King James Version
Exodus 23
33 verses with commentary
Laws About Justice and Mercy
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. raise: or, receive
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.</strong><br><br>'Raise false report' (לֹא תִשָּׂא שֵׁמַע שָׁוְא, lo tissa shema shav)—don't carry/spread empty rumors. This expands the ninth commandment from courtroom to conversation. 'Put not thy hand with the wicked'—don't partner with evil people for malicious testimony. Proverbs repe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXIII.
(1-19) The “miscellaneous laws” are here continued. From Exodus 23:1 to Exodus 23:9 no kind of sequence in the laws can be traced; from Exodus 23:10 to the first clause of Exodus 23:19 there is, on the contrary, a certain connection, since the laws enunciated are concerned with ceremonial observance. The closing law, however, is not ceremonial, but the prohibition of a practice considered t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-21. all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings--**They were eye and ear witnesses of the awful emblems of the Deity's descent. But they perceived not the Deity Himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: speak: Heb. answer
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:</strong><br><br>Majority doesn't determine morality—'don't follow multitude to evil' (לֹא־תִהְיֶה אַחֲרֵי־רַבִּים לְרָעֹת, lo-tihyeh acharei-rabbim lera'ot). Peer pressure toward wickedness must be resisted. The second clause warns against testimony swayed by popular o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil . . . —**It is perhaps true that the offence especially condemned is joining with a majority in an unrighteous judgment; but the words of the precept extend much further than this, and forbid our being carried away by numbers or popularity in any case. *Vox populi vox Dei *is a favourite maxim with many, but Scripture nowhere sanctions it. Job boa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18-21. all the people saw the thunderings and the lightnings--**They were eye and ear witnesses of the awful emblems of the Deity's descent. But they perceived not the Deity Himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite society. These aren't arbitrary rules but revelations of God's char...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.**—We must not “pervert judgment” either in favour of the rich or of the poor. Justice must hold her scales even, and be proof equally against a paltry fear of the rich and a weak compassion for the indigent. The cause alone is to be considered, not the persons. (Comp. Leviticus 19:15.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22-23. the Lord said unto Moses--**It appears from De 4:14-16, that this injunction was a conclusion drawn from the scene on Sinai--that as no similitude of God was displayed then, they should not attempt to make any visible figure or form of Him.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.</strong><br><br>Love your enemy—practically. Don't just avoid harming enemies (passive); actively help them (active). Returning straying livestock is costly—takes time, effort. The command assumes you'll recognize the animal as belonging to your enemy—you know each other's property. Temptat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Thine enemy’s ox.**—The general duty of stopping stray animals and restoring them to friendly owners, expressly taught in Deuteronomy 22:1-3, is here implied as if admitted on all hands. The legislator extends this duty to cases where the owner is our personal enemy. It was not generally recognised in antiquity that men’s enemies had any claims upon them. Cicero, indeed, says—“Sunt autem quæ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22-23. the Lord said unto Moses--**It appears from De 4:14-16, that this injunction was a conclusion drawn from the scene on Sinai--that as no similitude of God was displayed then, they should not attempt to make any visible figure or form of Him.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →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. and: or, wilt thou cease to help him? or, and wouldest cease to leave thy business for him: thou shalt surely leave it to join with him
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee . . . —**The sense is clear, but the words are greatly disputed. If a man sees his enemy’s ass prostrate under its burthen, he is to help to raise it up. In this case he owes a double duty—(1) to his enemy, and (2) to the suffering animal. Geddes’ emendation of *’azar *for ’*azab, *in all the three places where the verb occurs, is the simplest and ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me--**a regulation applicable to special or temporary occasions.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.</strong><br><br>'Wrest judgment' (לֹא תַטֶּה מִשְׁפַּט, lo tatteh mishpat) means 'don't pervert justice.' The rich often oppress the poor through legal manipulation—expensive lawyers, bribes, intimidation. This command protects 'thy poor' (אֶבְיֹנְךָ, evyonkha)—'your poor,' covenant brother. Courts must not favor rich over poor (n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor.**—If we are not to favour the poor man in a court of justice on account of his poverty (Exodus 23:3), much less are we to treat him with disfavour. (Comp. Deuteronomy 24:17; Deuteronomy 27:19; Jeremiah 5:28, &c.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. thou shalt not build it of hewn stone, &c.--**that is, carved with figures and ornaments that might lead to superstition.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite society...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Keep thee far from a false matter.**—A false *accusation *seems to be intended. If we make one it may result in an innocent man’s death, and we shall be murderers; God will then assuredly hold us guilty.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. by steps--**a precaution taken for the sake of decency, in consequence of the loose, wide, flowing garments of the priests.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. the wise: Heb. the seeing
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite society. These aren...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Thou shalt take no gift**—i.e., no bribe. Corruption has been always rife in the East, and the pure administration of justice is almost unknown there. Signal punishments by wise rulers have sometimes checked the inveterate evil (Herod. v. 25). But it recurs again and again—“Naturam expellas furca, tarnen usque recurret.” According to Josephus (*contr. Ap. ii.* 27), the Jewish law punished wi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. heart: Heb. soul
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.</strong><br><br>The alien-protection command recurs (22:21)—its repetition shows importance. 'Ye know the heart' (וְאַתֶּם יְדַעְתֶּם אֶת־נֶפֶשׁ הַגֵּר, ve'attem yeda'tem et-nefesh hager) means 'you know the life/soul/experience of the stranger.' Israel's Egypt experi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Thou shalt not oppress a stranger.**—See Note on Exodus 22:21. The repetition of the law indicates the strong inclination of the Hebrew people to ill-use strangers, and the anxiety of the legislator to check their inclination.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 21 Ex 21:1-6. Laws for Menservants.
