Deuteronomy 23:15

Orders are here given about five several things which have no relation one to another: -

I. The land of Israel is here made a sanctuary, or city of refuge, for servants that were wronged and abused by their masters, and fled thither for shelter from the neighbouring countries, Deu 23:15, Deu 23:16. We cannot suppose that they were hereby obliged to give entertainment to all the unprincipled men that ran from service; Israel needed not (as Rome at first did) to be thus peopled. But, 1. They must not deliver up the trembling servant to his enraged master, till upon trial it appeared that the servant has wronged his master and was justly liable to punishment. Note, It is an honourable thing to shelter and protect the weak, provided they be not wicked. God allows his people to patronise the oppressed. The angel bid Hagar return to her mistress, and Paul sent Onesimus back to his master Philemon, because they had neither of them any cause to go away, nor was either of them exposed to any danger in returning. But the servant here is supposed to escape, that is, to run for his life, to the people of Israel, of whom he had heard (as Benhadad of the kings of Israel, Kg1 20:31) that they were a merciful people, to save himself from the fury of a tyrant; and in that case to deliver him up is to throw a lamb into the mouth of a lion. 2. If it appeared that the servant was abused, they must not only protect him, but, supposing him willing to embrace their religion, they must give him all the encouragement that might be to settle among them. Care is taken both that he should not be imposed up on in the place of his settlement - let it be that which he shall choose and where it liketh him best, and that he should not exchange one hard master for many - thou shalt not oppress him. Thus would he soon find a comfortable difference between the land of Israel and other lands, and would choose it to be his rest for ever. Note, Proselytes and converts to the truth should be treated with particular tenderness, that they may have no temptation to return.

II. The land of Israel must be no shelter for the unclean; no whore, no Sodomite, must be suffered to live among them (Plm 1:17, Plm 1:18), neither a whore nor a whoremonger. No houses of uncleanness must be kept either by men or women. Here is, 1. A good reason intimated why there should be no such wickedness tolerated among them: they were Israelites. This seems to have an emphasis laid upon it. For a daughter of Israel to be a whore, or a son of Israel a whoremaster, is to reproach the stock they are come of, the people they belong to, and the God they worship. It is bad in any, but worst in Israelites, a holy nation, Sa2 13:12. 2. A just mark of displeasure put upon this wickedness, that the hire of a whore, that is, the money she gets by her whoring, and the price of a dog, that is, of the Sodomite, pimp, or whoremaster (so I incline to understand it, for such are called dogs, Rev 22:15), the money he gets by his lewd and villainous practices, no part of it shall be brought into the house of the Lord (as the hire of prostitutes among the Gentiles was into their temples) for any vow. This intimates, (1.) That God would not accept of any offering at all from such wicked people; they had nothing to bring an offering of but what they got by their wickedness, and therefore their sacrifice could not but be an abomination to the Lord, Pro 15:8. (2.) That they should not think, by making and paying vows, and bringing offerings to the Lord, to obtain leave to go on in this sin, as (it should seem) some that followed that trade suggested to themselves, when their offerings were admitted. Pro 7:14, Pro 7:15, This day have I paid my vows, therefore came I forth to meet thee. Nothing should be accepted in commutation of penance. (3.) That we cannot honour God with our substance unless it be honestly and honourably come by. It must not only be considered what we give, but how we got it; God hates robbery for burnt-offerings, and uncleanness too.

III. The matter of usury is here settled, Deu 23:19, Deu 23:20. (1.) They must not lend upon usury to an Israelite. They had and held their estates immediately from and under God, who, while he distinguished them from all other people, might have ordered, had he so pleased, that they should have all things in common among themselves; but instead of that, and in token of their joint interest in the good land he had given them, he only appointed them, as there was occasion, to lend to one another without interest, which among them would be little or no loss to the lender, because their land was so divided, their estates were so settled, and there was so little of merchandise among them, that it was seldom or never that they had occasion to borrow any great sums, only what was necessary for the subsistence of their families when the fruits of their ground had met with any disaster, or the like; and, in such a case, for a small matter to insist upon usury would have been very barbarous. Where the borrower gets, or hopes to get, it is just that the lender should share in the gain; but to him that borrows for his necessary food pity must be shown, and we must lend, hoping for nothing again, if we have wherewithal to do it, Luk 6:35. (2.) They might lend upon usury to a stranger, who was supposed to live by trade, and (as we say) by turning the penny, and therefore got by what he borrowed, and came among them in hopes to do so. By this it appears that usury is not in itself oppressive; for they must not oppress a stranger, and yet might exact usury from him.

