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Exodus Chapter
Twenty-three
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 23
This chapter contains
several laws
chiefly judicial
relating to the civil polity of Israel
as
concerning witness borne and judgment made of cases in courts of judicature
without any respect to poor or rich
and without the influence of a bribe
Exodus 23:1
concerning doing good to an enemy in case any of his cattle go astray
or fall
under their burden
Exodus 23:4
and of
the oppression of a stranger
Exodus 23:9
and
then follow others concerning the sabbath of the seventh year
and of the
seventh day
with a caution against the use of the names of idols
Exodus 23:10
next
are laws concerning the appearance of all their males at the three feasts
Exodus 23:14
and
concerning the slaying of the sacrifice of the passover
and bringing the first
of the firstfruits of the land
Exodus 23:18 and
then a promise is made of sending an angel to them to bring them into the land
of Canaan
where they should carefully avoid all idolatry
and show a just
indignation against it
and serve the Lord
and then it would be well with
them
Exodus 23:20
and
particularly it is promised
that the Lord would send his fear
and his
hornets
before them
to destroy the inhabitants of the land
and drive out the
rest by little and little
until they should possess the utmost borders of it
which are fixed
Exodus 23:27
and
the chapter is concluded with a direction not to make a covenant with these
people
or their gods
nor suffer them to dwell among them
lest they should be
a snare unto them
Exodus 23:32.
Exodus 23:1 “You
shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be
an unrighteous witness.
YLT 1`Thou dost not lift up a vain report; thou
dost not put thy hand with a wicked man to be a violent witness.
Thou shalt not
raise a false report
.... Of a neighbour
or of any man whatever
either secretly by
private slanders
whispers
backbiting and tale bearing
by innuendos
detracting from his good name and credit
suggesting things false and wicked
concerning him; or publicly in a court of judicature
bringing a false
accusation
laying a false charge
and bearing a false testimony against him:
or "thou shall not receive a false report"F16לא תשא "non suscipies"
V. L. Pegninus
Vatablus
Drusius
Fagius. ; if there were not so many
that
say
Report
and we will report it
that are ready to receive every ill thing
of their neighbours
there would not be so many that would raise such ill things
of them; everything of this kind should be discountenanced
and especially by
judges in courts of judicature
who are chiefly spoken to and of in the
context; these should not easily admit every charge and accusation brought; nor
bear
or endure a false report
as the word also signifies
but discourage
and
even punish it:
put not thine
hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness; which is not
a gesture used in swearing
such as with us
of putting the hand upon a book
which did not obtain so early; nor is there any instance of this kind in
Scripture; the gesture used in swearing was either putting the hand under the
thigh
which yet is questionable
or lifting of it up to heaven; but here it is
expressive of confederacy
of joining hand in hand to carry on a prosecution in
an unrighteous way
by bearing false testimony against another; and such were
to be guarded against
and not admitted to give evidence in a cause
even a man
that is known to be a wicked man
or to have been an unrighteous witness
before; on the one hand
a man should be careful of joining with him in a
testimony that is unrighteous; and
on the other hand
judges should take care
not to suffer such to be witnesses. The Jews sayF17Maimon. &
Bartenora in Misn. Sanhedrin
c. 3. sect. 3.
that everyone that is condemned
to be scourged
or has been scourged for some crime committed
is reckoned a
wicked man
and he is not to be admitted a witness
nor his testimony taken.
Exodus 23:2 2 You
shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as
to turn aside after many to pervert justice.
YLT 2`Thou art not after many to evil
nor dost
thou testify concerning a strife
to turn aside after many to cause [others] to
turn aside;
Thou shalt not
follow a multitude to do evil
.... The Targums of Jerusalem and Jonathan
add
but to do good. As in private life
the examples of the many
who are
generally the most wicked
are not to be followed
though they too often are;
examples
and especially of the multitude
having great influence
and
therefore to be guarded against; so in public courts of judicature
where there
are many judges upon the bench
if one of them is sensible that the greater
part go wrong in their judgment of a case
he ought not to follow them
or be
influenced by them
but go according to the dictates of his own conscience
and
the evidence of things as they appear to him
and neither agree to justify the
wicked
nor condemn the righteous:
neither shall
thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment; or "thou
shalt not answer"F18ולא תענה "neque respondeas"
Tigurine version;
"non respondebis"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus
Drusius. ; either in
pleading in a cause
and taking the side of it the majority is on
and for that
reason
though it is a manifest perversion of justice; or by giving a vote on
that side
and on that account
whereby a wrong judgment passes; and this vote
given either according to the number of witnesses
which ought not always to be
the rule of judgment; for it is not the number of witnesses
but the nature
evidence
and circumstances of their testimony
that are to be regarded: Jarchi
says
in judgments of life and death
they go after the mouth of one witness to
absolve
and after the mouth of two to condemn: or according to the number of
judges on the bench
and their superiority in years and knowledge; and so some
render the word
"after the great ones"F19אחרי רבים "post
potentiores"
Junius & Tremellius; "post magnos"
Lyra
Cartwright. ; for a judge is not to be influenced by names or numbers in giving
his vote
but to judge according to the truth of things
as they appear to him:
hence the Jews say
that the younger or puisne judges used to be asked their
judgment first
that they might not be influenced by others superior to them;
and a like method is taken with us in the trial of a peer
the younger lords
always giving their opinion first: as to the number of votes by which a cause
was carried in court
it is saidF20Misn. Sanhedrin
c. 1. sect. 6.
not as the decline to good
is the decline to evil; the decline to good
i.e.
to absolution
is by the sentence of one (a majority of one); the decline to
evil
i.e. to condemnation
is by the mouth or sentence of two
a majority of
two.