**1. judgments--**rules for regulating the procedure of judges and magistrates in the decision of cases and the trial of criminals. The government of the Israelites being a theocracy, those public authorities were the servants of the Divine Sovereign, and subject to His direction. Most of these laws here noticed were primitive usages, founded on princip...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 23
Chapter Outline
Laws against falsehood and injustice.(1-9)
The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals.(10-19)
God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan.(20-33)
**Verses 1-9**
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one o...
Read full commentary →Sabbath Laws and Festivals
And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:</strong><br><br>The Sabbath principle extends to land—work six, rest one. 'Sow thy land' (תִּזְרַע אֶת־אַרְצֶךָ, tizra et-artzekha) and 'gather fruits' (וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָהּ, ve'asafta et-tevu'atah)—normal agricultural cycle. But verse 11 commands seventh-year rest. This is the Sabbath Year (שְׁמִטָּה, s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
CEREMONIAL LAWS.
(10, 11) **Six years . . . the seventh year**.—The Sabbatical year which is here commanded was an institution wholly unknown to any nation but the Hebrews. It is most extraordinary that any legislator should have been able to induce a people to accept such a law. *Prima facie, *it seemed, by forbidding productive industry during one year in seven, to diminish the wealth of the nat...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. If thou buy an Hebrew servant--**Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the chil...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →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. oliveyard: or, olive trees
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>The seventh year 'rest and lie still' (תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ, tishmettennah untashtah)—release and abandon it. Why? 'That the poor may eat' (וְ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **That the poor of thy people may eat.**—For fuller particulars see Leviticus 25:1-7. The owner was to have no larger part of the seventh year’s produce than any one else. He was to take his share with the hireling, the stranger, and even the cattle, which during this year were to browse where they pleased.
**Thy vineyard . . . Thy oliveyard.**—These would bear a full average produce, and the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. If thou buy an Hebrew servant--**Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the chil...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full 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.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong><br><br>Sabbath principle extends beyond weekly rest to include land (Sabbath Year) and economic relationships. The Hebrew שַׁבָּת (shabbat, 'cease/rest') reflects God's creation pattern—work six, rest sevent...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(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 system—a system which culminated in the Jubilee year (Leviticus 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 out—it ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. If thou buy an Hebrew servant--**Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the chil...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Be circumspect.**—Rather, *take heed. *The verb used is a very common one.
**Make no mention of the name of other gods.**—The Jewish commentators understand *swearing *by the name of other gods to be the thing here forbidden, and so the Vulg., *“per nomen exterorum deorum non jurabitis.” *But the words used reach far beyond this. Contempt for the “gods of the nations” was to be shown by ign...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. If thou buy an Hebrew servant--**Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the chil...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.</strong><br><br>Israel's festival calendar (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles) celebrated God's provision and redemption. The appointed times (מוֹעֲדִים, mo'adim) gathered covenant people to remember God's faithfulness and anticipate future fulfillment. Festivals combined worship, rest, and fellowship—integrating spiritual and social life...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14-17) The first great festival—the Passover festival—had been already instituted (Exodus 12:3-20; Exodus 13:3-10). It pleased the Divine Legislator at this time to add to that festival two others, and to make all three equally obligatory. There is some reason to suppose that, in germ, the “feast of harvest” and the “feast of ingathering” already existed. All nations, from the earliest time to wh...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-6. If thou buy an Hebrew servant--**Every Israelite was free-born; but slavery was permitted under certain restrictions. An Hebrew might be made a slave through poverty, debt, or crime; but at the end of six years he was entitled to freedom, and his wife, if she had voluntarily shared his state of bondage, also obtained release. Should he, however, have married a female slave, she and the chil...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)</strong><br><br>Israel's festival calendar (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles) celebrated God's provision and redemption. The appointed times (מוֹעֲדִים, mo'adim) ga...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The feast of unleavened bread.**—See the Notes on Exodus 12:15-20.