IV. The performance of the vows wherewith we have bound our souls is here required; and it is a branch of the law of nature, Deu 23:21-23. (1.) We are here left at our liberty whether we will make vows or no: If thou shalt forbear to vow (some particular sacrifice and offering, more than was commanded by the law), it shall be no sin to thee. God had already signified his readiness to accept a free-will offering thus vowed, though it were but a little fine flour (Lev 2:4, etc.), which was encouragement enough to those who were so inclined. But lest the priests, who had the largest share of those vows and voluntary offerings, should sponge upon the people, by pressing it upon them as their duty to make such vows, beyond their ability and inclination, they are here expressly told that it should not be reckoned a sin in them if they did not make any such vows, as it would be if they omitted any of the sacrifices that God had particularly required. For (as bishop Patrick well expresses it) God would have men to be easy in his service, and all their offerings to be free and cheerful. (2.) We are here laid under the highest obligations, when we have made a vow, to perform it, and to perform it speedily: "Thou shalt not be slack to pay it, lest if it be delayed beyond the first opportunity the zeal abate, the vow be forgotten, or something happen to disable thee for the performance of it. That which has gone out of thy lips as a solemn and deliberate vow must not be recalled, but thou shalt keep and perform it, punctually and fully." The rule of the gospel goes somewhat further than this. Co2 9:7, Every one, according as he purposeth in his heart, though it have not gone out of his lips, so let him give. Here is a good reason why we should pay our vows, that if we do not God will require it of us, will surely and severely reckon with us, not only for lying, but for going about to mock him, who cannot be mocked. See Ecc 5:4.

V. Allowance is here given, when they passed through a cornfield or vineyard, to pluck and eat of the corn or grapes that grew by the road-side, whether it was done for necessity or delight, only they must carry none away with them, Deu 23:24, Deu 23:25. Therefore the disciples were not censured for plucking the ears of corn (it was well enough known that the law allowed it), but for doing it on the sabbath day, which the tradition of the elders had forbidden. Now, 1. This law intimated to them what great plenty of corn and wine they should have in Canaan, so much that a little would not be missed out of their fruits: they should have enough for themselves and all their friends. 2. It provided for the support of poor travellers, to relieve the fatigue of their journey, and teaches us to be kind to such. The Jews say, "This law was chiefly intended in favour of labourers, who were employed in gathering in their harvest and vintage; their mouths must not be muzzled any more than that of the ox when he treads out the corn." 3. It teaches us not to insist upon property in a small matter, of which it is easy to say, What is that between me and thee? It was true the grapes which the passenger ate were none of his own, nor did the proprietor give them to him; but the thing was of so small value that he had reason to think were he present, he would not deny them to him, anymore than he himself would grudge the like courtesy, and therefore it was no theft to take them. 4. It used them to hospitality, and teaches us to be ready to distribute, willing to communicate, and not to think every thing lost that is given away. Yet, 4. It forbids us to abuse the kindness of our friends, and to take the advantage of fair concessions to make unreasonable encroachments: we must not draw an ell from those that give but an inch. They may eat of their neighbour's grapes; but it does not therefore follow that they may carry away.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Deu_23:15-16.—REFUGEES.

Thou shalt not deliver . . . the servant.—Even on Israelitish ground the escaped slave was free. Rashi adds, “Even a Canaanitish slave who has escaped from abroad into the land of Israel.”

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

Deu 23:15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:

Ver. 15. The servant that is escaped.] A heathen servant that flees for religion, and desires to "join himself to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servant," such must have no cause given them to say, "The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people." {Isa 56:2; Isa 56:6}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu_23:15-16

Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped.