Exodus 23:3 3 You
shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.
YLT 3and a poor man thou dost not honour in his
strife.
Neither shalt
thou countenance a poor man in his cause. Because he is a poor man
and for that reason endeavour to carry his cause for him
right or wrong
from
a foolish pity to him as a poor man
and from an affectation of gaining the
applause of people on that account; or "thou shalt not honour" or
"adorn" a poor manF21לא תהדר "non honorabis"
Pagninus
Vatablus
Drusius
Cartwright; "non decorabis"
Montanus; "ne ornes"
Tigurine version; "ne honorato"
Junius & Tremellius; "ne
ornato"
Piscator.
by a set speech in favour of his cause
though wrong
dressed up in the best manner
and set off with all the colourings of art
to
make it appear in the most plausible manner; the law is against respect of
persons
as not the person of the rich
so neither is the person of the poor to
be accepted
but the justice of their cause is to be regarded; so the Targum of
Jonathan
"the poor that is guilty in his judgment or cause
his face (or
person) thou shalt not accept to have pity on him
for no person is to be
accepted in judgment.'
Exodus 23:4 4 “If
you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray
you shall surely bring it
back to him again.
YLT 4`When thou meetest thine enemy's ox or his
ass going astray
thou dost certainly turn it back to him;
If thou meet
thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray
.... Or any other beast
as the Samaritan version adds; for these are only mentioned for instances
as
being more common
and creatures subject to go astray; now when such as these
are met going astray
so as to be in danger of being lost to the owner
though
he is an enemy; or as the Targum of Jonathan
"whom thou hatest because of
a sin
which thou alone knowest in him;'yet this was not so far to prejudice
the finder of his beasts against him
as to be careless about them
to suffer
them to go on without acquainting him with them
or returning them to him
as
follows:
thou shalt
surely bring it back to him again; whether it be an ox
or
an ass
or any other beast
the law is very strong and binding upon the finder
to return it to his neighbour
though an enemy
and bring it either to his
field or to his farm.
Exodus 23:5 5 If
you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden
and you would
refrain from helping it
you shall surely help him with it.
YLT 5when thou seest the ass of him who is hating
thee crouching under its burden
then thou hast ceased from leaving [it] to it
-- thou dost certainly leave [it] with him.
If thou see the
ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden
.... Fallen
down
and such a burden upon him that he cannot rise up again
but lies under
it
and the owner of it is not able of himself to raise it up again:
and wouldst
forbear to help him; show an inclination to pass on without giving him any assistance
to get up his beast again; or "wouldst thou forbear to help him?"F23וחדלת מעזב "num desines
sublevare eum?" some in Vatablus; "cessabis auxitiari ei?"
Drusius; "desines auxiliari ei?" Pagninus. as Jarchi
and others
read with an interrogation
could it be in thine heart to forbear helping him?
couldest thou go on
and take no notice of him and his case
and not join him
in endeavouring to get up his beast again
that he may proceed its his journey?
canst thou be so cruel and hardhearted
though he is thine enemy? but if thou
art
know this:
thou shalt
surely help with him; to get up his ass again: hence the Jewish canon runs thusF24Misn.
Bava Metzia
c. 2. sect. 10.
"if an ass is unloaded and loaded four or
five times
a man is bound
i.e. to help
as it is said
"in helping thou
shalt help"; if he (the owner) goes away
and sets himself down
seeing
the command is upon thee
if it is thy will and pleasure to unload
unload
he
is free; for it is said
with him; if he is an old man
or sick
he is bound
the command of the law is to unload
but not to load.'The words may be
rendered
"in leaving thou shalt leave with him"F25"Deserendo
deseres cum eo"
Montanus; so Ainsworth. ; either leave or forsake thine
enmity to help him
as Onkelos; or leave thy business
thou art about
to lend
him an hand to raise up his beast again.
Exodus 23:6 6 “You
shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.
YLT 6`Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of thy
needy one in his strife;
Thou shalt not
wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. As the poor man was not
to be favoured when his cause was bad through an affected pity for him as a
poor man
so his judgment was not to be wrested or perverted
when his cause
was good
because of his poverty; which is too often the case
through the
power of rich men
and the prevalence of their gifts and bribes
and to curry
favour with them: the phrase
"thy poor"
is very emphatic
and
intended to engage judges to regard them
as being of the same flesh and blood
with them
of the same nation and religion; and who were particularly committed
to their care and protection under God
who is the Judge and protector of the
poor
of the widow and the fatherless.
Exodus 23:7 7 Keep
yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I
will not justify the wicked.
YLT 7from a false matter thou dost keep far off
and an innocent and righteous man thou dost not slay; for I do not justify a
wicked man.
Keep thee far
from a false matter
.... Or "word"F26מדבר
שקר "a verbo mendacii"
Pagninus
Montanus
Vatablus
Drusius
Junius & Tremellius
Tigurine version
Fagius. ; from
receiving a false testimony
or taking the false or wrong side of a cause
or
engaging in a bad one; keep aloof off from it
as much at a distance from it as
possible:
and the
innocent and the righteous slay thou not; that is
do not condemn
them to death
nor join with the majority in their condemnation
if they appear
to be innocent and righteous; nor give orders
or join in giving orders to the
executioner to put such to death. The Targum of Jonathan is
"he that goes
righteous out of the house of thy judgment (out of the sanhedrim
to which he
belonged)
and they find out his sin (afterwards)
and he that goes out guilty
and they (afterwards) find out his righteousness
do not slay:"
for I will not
justify the wicked: the wicked judge in pronouncing an unjust sentence on innocent
and righteous men
or if they absolve wicked men
at the same time they put to
death the innocent and righteous
God will not justify those wicked men cleared
by them
but will
in his own time and way
sooner or later
inflict the
deserved punishment on them: this is not contrary to Romans 4:5 for
though God justifies the ungodly
he does not justify ungodliness in them
or
them in ungodliness
but from it
and that by the imputation of the
righteousness of his Son.