**In the time appointed of the month Abib.**—From the 14th day of the month Abib (or Nisan) to the 21st day. (See Exo. Xii. 18, 13:4-7.)
**None shall appear before me empty.**—Viewed religiously, the festivals were annual national thanks-givings for mercies received, both natural and miraculous—the first for the commencement...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ex 21:7-36. Laws for Maidservants.
**7-11. if a man sell his daughter--**Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.</strong><br><br>Israel's festival calendar (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles) celebrated God's provision and redemption. The appointed times (מוֹעֲדִים, mo'adim) gathered covenant peo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The feast of harvest.**—It was calculated that the grain-harvest would be completed fifty days after it had begun. On this fiftieth day (Pentecost) the second festival was to commence by the offering of two loaves made of the new wheat just gathered in. On the other offerings commanded, see Leviticus 23:18-20. The Law limited the feast to a single day—the “day of Pentecost”—but in practice ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ex 21:7-36. Laws for Maidservants.
**7-11. if a man sell his daughter--**Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite society. These aren't arbitrary rules but revelatio...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Three times in the year.**—The terms of this verse, as compared with Exodus 23:14, limit the observance of the three festivals to the males, but add the important requirement of personal attendance at a given place. By “all thy males” we must understand all of full age and not incapacitated by infirmity or illness.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ex 21:7-36. Laws for Maidservants.
**7-11. if a man sell his daughter--**Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. sacrifice: or, feast
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing I...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread.**—Some regard this prohibition as extending to all sacrifices; but the majority of commentators limit it to the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, which was the only sacrifice as yet expressly instituted by Jehovah. According to modern Jewish notions, leavened bread is permissible at the other feasts; at Pentecost it was comman...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ex 21:7-36. Laws for Maidservants.
**7-11. if a man sell his daughter--**Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.</strong><br><br>Two commands: (1) Firstfruits—dedicate first and best to God (not after enjoying your portion first). (2) Don't boil kid in mother's milk—likely a Canaanite fertility ritual. The command bans syncretism—don't adopt pagan practices. ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **The first of the firstfruits**—*i.e., *the *very *first that ripen. There was a natural tendency to “delay” the offering (Exodus 22:29) until a considerable part of the harvest had been got in. True gratitude makes a return for benefits received as soon as it, can. “*Bis dat qui cito dat.”*
**The house of the Lord. **Comp. Exodus 34:26 and Deuteronomy 23:18. It is known to Moses that the “p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Ex 21:7-36. Laws for Maidservants.
**7-11. if a man sell his daughter--**Hebrew girls might be redeemed for a reasonable sum. But in the event of her parents or friends being unable to pay the redemption money, her owner was not at liberty to sell her elsewhere. Should she have been betrothed to him or his son, and either change their minds, a maintenance must be provided for her suitable to her ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-19**
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, an...
Read full commentary →God's Angel to Lead Israel
Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.</strong><br><br>God promises His Angel (מַלְאָךְ, malakh) to guide and guard—the Angel of the LORD, likely a Christophany (pre-incarnate Christ appearance). 'Keep thee in the way' (לִשְׁמָרְךָ בַּדָּרֶךְ, lishmarkha vadderekh) means protect on the journey. 'The place which ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
THE PROMISES OF GOD TO ISRAEL, IF THE COVENANT IS KEPT.