The escaped slave

A Flemish artist was painting a picture when two friends noticed the high finish of a broom which was only an insignificant item in the composition. He told them he should spend three more days in working on the broom, intending to be mindful of detail in the general effect of his picture. Moses gave grand laws to the Israelites. His legislation as to the religious duties of the people is sublime. But he was not indifferent to regulations touching their common life, and bent his mind to the task of showing the minute as well as the vast in the order of right-doing. The word servant as used by Moses meant slave. Remembering what the Israelites had to endure in their Egyptian bondage, he had great sympathy with those who were held in servitude and compelled to work without remuneration. He could well understand that a man or woman in slavery, badly treated, and with no hope of an ameliorated lot, would, if possible, get away from the cruel owner and make a desperate rush for liberty. He did not blame the slave for stealing away from the owner. If technically there was theft in such an action, there was no dishonesty. The slaves who at one time escaped from southern plantations to Canada did no wrong. The masters suffered loss, but they lost what did not belong to them by any righteous law. There is a moral and spiritual application of this. Many people are in slavery. It is true they have not lost their civil liberty; they have not been sold in any slave market; they know nothing of literal chains, scourges, and labour for which there is no payment. They are proud of the freedom which is one of the glories of their native land. But they are slaves, for they are in bondage to evils which they have allowed to obtain mastery over their souls. There are powers in them which make them feeble for action when they would do good, and almost force them to transgression of Divine law. They have a right to break loose from the enthralling powers of sin, for sin holds nothing by legal proprietorship. Every sinner has a right to freedom, and is urged to rush to Jesus as a refuge from tyranny. The escaped slave was to be kept from the pursuer. When in the morning the master called for the slave, and there was no answer, and looked for him, but could not find him, he would conclude at once that the slave had gone away. Making inquiries, the master would ascertain the direction the fugitive had gone, and follow him until he found the place in which he was hiding. He would say to the elders: My slave is here, and I must have him. Give him up to me. No, no was to be the reply; we shall never give him up, and so long as these walls stand the poor man shall be kept out of your hands. We rejoice that our country has long been what the Israelitish village and city were to be to the escaped slave in the old time. The footprint of the slave on British soil is the certificate of his manumission. When the slaves of sin get loose from their bonds, and escape into Immanuels land, they at once experience the blessedness there is in the liberty of the children of God. Christ never gives up to any old master those who have fled for refuge to His land; He loves them so much that He does not wish to have them out of His sight; and to defend them from the powers which would tear them back to sin He throws around them the awful grandeur and radiant blaze of His own perfections. The escaped slave was to be kindly treated. The man who had made a rush for freedom was not to rush into a new slavery. Those to whom he fled for refuge were not to take advantage of his necessities and use him in compulsory labour for their own profit; no service or tax was to be levied on him as the price of security from his old master. He was to be treated as a free Israelite, and to be allowed to live and work where he liked. The sinner who escapes from slavery to Immanuels land is to be welcomed and cared for by members of the Church. He is to be recognised as having a claim to brotherly love, and to all the dignities and privileges that distinguish the Christian life. Even if members of the Church do look shyly on a newly converted sinner, Jesus does not, but bids him welcome to the palace of love, and opens to him immensities of blessing. (J. Marrat.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu 23:15-16. The servant which is escaped from his master — It seems, from the connection, that this has a particular relation to times of war, when heathen soldiers or servants might desert and come over to the Israelites with intent to turn proselytes to the true religion. In which case, they were neither to send them back, and expose them to the severity of their heathen masters, nor use them hardly themselves, but permit them to live peaceably, and with full enjoyment of all the liberties and privileges of a proselyte in Israel, Lev 19:33; Lev 19:35. It may be understood, likewise, of such foreign servants as, upon inquiry, appeared to be unjustly oppressed by their masters. For it is not strange if the great God, who hates all tyranny, and styles himself the refuge of the oppressed, should interpose his authority to rescue such persons from their cruel masters. He shall dwell with thee in the place which he shall choose — This shows plainly that the passage is not to be understood of the servants of the Israelites their brethren, but of aliens and strangers; he is said to be escaped, and to be allowed to dwell among them, which the servant of an Israelite was supposed to do before.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Toleration and Non-Toleration in the Congregation of the Lord. - Deu 23:15, Deu 23:16. A slave who had escaped from his master to Israel was not to be given up, but to be allowed to dwell in the land, wherever he might choose, and not to be oppressed. The reference is to a slave who had fled to them from a foreign country, on account of the harsh treatment which he had received from his heathen master. The plural `adoniym denotes the rule.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Israel at Home

Chaps. Deu_23:15 to Deu_25:19

15Thou shalt not deliver5 unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16He shall dwell with thee, even among you in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it liketh [good for him, so margin] him best: thou shalt not oppress him. 17There shall be no whore6 [consecrated, devoted one] of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God. 19Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother [lay upon thy brother]: usury7 of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent [accustomed to be lent] upon usury: 20Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 21When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be [and it is] sin in thee. 22But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. 23That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a free-will offering [freely, voluntarily] according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth. 24When thou comest into thy neighbor’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure [as thy desire (soul) is]; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. 25When thou comest into the standing-corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand: but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing-corn.