Exodus 23:8 8 And
you shall take no bribe
for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the
words of the righteous.
YLT 8`And a bribe thou dost not take; for the
bribe bindeth the open-[eyed]
and perverteth the words of the righteous.
And thou shalt
take no gift
.... Of the persons whose cause is to be tried in a court of
judicature before judges; neither of those on the one side nor on the other
neither before the trial nor after
neither by words
by a promise
nor by
facts
by actually receiving money; and not even to judge truly
as Jarchi
observes
neither to clear the innocent nor to condemn the guilty: a gift was
not to be taken on any consideration whatever:
for the gift
blindeth the wise; or the "seeing"F1פקחים
"videntes"
Pagninus
Vatablus
Cartwright; "apertos"
Montanus
Drusius. ; the open ones
who used to have both their eyes and their
ears open
and attentive to the cause before them; and yet a gift so blinds
them
by casting such a mist before them
that they are inattentive to the true
merits of the cause
and their affections and judgments are to be carried away
in favour of those that have bribed them
as to pass a wrong sentence:
and perverteth
the words of the righteous; either the sentences of righteous judges
as they ought to be
but a gift perverts their judgment
and they give a wrong
decree; or the causes of the righteous that are brought before those are
perverted by giving the cause to their adversaries
who are wicked men.
Exodus 23:9 9 “Also
you shall not oppress a stranger
for you know the heart of a stranger
because
you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
YLT 9`And a sojourner thou dost not oppress
and
ye -- ye have known the soul of the sojourner
for sojourners ye have been in
the land of Egypt.
Also thou shall
not oppress a stranger
.... As these were not to be vexed and oppressed in a private
manner and by private men
see Exodus 22:21 so
neither in a public manner
and in a public court of judicature
or by judges
on the bench when their cause was before them
by not doing them justice
showing a partiality to those of their own nation against a stranger; whereas a
stranger ought to have equal justice done him as a native
and the utmost care
should be taken that he has no injury done him
and the rather because he is a
stranger:
for ye know the
heart of a stranger; the fears he is possessed of
the inward distress of his soul
the anxiety of his mind
the tenderness of his heart
the workings of his
passions
his grief and sorrow
and dejection of spirit: the Targum of Jonathan
is
""the groaning of the soul of a stranger": this the
Israelitish judges knew
having had a very late experience of it:"
seeing ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt; where they had been vexed and oppressed
brought into hard bondage
and groaned under it; and therefore it might be
reasonably thought and expected that they would have a heart sympathizing with
strangers
and use them well
and especially see that justice was done them
and no injury or oppression of any kind.
Exodus 23:10 10 “Six
years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce
YLT 10`And six years thou dost sow thy land
and
hast gathered its increase;
And six years
thou shall sow thy land
The land of Canaan
given to their ancestors and to them
and
which they were now going to inherit; and when they came into it they were to
plant it with vines and olives; or rather
these being ready planted
they were
to prune and dress them; and they were to till their land
and plough it
and
sow it with various sorts of grain
for six years running
from the time of
their possession of it:
and shall
gather in the fruits thereof; corn and wine
and oil
into their own
garners
treasuries
and cellars
as their own property
to dispose of as they
pleased for their own use and profit.
Exodus 23:11 11 but the seventh year
you shall let it rest and lie fallow
that the poor of your people may eat; and
what they leave
the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do
with your vineyard and your olive grove.
YLT 11and the seventh thou dost release it
and
hast left it
and the needy of thy people have eaten
and their leaving doth
the beast of the field eat; so dost thou to thy vineyard -- to thine
olive-yard.
But the seventh
year thou shall let it rest
and lie still
.... From tillage
and
make its fruits common
as the Targum of Jonathan; the note of Jarchi is
"let it rest"
from perfect tillage
as ploughing and sowing;
"and lie still"
from dunging and harrowing
or weeding: this law was
intended to show that God was the original proprietor and owner of this land
and that the Israelites held it under him; and to teach them to depend upon and
trust in his providence; as well as that there might be both rest for the land
and so it became more fruitful afterwards
having by this rest renewed its
vigour
and also for servants and cattle; and that the poor might have an equal
share in the fruits of the earth
and appear to be joint lords of it with
others under God
as it follows:
that the poor
of thy people may eat: that which grows up of itself
of which there were great
quantities; for the sixth year bringing forth for three years
a great deal of
seed fell
which grew up again; and especially
as through plenty they were not
so careful to gather it all up; and besides this
there were the fruits of
trees
of vines
olives
&c. which brought forth their fruit in course as
usual
and which were all this year common to poor and rich; so that the former
had an equal propriety and share with the latter:
and what they
leave
the beasts of the field shall eat; signifying that there
should be such plenty that there would be enough for all
and to spare; that
there would be much left
and which should be the portion of the beasts of the
field
and who would also be sufficiently provided for by the produce the earth
brought forth of itself
as herbage
&c. and the fruits the poor left:
in like manner
thou shall deal with thy vineyard
and with thy oliveyard; that is
these were not to be pruned
nor the grapes and olives gathered
but were to be
in common with all: a larger account is given of this law in Leviticus 25:2.
