not eat torn flesh but must cast it to the dogs (Exo 22:31<\/span> b). <\/p>\n Note that in ‘a’ God and the rulers are seen as worthy to be treated with reverence, while torn flesh is seen as unworthy and to be treated with scorn. Furthermore reviling God is in the parallel compared with eating torn flesh. Both are an insult to God and depict someone not in the right with God. The dogs contrast with the rulers, rulers must be reverenced, dogs are despised. In ‘b’ there must be no delay in the offering of firstfruits, in the parallel they must not delay in recognising that they have offered themselves. Alternately we might link the firstborn of beasts with Israel’s holiness, paralleling the firstfruits of corn and vintage with the firstfruits of beasts. In ‘c’ both types of firstborn are to be given to Yahweh. There is also a forward movement, contrasting those who revile authority with those who through offering their firstfruits and firstborn become holy to Yahweh and are thus not of those who eat what is unclean and thus dishonour God. <\/p>\n Exo 22:28<\/strong><\/span> <\/strong> “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” <\/p>\n The two thoughts are in parallel. The ruler stands in the place of God. As such, to curse or revile him is to curse or revile God. And to revile God in any way is to commit the greatest of sins (compare Lev 24:15-16<\/span>). How careful we should be in our dealings with those whom God has set over us. Note the use of ‘God’ rather than ‘Yahweh’. The emphasis is on authority not covenant relationship. In contrast Israel are to be holy to Yahweh, not only regarding His authority but walking in covenant obedience. <\/p>\n The thought in this verse is of our stance in relation to authority. Authorities, while they are acceptable authorities, are to be treated with respect because of the position that they hold under God as Creator. The people as a whole may replace them, but while they are there, their position deserves respect even if they do not. <\/p>\n Exo 22:29<\/strong><\/span> a <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n “You shall not delay to offer the abundance of your fruits and of your liquors.” <\/p>\n Literally in the Hebrew ‘to offer the abundance of your fruits and of your liquors’ is strictly, ‘your fullness and your trickling ‘. Both nouns are rare but what is in mind is the offering of firstfruits. Later, and possibly even at this stage in the light of Gen 28:22<\/span> (compare Gen 14:20<\/span>), this is a tenth (Deu 14:22-29<\/span>; Deu 26:1-12<\/span>). <\/p>\n It may refer to fullness of harvest and trickling of the vintage. Deu 22:9<\/span> refers to ‘the fullness of your seed’ in contrast with the vintage. However, in Num 18:27<\/span> ‘fullness’ is used of ‘the fullness of the winepress’ and some have seen the ‘fullness’ as the vintage and the ‘trickling’ as oils. Either way it is an expression of gratitude and recognition that all belongs to God. <\/p>\n But the principle point is that these are firstfruits which belong to Him and are to be made holy to Him. <\/p>\n “Liquors”<\/strong> or ‘trickling’. A word unknown elsewhere. In Jer 13:17<\/span> a word from the same root means to ‘shed tears’. Thus it probably means some form of liquid or liquid movement. <\/p>\n Exo 22:29-31<\/strong><\/span> a <\/strong> (29b-31a)<\/p>\n “The firstborn of your sons you will give to me. You will do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. Seven days it will be with its dam, on the eighth day you will give it to me. And you shall be holy men to me.” <\/p>\n This reflects Exo 13:2<\/span>, ‘sanctify to me all the firstborn — both of man and of beast’. The principle of the redemption of the firstborn of man has already been laid down in Exo 13:12-13<\/span>. The principle of the eighth day parallels circumcision (Gen 17:12<\/span>). On the eighth day the firstborn of the ox or sheep is sacrificed as given to God (compare Lev 22:27-33<\/span>), the firstborn of man is circumcised as given to and belonging to God, and redeemed by the offering of a sacrifice. <\/p>\n Note that here (Exo 22:31<\/span>) and in Lev 22:32<\/span> these ideas are directly linked with the holiness of God’s people. The offering of the firstborn is the sign that the people are holy to God, separated to Him and His special people. And the people must continually be holy to Him like the offered firstfruits. <\/p>\n “You (plural) shall be holy men to me.”<\/strong> The commands, which have been in the singular as addressed to each Israelite, are now completed by a statement which is in the plural. But a glance will show that the change was necessary for the sense. It is the holiness of the people as a whole, as represented by the men, that is in mind, because their firstborn have been consecrated to Yahweh. This is the opposite of reviling God, and consonant with those who gladly offer their firstfruits. <\/p>\n Exo 22:31<\/strong><\/span> b<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n “Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field. You shall cast it to the dogs.” <\/p>\n One sign of the man of the covenant is that he abstains from all flesh that would render him ‘unclean’ and thus displeasing to Yahweh. In Lev 22:8<\/span> such flesh is contrasted with the ‘holy things’, including the flesh of sacrifices given to the priests as ‘holy things’ for their consumption when holy. So there is there the thought that the flesh of slain beasts is not ‘holy’. That is why here, because the people are holy to God, they should not eat of it. Besides to eat of the flesh of slain beasts would be to eat flesh from which the blood has not been properly drained. (It could also be dangerous medically, and this, unknown to them, was a health safeguard for the people of Israel. It could, however, be that Moses did know of it from his experiences among a desert people.). <\/p>\n “You shall cast it to the dogs.”<\/strong> Dogs are rarely mentioned but their presence is assumed (Exo 11:7<\/span>; Deu 23:18<\/span>; Jdg 7:5<\/span>; 1Sa 17:43<\/span> and often). They are usually seen as scavengers and not highly thought of. They were domesticated from earliest times, and in Egypt were held in reverence and used in hunting. Job 30:1<\/span> suggests they were used by shepherds, but despised. They were seen as so unholy that even the price paid for their hire (compared with a prostitute’s wages) was not acceptable as payment for any vow, although the thought there might have been catamites (Deu 23:18<\/span>). Thus they were seen as suitable recipients for ‘unholy’ meat. They were presumably hired as guard dogs. <\/p>\n But the use of ‘dogs’ here may indicate foreigners, not in an insulting way but as being ‘unclean’, and not of the true stock. For such meat could be given or sold to resident aliens and foreigners (Deu 14:21<\/span>). <\/p>\n Exo 22:28<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Thou shalt not revile the gods<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> The magistrates. <\/em>See note on ch. Exo 21:6<\/span> and Rom 13:1-2<\/span>. The ruler of thy people <\/em>means here any one elevated <\/em>(according to the original) in dignity and authority; Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
I. <\/strong>That the powers that be are ordained of God (Rom 13:1-5<\/span>; 1Pe 2:13-15<\/span>).<\/p>\n
II. <\/strong>That magistrates must re treated with respect, both their persons and their decisions (Jos 1:16-18<\/span>).<\/p>\n
III. <\/strong>That magistrates must receive respect, irrespective of the effect of their decision (Pro 17:26<\/span>).<\/p>\n
IV. <\/strong>That magistrates must be secure against all hostile action (Pro 17:26<\/span>; Job 34:17-18<\/span>).<\/p>\n
V. <\/strong>That magistrates are not only entitled to respect, but to our sympathy and prayers (Psa 22:1-2<\/span>; Ezr 6:10<\/span>; 1Ti 2:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n
VI. <\/strong>That disrespect to magistrates is severely condemned (Jud 1:8<\/span>). Let magistrates, all who are in authority and all who administer law whether civil or domestic, whether in law courts, homes, or houses of business, remember–<\/p>\nFuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n