Deuteronomy 15:14

In token that thou dost acknowledge the benefit which God hath given thee by his labors.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 14. Thou shalt furnish him - out of thy flock] Thou shalt give him some cattle to breed with; out of thy floor - some corn for seed and for bread; and out of thy wine press - an adequate provision of wine for present necessity.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) Thou shalt furnish him liberally.—The beneficence of this provision is noticeable. Those who had fallen into poverty, when they had served their time, must be provided with means for a fresh start in life. And since the Jewish commentator regards the slavery of Hebrew men as chiefly a consequence of theft (If he be sold unto thee, “when the supreme court has sold him for his theft “), it would seem that, under Jewish law, even convicted thieves, when the term of their servitude was over, were to be provided with the means of obtaining an honest livelihood. This state of things is above the attainments of Christian England at the present date.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. thou shalt furnish him liberally] Lit. make-him-a-necklace (with emphatic repetition of the vb.). In this metaphor is the idea of loading or that of ornamenting (embellishing, equipping) the governing one? Probably both are combined; the metaphor rising from the primitive custom of hoarding the family wealth in heavy necklaces or headdresses. Less likely is the derivation from the use of the collar or necklace as a badge of rank or office (as it was in Egypt, Gen_41:42, and Persia, 1Es_3:6).

A similar liberality is exercised in Arabia (Doughty, Ar. Des. i. 554).

‘It is not many years, “if their house-lord fears Ullah,” before he will give them their liberty; and then he sends them not away empty; but in Upland Arabia (where only substantial persons are slave-holders) the good man will marry out his freed servants, male and female, endowing them with somewhat of his own substance, whether camels or palm-stems.’ Cp. Snouck-Hurgronje, Mekka, ii. 14: ‘the well-to-do owner feels himself bound where possible to provide for his loyal servant an establishment, and emancipation ranks in itself as a meritorious act: the family bond remains after as before it unbroken.’ Musil (Ethn. Ber. 225) quotes as part of the emancipation formula: ‘I dismiss my slave and endow him.’

flock, threshing-floor and wine-press] Cp. Deu_14:23, Deu_16:13.

as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee] Deu_7:13, Deu_12:15, Deu_16:17.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt furnish him liberally,.... Not only to supply his present wants, but for his future use, and to set him up in the world: "loading thou shall load him" (h), so some render the words; give him as much as he can carry, and well stand up under; the word used has the signification of chains wore about the neck for honour or ornament, and so may signify he should be very honourably dismissed, with plain marks of honour and respect; and the order is, to supply him

out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress; with sheep or lambs out of the flock, with corn out of the floor, wheat, or barley, or both, and wine out of the winepress; which take in all the necessaries and comforts of life: of that

wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shall give unto him; be it what it will, and in proportion to it, as of money as well as goods; it is asked, how much shall be given to him? not less than the value of thirty shekels, whether of one kind or whether of many kinds, according to the thirty shekels for the price of a servant, Exo 21:32 (i). All this may be an emblem both of the servitude the people of God are in to sin, Satan, and the law, while in a state of nature; and of their freedom from it by Christ, and of the sufficiency and fulness of food and raiment, and large measures of divine grace; even all things richly to enjoy, all things pertaining to life and godliness, which are given to them when brought out of that state; who otherwise come out of it destitute of all good things, having neither food nor clothes, nor money to buy either, but have all from Christ freely and fully.

(h) "onerando oneratis", Munster, Pagninus, Vatablus. (i) Maimon. Hilchot Obedim, c. 3. sect. 14.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thou shalt furnish him liberally - The verb in the Hebrew is remarkable. It means “thou shalt lay on his neck,” “adorn his neck with thy gifts.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Way. Hebrew literally, "Thou shalt put round his neck, (or furnish him abundantly) out of thy flock," &c. This is not specified in the Book of Exodus.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

14. Thou shalt furnish him liberally — The Hebrew verb that is used makes the expression very emphatic, Thou shalt load him bountifully.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt furnish him liberally; literally, shalt lay on his neck, i.e. thou shalt load him. The meaning is well expressed in the Authorized Version. This is the new prescription added to the earlier law.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

הענק תעניק THOU SHALT FURNISH HIM LIBERALLY — The noun from the root ענק denotes an ornament worn high up on the body which thus easily comes within sight of the eye (i.e. is conspicuous), (cf. ענק, a giant, someone who towers on high) — i.e. you shall furnish him with something that will make it patent that you have been kind to him. There are some who explain the word הענק to mean loading on his (the servant’s) neck.

מצאנך מגרנך ומיקבך [THOU SHALT FURNISH HIM LIBERALLY] OUT OF THY FLOCK, AND OUT OF THY FLOOR, AND OUT OF THY WINE PRESS — One might think I have this duty in respect to these things only! Scripture, however, states “that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee [shalt thou give him]” implying, of all with which thy Creator hath blessed thee. Why, then, are these alone specifically mentioned? To teach you the following: How is it with these things? They have the characteristic that they come under the term of “blessing”, (i.e. they possess the power of propagating) so, too, you are obliged to furnish him only with such things that come under the term “blessing”, thus excluding mules, (because they are sterile) (Sifrei Devarim 119:3; Kiddushin 17a). — Our Rabbis have derived in Treatise Kiddushin 17a by reasoning from the analogous expressions found in certain texts (גז"ש) what quantities one must give him of all the different kinds here mentioned.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.