Exodus 23:12 12 Six
days you shall do your work
and on the seventh day you shall rest
that your
ox and your donkey may rest
and the son of your female servant and the
stranger may be refreshed.
YLT 12`Six days thou dost do thy work
and on the
seventh day thou dost rest
so that thine ox and thine ass doth rest
and the
son of thine handmaid and the sojourner is refreshed;
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.
Exodus 23:13 13 “And
in all that I have said to you
be circumspect and make no mention of the name
of other gods
nor let it be heard from your mouth.
YLT 13and in all that which I have said unto you ye
do take heed; and the name of other gods ye do not mention; it is not heard on
thy mouth.
And in all things
that I have said unto you
be circumspect
.... Or observe them
be
careful to keep them punctually and constantly
even all that are delivered in
this and the preceding chapters:
and make no
mention of the name of other gods; neither call upon them
nor swear by them
nor make vows to them; and
as little as possible
ever
utter their names
and never with pleasure and delight
and showing any honour
of them
and reverence to them
but with the utmost detestation and abhorrence:
neither let it
be heard out of thy mouth; not any of their names; the same thing in
different words
the more to inculcate and impress the thing upon the mind
and
to show with what vehemence and earnestness this is pressed.
Exodus 23:14 14 “Three
times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year:
YLT 14`Three times thou dost keep a feast to Me in
a year;
Three times
thou shall keep a feast unto me in the year. The feast of the passover
on the fourteenth of the month Nisan or March; and the feast of weeks or
pentecost fifty days after that; and the feast of tabernacles on the fifteenth
day of Tisri or September.
Exodus 23:15 15 You
shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven
days
as I commanded you
at the time appointed in the month of Abib
for in it
you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);
YLT 15the Feast of Unleavened things thou dost
keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things
as I have commanded thee
at
the time appointed [in] the month of Abib; for in it thou hast come forth out
of Egypt
and ye do not appear [in] My presence empty;
Thou shalt keep
the feast of unleavened bread
.... Which began on the fourteenth of the
month Abib or Nisan
and lasted seven days
during which time no leavened bread
was to be eaten by the Israelites
or to be in their houses
of which see the
notes on:See Gill on Exodus 12:15
Exodus 12:18
Exodus 12:19
Exodus 12:10
Exodus 13:6
Exodus 13:7.
thou shall eat
unleavened bread
seven days
as I commanded thee
in the time appointed of the
month Abib; from the fourteenth of the month to the twenty first:
for in it thou
camest out of Egypt; in such haste that there was no time to leaven the dough in the
troughs; in commemoration of which this law was given
and this feast was kept:
and none shall
appear before me empty; at this feast and the two following ones; for
besides the
offerings and sacrifices appointed
at the feast of passover was brought a
sheaf of the first fruits of the barley harvest; and at the feast of pentecost
the two wave loaves or cakes of the first fruits of the wheat harvest; and at
the feast of tabernacles they appeared with palm tree branches
and boughs of
goodly trees
and poured out water fetched from Siloam
before the Lord: but to
this appearance the Jewish doctorsF2Bartenora in Misn. Peah
c. 1.
sect. 1. say
"there was no measure fixed; for everyone
if he would
might
go up and appear
and go away: according to another interpretation
for the
burnt offering of appearance
and the peace offerings of the Chagigah
which a
man is bound to bring
as it is written
"ye shall not appear empty";
there is no measure from the law
as it is written
"a man according to
the gift of his hand"
Deuteronomy 16:17
but the wise men fix a measure; to the burnt offering a meah of silver
to the
Chagigah two pieces of silver:'some understand this
not of their bringing
anything with them to appear before the Lord with
but of what they should be
blessed with there; even with the presence of God
and communion with him
and
with the blessings of his grace and goodness; so that however they came
they
should not remain
nor go away empty
and so have no cause to repent their appearance
before him; but the former sense seems best.
Exodus 23:16 16 and
the Feast of Harvest
the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the
field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year
when you have
gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
YLT 16and the Feast of Harvest
the first fruits of
thy works which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of the In-Gathering
in
the outgoing of the year
in thy gathering thy works out of the field.
And the feast
of harvest
.... This is the second feast
the feast of wheat harvest
between which and barley harvest were fifty days; or between the firstfruits of
the one and the first fruits of the other were seven weeks
as Aben Ezra
observes
and was sometimes called the feast of weeks; at which feast were to
be brought:
the first
fruits of thy labours
which thou hast sown in the field; the two wave
loaves or cakes
made of the first new wheat
which was the effect of their
labour in tilling the field
and sowing it with wheat
and reaping it:
and the feast
of ingathering
which is in the end of the year
when thou hast gathered
in thy labours out of the field; this is the third feast in the year to be
kept
and was kept at the close of the year
at the revolution of it
when a
new year began that is
according to the old account
which made Tisri the
month in which this feast was kept
the first month of the year; whereas
according to the new count
it was the seventh month from the month Abib
now
made the first of the months upon the Israelites coming out of Egypt in that
month: this is the same feast with the feast of tabernacles
but here called
the feast of ingathering
because at this time of the year all the fruits of
the earth were gathered in; the corn
and wine
and oil
and all other fruits
on account of which there was great rejoicing
as there ought to be.
Exodus 23:17 17 “Three
times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.[a]
YLT 17`Three times in a year do all thy males
appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah.
Three times in
the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord thy God. In the city of
Jerusalem
when they were come into the land of Canaan
and the temple was
there built: here they were to show themselves before the Lord as being his
and devoted to his service; concerning which the Misnic doctors have the
following canonF3Misn. Chagigah
c. 1. sect. 1.