(20-33) The Book of the Covenant terminates, very appropriately, with a series of promises. God is “the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” He chooses to “reward men after their works,” and to set before them “the recompense of the reward.” He “knows whereof we are made,” and by what motives we are influenced. Self-interest, the desir...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.</strong><br><br>The Angel commands reverence—'beware' (הִשָּׁמֶר, hisshamer), 'obey' (שְׁמַע, shema), 'provoke not' (אַל־תַּמֵּר, al-tammer). Why? 'My name is in him' (כִּי שְׁמִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ, ki shemi beqirbo)—God's name/nature/presence indwells the Angel. 'He will not pa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **My name is in him.**—God and His Name are in Scripture almost convertible terms. He is never said to set His Name in a man.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. an adversary: or, I will afflict them that afflict thee
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensiv...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **An adversary unto thine adversaries.**—Rather, *an afflictor of thy afflictors.*
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **I will cut them off.**—Or, *cut them down—i.e., *make them cease to be nations, not exterminate them utterly. Jebusites, Hittites, and others continued to inhabit Canaan, and were probably absorbed ultimately into the Hebrew population, having become full proselytes.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehe...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Nor do after their works.**—The Canaanitish nations were not merely idolaters, they were corrupt, profligate, and depraved. All the abominations mentioned in Leviticus 18:6-23 were practised widely among them before they were dispossessed of their territory (Leviticus 18:24-30). No doubt the idolatry and the profligacy were closely connected, as among idolatrous nations generally; but it wa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic govern...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **He shall bless thy bread, and thy water**—i.e., all the food, whether meat or drink, on which they subsisted. It is God’s blessing which makes food healthful to us.
**Take sickness away.**—Half the sicknesses from which men suffer are directly caused by sin, and would disappear if men led godly, righteous, and sober lives. Others, as plague and pestilence, are scourges sent by God to punish...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite society. These aren...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren.**—Abortions, untimely births, and barrenness, when they exceeded a certain average amount, were always reckoned in the ancient world among the signs of God’s disfavour, and special expiatory rites were devised for checking them. Conversely, when such misfortunes fell short of the ordinary average, God’s favour was presumed. The promises h...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. backs: Heb. neck
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite so...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **I will send hornets.**—Heb., *the hornet. *Comp. Joshua 24:12, where “the hornet” is said to have been sent. No doubt hornets might be so numerous as to become an intolerable plague, and induce a nation to quit its country and seek another (see Bochart, *Hierozoic. *iv. 13). But as we have no historical account of the kind in connection with the Canaanite races, the expression here used is ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic govern...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **The beast of the field.**—Comp. 2Kings 17:25-26, where we find that this result followed the deportation of the Samaritans by the Assyrians.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite society. These ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **Thy bounds.**—Those whose highest notion of prophecy identifies it with advanced human foresight naturally object to Moses having foretold the vast extent of empire which did not take place till the days of David and Solomon. It is impossible, however, to understand this passage in any other way than as an assignment to Israel of the entire tract between the Desert, or “Wilderness of the Wa...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-25. eye for eye--**The law which authorized retaliation (a principle acted upon by all primitive people) was a civil one. It was given to regulate the procedure of the public magistrate in determining the amount of compensation in every case of injury, but did not encourage feelings of private revenge. The later Jews, however, mistook it for a moral precept, and were corrected by our Lord (Mt...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.</strong><br><br>This command shapes Israel's covenant community life, applying moral law to social relationships. God's justice concerns everyday matters—truthfulness, fairness, compassion. The accumulation of ordinances creates comprehensive ethic governing Israelite society. These aren't arbitrary rules but revelations of God's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **Thou shalt make no covenant with them**—*i.e., *no treaty of peace; no arrangement by which one part of the land shall be thine and another theirs. (Comp. Exodus 34:12.)**
Nor with their gods.**—It was customary at the time for treaties between nations to contain an acknowledgment by each of the other’s gods. (See the treaty between Rameses II. And the Hittites in the *Records of the Past, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-25. eye for eye--**The law which authorized retaliation (a principle acted upon by all primitive people) was a civil one. It was given to regulate the procedure of the public magistrate in determining the amount of compensation in every case of injury, but did not encourage feelings of private revenge. The later Jews, however, mistook it for a moral precept, and were corrected by our Lord (Mt...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.</strong><br><br>Canaanites must not dwell in the land—'lest they make thee sin' (פֶּן־יַחֲטִיאוּ, pen-yachati'u). Tolerance of idolatry leads to participation. 'If thou serve their gods' (כִּי תַעֲבֹד אֶת־אֱלֹהֵיהֶם, ki ta'avod et-eloheihem)—not 'might' b...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **They shall **not **dwell in thy land.**—Individuals might remain if they became proselytes, as Urijah the Hittite, Araunah the Jebusite, &c.; and the Gibeonites remained *en masse, *but in a servile condition. What was forbidden was the co-existence of friendly but independent heathen communities with Israel within the limits of Canaan. This would have been a perpetual “snare” to the Israel...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**23-25. eye for eye--**The law which authorized retaliation (a principle acted upon by all primitive people) was a civil one. It was given to regulate the procedure of the public magistrate in determining the amount of compensation in every case of injury, but did not encourage feelings of private revenge. The later Jews, however, mistook it for a moral precept, and were corrected by our Lord (Mt...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 20-33**
It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfort...
Read full commentary →