"all are bound
to appear except a man deaf and dumb
a fool
a little one
one of neither sex
or of both sexes
women
servants not free
the lame
the blind
the sick
an
old man
and he that cannot go on his feet.'
Exodus 23:18 18 “You
shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the
fat of My sacrifice remain until morning.
YLT 18`Thou dost not sacrifice on a fermented thing
the blood of My sacrifice
and the fat of My festival doth not remain till
morning;
Thou shall not
offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread
.... This
belongs to the feast of the passover; for
as all the Jewish writers agree
this sacrifice is the sacrifice of the passover
as it is sometimes called
see
Exodus 12:27 now
when the paschal lamb was killed
and its blood shed
and its flesh eaten
there was to be no leaven along with it; it was to be eaten with unleavened bread
and there was to be no leaven in their houses at this time; nay
it was not to
be slain until all was removed: this was the first thing the Jews did
as soon
as the fourteenth day was come
to search for leaven
remove and burn it; and
this sense of the law is confirmed by the Targum of Jonathan
which
is
"not a man shall slay
while there is leaven in your houses
the
sacrifice of my passover;'and to the same purpose is the note of Jarchi:
neither shall
the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning; and indeed no part of
the passover lamb was to remain until the morning
what did was to be burnt
with fire
Exodus 12:10 the
Targum of Jonathan is
"neither shall there remain without the altar the
fat of the sacrifice of my passover until the morning
nor of the flesh which
ye ate in the evening;'and so Jarchi interprets it of its not remaining without
the altar.
Exodus 23:19 19 The
first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You
shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
YLT 19the beginning of the first-fruits of thy
ground thou dost bring into the house of Jehovah thy God; thou dost not boil a
kid in its mother's milk.
The first of
the first fruits of thy land
.... Both of the barley and wheat harvest
and of the wine and oil; yea
Jarchi says
the seventh year was obliged to
first fruits; and JosephusF4Antiqu. l. 3. c. 15. sect. 3. relates
that the Jews were so tenacious of this law
that even in the famine in the
time of Claudius Caesar
the first fruits were brought to the temple
and were
not meddled with:
thou shall
bring into the house of the Lord thy God; to the tabernacle
during the standing of that
and the temple when that was built; which were the
perquisites of the priests who officiated in the house and service of God: so
Pliny saysF5Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 2. of the ancient Romans
that they
tasted not of the new fruits or wines before the first fruits were offered to
the priests
which seems to have been borrowed from hence:
thou shalt not
seethe a kid in his mother's milk: and so a calf
or a lambF6Vid.
T. Bab. Cholin. fol. 114. 1.
as Jarchi interprets it; which some understand
of slaying a young kid and its dam together
and so is a law against cruelty
like that law of not taking the dam with the young
on finding a bird's nest
Deuteronomy 22:6
others
of killing
dressing
and eating a kid
while it sucks the milk of its
mother
before it is eight days old
and so a law against luxury; but the Jews
generally understand it of boiling
or eating the flesh of any creature and
milk togetherF7Tikkune Zohar
Correct. 14. fol. 26. 1. : so the
Targum of Onkelos paraphrases it
"ye shall not eat flesh with milk;'and
the Targum of Jonathan is
"ye shall neither boil nor eat the flesh and the
milk mixed together:'hence
according to the rules they give
the flesh of any
beast
or of a fowl
is not to be set upon a table on which cheese is (being
made of milk)
lest they should be eaten together; nor may cheese be eaten
after flesh until some considerable time
and then
if there is any flesh
sticks between a man's teeth
he must remove it
and wash and cleanse his
mouth; nor may cheese be eaten on a table cloth on which meat is
nor be cut
with a knife that flesh is cut withF8Schulchan Aruch
par. 2. Yore
Deah
Hilchot Bashar Bechaleb
c. 88. sect. 1. & 89. sect. 1. 4. : so
careful are they of breaking this law
as they understand it: but the words
are
doubtless
to be taken literally
of not boiling a kid in its mother's
milk; and is thought by many to refer to some custom of this kind
either among
the Israelites
which they had somewhere learnt
or among the idolatrous
Heathens
and therefore cautioned against; Maimonides and Abarbinel both
suppose it was an idolatrous rite
but are not able to produce an instance of
it out of any writer of theirs or others: but Dr. Cudworth has produced a
passage out of a Karaite authorF9Apud Gregory's Notes & Observ.
c. 19. p. 97
98.
who affirms
"it was a custom of the Heathens at the
ingathering of their fruits to take a kid and seethe it in the milk of the dam
and then
in a magical way
go about and besprinkle all their trees
fields
gardens
and orchards
thinking by this means they should make them fructify
and bring forth fruit again more abundantly the next year:'and the Targum of
Jonathan on Exodus 34:26 seems
to have respect to this
where
having paraphrased the words as here quoted
above
adds
"lest I should destroy the fruit of your trees with the unripe
grape
the shoots and leaves together:'and if this may be depended upon
the
law comes in here very aptly
after the feast of ingathering
and the bringing
in the first fruits of the land into the Lord's house.
Exodus 23:20 20 “Behold
I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the
place which I have prepared.
YLT 20`Lo
I am sending a messenger before thee to
keep thee in the way
and to bring thee in unto the place which I have
prepared;
Behold
I send
an angel before thee
.... Not a created angel
but the uncreated one
the Angel of
God's presence
that was with the Israelites at Sinai
and in the wilderness;
who saved
redeemed
bore
and carried them all the days of old
whom they
rebelled against and tempted in the wilderness; as appears by all the
characters after given of him
which by no means agree with a created angel:
Aben Ezra observes
that some say this is the book of the law
because it is
said
"my name is in him"
or "in the midst of it"; others
say
the ark of the covenant; but he says this angel is Michael; and if indeed
by Michael is intended the uncreated angel
as he always is in Scripture
he is
right: Jarchi remarks
that their Rabbins say
this is Metatron
whose name is
as the name of his master; Metatron
by gematry
is Shaddai
which signifies
almighty or all-sufficient
and is an epithet of the divine Being; and Metatron
seems to be a corruption of the word "mediator": some of the ancient
Jewish writers sayF11In Zohar in Gen. fol. 124. 4.
this is the
Angel that is the Redeemer of the world
and the keeper of the children of men:
and Philo the JewF12"De migratione" Abraham
p. 415.
applies the word unto the divine Logos
and says
"he (God) uses the divine
Word as the guide of the way; for the oracle is
"behold
I send my
Angel"
&c.'which agrees with what follows:
to keep thee in
the way
and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared; to preserve
the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness
from all their enemies
that should set upon them
and to bring them safe at last to the land of
Canaan
which he had appointed for them
and promised to them
and had prepared
both in his purpose and gift for them
and would make way for their settlement
in it by driving out the nations before them.
Exodus 23:21 21 Beware of Him and obey His
voice; do not provoke Him
for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My
name is in Him.
YLT 21be watchful because of his presence
and
hearken to his voice
rebel not against him
for he beareth not with your
transgression
for My name [is] in his heart;
Beware of him
.... Of his
face or countenance; observe his looks towards you in a providential way
whether frowning or smiling; observe his directions and instructions
laws and
commands:
and obey his
voice; hearken to what he says
and cheerfully
readily
and punctually
do as he orders:
provoke him not; by unbelief
by murmurings and complaints
by unbecoming words and actions
by transgressing
his commands
and acting contrary to his will:
for he will not
pardon your transgressions: or suffer them to pass unchastised and
uncorrected
but will
as he did
take vengeance on their inventions
and on
them because of them
though he forgave their iniquities; for that he was such
an Angel as could forgive sin
which none but God can do
is evident; because
it would be absurd to say he will not pardon
if he could not pardon their
transgressions
see Matthew 9:6
for my name is
in him; the Father is in the Son
and the Son in the Father; the nature
and perfections of God are in the Word and Son of God
and so his name Jehovah
which is peculiar to him; Christ is Jehovah our righteousness: or "though
my name is in him"F13כי שמי "quamvis nomen menum"
Drusius. ; as Abendana
and others
his name the Lord God
gracious and merciful
pardoning iniquity
transgression and sin
as afterwards proclaimed in him; and yet
notwithstanding this
he would not clear the guilty
or suffer the Israelites
to go unpunished
if they offended him: the Targum of Onkelos is
"or in my
name is his word
'he is my ambassador and speaks in my name.
Exodus 23:22 22 But
if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak
then I will be an enemy
to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
YLT 22for
if thou diligently hearken to his voice
and hast done all that which I speak
then I have been at enmity with thine
enemies
and have distressed those distressing thee.
But
if thou
shall indeed obey his voice
.... Or "hearkening hearken"
F14שמוע תשמע "audiendo
audieris"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius
Piscator. to it attentively
listen to it
and diligently and constantly observe and obey in whatever he
shall direct and order:
and do all that
I speak; by him; or whatsoever he had spoke
or was about to speak; for
as yet all the laws and statutes were not delivered
especially those of the
ceremonial kind:
then I will be
an enemy unto thine enemies
and an adversary unto thine adversaries; which they
should either meet with in their passage through the wilderness
or when they
came into the land of Canaan; signifying hereby that he would protect them from
them
subdue them under them
and give them victory over them
as that they
should be utterly destroyed
and so way made for their possession of their
land
as in the following words.
Exodus 23:23 23 For
My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites
and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I
will cut them off.
YLT 23`For My messenger goeth before thee
and hath
brought thee in unto the Amorite
and the Hittite
and the Perizzite
and the
Canaanite
the Hivite
and the Jebusite
and I have cut them off.
For mine Angel
shall go before thee
.... The same as before described:
and bring thee in
unto the Amorite
and the Hittite
and the Perizzite
and the Canaanite
and
the Hivite
and the Jebusite; six nations are only mentioned
though
there were seven; the Girgashites are omitted
though added in the Septuagint
version; and this omission of them might be
either because they were swallowed
up by one or other of the other nations
particularly the Amorites
who were
the most powerful; or rather
having mentioned the most and chiefest
the Lord
was not careful
as Aben Ezra observes
to take notice of the least:
and I will cut
them off; from being a nation
either of them; for though there were some
of them left
and dwelt about in the land
yet not as a kingdom and nation of
themselves
as they had been
but became tributary to the Israelites.
Exodus 23:24 24 You
shall not bow down to their gods
nor serve them
nor do according to their
works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred
pillars.
YLT 24`Thou dost not bow thyself to their gods
nor
serve them
nor do according to their doings
but dost utterly devote them
and
thoroughly break their standing pillars.
Thou shalt not
bow down to their gods
.... In a way of honour to them
doing them reverence
expressing
thereby an high esteem of them
trust in them
and expectation of good things
from them:
nor serve them: in any kind
of service in which they usually are served by their votaries; as by offering
sacrifice
incense
libations
&c. or by praying to them or praising of
them
or in whatsoever way they are served by idolaters:
nor do after
their works; the works of the worshippers of idols; all those wicked works in
general done by them
which should not be imitated; and those particularly
relating to the service and worship of their deities:
but thou shalt
overthrow them; the heathen gods; utterly destroy them
and break them to
pieces
or demolish their temples
the idolatrous houses built for them
and their
altars; for the word has the signification
of demolishing buildings
and
razing up the very foundations of them:
and quite break
down their images; or
"in breaking break down"F15שבר תשבר "confringendo
confringes"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius
"perfringendo
perfringito"
Piscator. ; utterly and entirely break them down
break them
to shivers
all their statues of gold or silver
brass
wood
or stone
or of
whatsoever materials they were made; none were to be spared
nor any remains of
them to be seen
that they might not prove a snare to any to worship them; and
hereby they were to express their detestation of idolatry
and their strict and
close adherence to the true God
and the worship of him as follows.
Exodus 23:25 25 “So
you shall serve the Lord
your God
and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness
away from the midst of you.
YLT 25`And ye have served Jehovah your God
and He
hath blessed thy bread and thy water
and I have turned aside sickness from
thine heart;
And ye shall
serve the Lord your God
.... And him only
who had brought them out of Egypt
and done so
many great and good things for them at the Red sea
and now in the wilderness;
by which he appeared to be the true Jehovah
the one and only living God
and
to be their God in covenant
who had promised them much
and had performed it;
and therefore was in a special and peculiar manner their God
and they were
under the highest obligations to serve and worship him in the way and manner he
directed them to:
and he shall
bless thy bread and thy water; and make them nourishing and refreshing to
them
and preserve them thereby in health
as well as prosper and succeed them
and increase their worldly substance:
and I will take
sickness away from the midst of thee; the stroke of
bitterness
or the bitter stroke
as the Targum of Jonathan
any grievous
disease
which is bitter and distressing; signifying that there should be none
among them
but that they should be healthful
and free from distempers and
diseases.
Exodus 23:26 26 No
one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the
number of your days.
YLT 26there is not a miscarrying and barren one in
thy land; the number of thy days I fulfil:
There shall
nothing cast their young
nor be barren in the land
.... There
shall be no abortions or miscarriages
nor sterility or barrenness
either
among the Israelites
or their cattle of every kind
so that there should be a
great increase
both of men and beasts:
the number of
thy days I will fulfil; which was fixed for each of them
in his eternal purposes and
decrees; or what
according to the temperament of their bodies and the course
of nature
which
humanly speaking
it might be supposed they would arrive
unto; or generally the common term of human life
which
in the days of Moses
was threescore years and ten
or fourscore
see Job 14:5
it may be
considered whether any respect is had to the time of their continuance in the
land of Canaan
the term of which was fixed in the divine mind
or the fulness
of time in which the Messiah was to come.
Exodus 23:27 27 “I
will send My fear before you
I will cause confusion among all the people to
whom you come
and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
YLT 27My terror I send before thee
and I have put
to death all the people among whom thou comest
and I have given the neck of
all thine enemies unto thee.
And I will send
my fear before thee
.... What should cause fear among the nations of the land of
Canaan; either the hornets mentioned in the next verse as the explanative of
this; or the fame of his mighty works
which he had done for Israel in Egypt
at the Red sea
and in the wilderness; which struck the inhabitants of Canaan
with such a panic
that they were ready to faint and melt away
and lost all
courage
Joshua 2:9.
and will
destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come; that is
the greatest
part of them:
and I will make
all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee; flee away
not being
able to face them and stand a battle
or
however
not stand it long
but run
and make their escape: "or I will give thee the neck of them"F16נתתי־ערף "et dabo-cervicem"
Pagninus
Montanus;
"exponam tibi cervicem"
Junius & Tremellius
Piscator;
"ponam ad te cervicem"
Drusius. ; cause them to submit
to lay down
their necks and be trampled upon; an expression denoting their subjection
and
an entire conquest of them
see Psalm 18:39.
Exodus 23:28 28 And
I will send hornets before you
which shall drive out the Hivite
the
Canaanite
and the Hittite from before you.
YLT 28`And I have sent the hornet before thee
and
it hath cast out the Hivite
the Canaanite
and the Hittite
from before thee;
And I will send
hornets before thee
.... Which may be interpreted either figuratively
and so may
signify the same as fear before which should fall on the Canaanites upon
hearing the Israelites were coming; the stings of their consciences for their
sins
terrors of mind
dreading the wrath of the God of Israel
of whom they
had heard
and terrible apprehensions of ruin and destruction from the
Israelites: Aben Ezra interprets it of some disease of the body
which weakens
it
as the leprosy
from the signification of the word
which has some affinity
with that used for the leprosy; and so the Arabic version understands it of a
disease: or rather
the words are to be taken literally
for hornets
which are
a sort of wasps
whose stings are very penetrating and venomous; nor is it any
strange or unheard of thing for people to be drove out of their countries by
small animals
as mice
flies
bees
&c. and particularly AelianusF17Hist.
Animal. l. 11. c. 28. relates
that the Phaselites were drove out of their
country by wasps: and BochartF18Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 13. Colossians 541. has shown that those people were of a
Phoenician original
and inhabited the mountains of Solymi; and that this
happened to them about the times of Joshua
and so may probably be the very
Canaanites here mentioned
as follow: the wasps
in Aristophanes's comedy which
bears that name
are introduced speaking of themselves
and say
no creature
when provoked is more angry and troublesome than we areF19Aristoph.
Vespae
p. 510. :
which shall
drive out the Hivite
the Canaanite
and the Hittite
from before thee; which three
are mentioned instead of the rest
or because they were more especially
infested and distressed with the hornets
and drove out of their land by means
of them.
Exodus 23:29 29 I
will not drive them out from before you in one year
lest the land become
desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
YLT 29I cast them not out from before thee in one
year
lest the land be a desolation
and the beast of the field hath multiplied
against thee;
I will not
drive them out from before thee in one year
.... This is observed
before hand
lest the Israelites should be discouraged
and fear they should
never be rid of them; and it was so ordered in Providence for the following
reason:
lest the land
become desolate; there being not a sufficient number of Israelites to replace in
their stead
to repeople the land
and to cultivate it; and yet their number
was very large
being
when they came out of Egypt
as is generally computed
about two millions and a half
besides the mixed multitude of Egyptians and
others
and during their forty years in the wilderness must be greatly
increased:
and the beast
of the field multiply against thee; there being so much
waste ground for them to prowl about in
they would so increase as to make head
against them
and be too many for them; or
however
it would be difficult to
keep them under control: the Targum of Jonathan adds
"when they shall come
to eat their carcasses (the carcasses of the Canaanites slain in war)
and may
hurt thee.'
Exodus 23:30 30 Little
by little I will drive them out from before you
until you have increased
and
you inherit the land.
YLT 30little [by] little I cast them out from
before thee
till thou art fruitful
and hast inherited the land.
By little and
little I will drive them out from before thee
.... Not the beasts of
the field
but the inhabitants of Canaan
who were left partly to keep up the
cities and towns
that they might not fall to ruin
and to till the land
that
it might not be desolate; and partly to be trials and exercises to the people
of Israel
and to prove whether they would serve the Lord or not. Just as the
corruptions of human nature remain with the people of God when converted
for
the trial and exercise of their graces
and that they may have their dependence
not on themselves
but on the grace of God to keep them in his ways
and to
preserve them safe to eternal glory; and by completing the work of grace
which
is gradually done
they might be made meet for it:
until thou be
increased
and inherit the land; for as their enemies were driven out
gradually
by little and little
so they multiplied gradually
until at length
they became a sufficient number to fill all the cities and towns in all the
nations of Canaan
and take an entire possession of it
as their inheritance
given unto them by God.
Exodus 23:31 31 And I will set your bounds
from the Red Sea to the sea
Philistia
and from the desert to the River.[b] For I will
deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand
and you shall drive them
out before you.
YLT 31`And I have set thy border from the Red Sea
even unto the sea of the Philistines
and from the wilderness unto the River:
for I give into your hand the inhabitants of the land
and thou hast cast them
out from before thee;
And I will set
thy bounds
.... The bounds of the land of Canaan
which in process of time
it should reach unto
though not at once
not until the times of David and
Solomon
2 Samuel 8:1 which
bounds were as follow:
from the Red
sea even unto the sea of the Philistines: the Red sea was the
boundary eastward
as the sea of the Philistines
or the Mediterranean sea
was
the boundary westward:
and from the
desert unto the river; the desert of Shur or Arabia
towards Egypt
was the boundary
southward
as the river Euphrates was the boundary northward
and is the river
here meant
as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it; and so Jarchi interprets
it
and generally others:
for I will
deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; the greater
part upon their entrance into it
and settlement in it
and the rest
afterwards:
and thou shalt
drive them out before thee; not all at once
but by degrees
as before
observed.
Exodus 23:32 32 You
shall make no covenant with them
nor with their gods.
YLT 32thou dost not make a covenant with them
and
with their gods;
Thou shalt make
no covenant with them
.... A covenant of peace
a league
a confederacy
so as to take
them to be their allies and friends; but they were always to consider them as
their enemies
until they had made an utter end of them; though the Gibeonites
by craft and guile obtained a league of them; but the methods they took to get
it show they had some knowledge of this law
that the Israelites might not
or
at least would not
make any league or covenant with the inhabitants of the
land of Canaan. This may be also extended to marriage covenants
which they
were forbid to make with them; which yet they did
and proved a snare to them
for this brought them to makes a covenant with their gods
and serve them
which is here also forbidden:
nor with their
gods; making vows unto them
promising to serve them
if they would do
such and such things for them.
Exodus 23:33 33 They
shall not dwell in your land
lest they make you sin against Me. For if
you serve their gods
it will surely be a snare to you.”
YLT 33they do not dwell in thy land
lest they
cause thee to sin against Me when thou servest their gods
when it becometh a
snare to thee.'
They shall not
dwell in thy land
.... The land of Canaan
given by God for an inheritance
and now
would be in the possession of the Israelites; and therefore were not to suffer
the old inhabitants to dwell with them in it
at least no longer than they
could help it; they were to do all they could to root them out:
lest they make
thee sin against me; by their ill examples and persuasions
drawing them into
idolatry
than which there is no greater sin against God
it being not only
contrary to his law
his mind
and will
but directly against his nature
being
perfections
and glory:
for if thou
serve their gods
or "for thou wilt serve"F20כי תעבד "quia servies"
Malvenda. ; this would be the consequence of their dwelling in the land
they
would draw the Israelites into the worship of their idols
to which they were
naturally prone; and should they commit idolatry:
it will surely
be a snare unto thee: idolatry would be the cause of their ruin and destruction
they
would be snared by it
as fishes in a net
or birds and beasts by traps and
gins; or "for it will be a snare"F21כי
יהיה "quia erit"
Pagninus
Montanus
Drusius.
that is
the Canaanites dwelling among them would be a snare to draw
them into their idolatry
and go into ruin.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Exodus 23:17
Hebrew YHWH
usually translated Lord
b.
Exodus 23:31
Hebrew Nahar
the Euphrates