Deu_24:1 to Deu_22:1 When [If] a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that [if] she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness [nakedness of a thing] in her: then let him write her a bill of 2divorcement,8 and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when 3she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement [a separating writing], and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4Her former husband which sent her away, may not take her again [return to take her] to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin [make it sinful] which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. 5When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business9: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken. 6No man shall take the nether [the hand-mill] or the upper10 mill-stone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge. 7If a man be found stealing any of his [a soul (person) of his] brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him [constrain him violently] or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you. 8Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that [as] the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. 9Remember what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come [in your coming] forth out of Egypt. 10When thou dost lend11 thy brother anything, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch12 his pledge: 11Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee: 12And if the man be poor [a bound, oppressed man], thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: 13In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment [over-cloak, mantle], and bless thee; and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God. 14Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: 15At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it [lifteth his soul unto it]: lest he cry [and he shall not cry] against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. 16The fathers shall not be put to death for [with, on account of] the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for [in] his own sin. 17Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless, nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: 18But thou shalt remember that [And remember, for] thou wast a bond-man in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing [word]. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, 19thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 20When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again13 [search the boughs after thee]: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21When thou gatherest [cuttest off] the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward [after this]: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Deu_25:1 to Deu_19:1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come [near (hither)] unto judgment, that [and] the judges may [omit may] judge them; 2then [and] they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. Ana [Then] it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten [a son of stripes], that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault [what his fault requires] by a certain number. 3Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee. 4Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out [lit. and marg.: in his threshing] the corn. 5If brethren dwell together, and one of them die and have no child [son], the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s14 brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. 6And it shall be, that the first-born which she beareth, shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7And if the man like not to take his brother’s15 wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s 8brother. Then [And] the elders of his city shall[om. shall] call him, and speak unto him: and if [om. if] he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her, 9Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer [reply], and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house. 10And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed [the bare-footed]. 11When men strive together one with another [together a man and his brother], and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets: 12Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her. 13Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights [stone and a stone. So the marg.], a great and a small: 14Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures [an ephah and an ephah, marg.], 15a great and a small: But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just16 measure shalt thou have; that thy days may be 16lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. For all [every one] that do such things, and all [every one] that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God. 17Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, 18when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he [who] met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary: and he feared not God. Therefore [And] it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; 19thou shalt not forget it.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

1. Deu_23:15-18. The previous directions for war, offer the point of union here, since in the time of war servants might easily escape from the enemy. It occurs, however, when Israel was abroad in the field; but now he is at home, Deu_23:16; hence there is a return so far to Deu_23:1-8, as (Deu_23:15) the dwelling of a heathen servant might be hazardous as to the sacred character of the people of God. But the escaped (who will rescue himself) to Israel desires the very same thing which Israel himself had experienced at the hand of God (Deu_23:15, נצל); without considering, that the individual ownership, the right of possession, even according to Egyptian ideas, “ceases when that of the whole people comes to an end.” (Schultz). If Jehovah delivers the enemy before Israel, Israel should not deliver any one, even a slave, into hostile, and at the same time arbitrary power. סגר Hiphil delivered to be shut up, in order to be held more securely, perhaps even at first to be cruelly punished. Deu_23:16. But even in Israel itself such a fugitive should not be made to feel his position by oppression, fraud, defamation, etc., (Exo_22:21; Lev_19:33), but should be permitted to do as he likes, as a fellow-dweller in the good land of Jehovah. Comp. upon Deu_1:16; Deu_10:18 sq.; Deu_14:29 (Deu_14:21). “No active efforts for the conversion of the heathen were enjoined.” Baumgarten. Such a reception of one escaping from the heathen meets however, Deu_23:17, immediately its limitations. This consecrated (prostitute) belonged to the Phœnician, Syrian goddess of love (Astarte, Mylitta). Prostitution might awaken in Israel a like religious service with that existing of old in Canaan (Gen_38:21) so that the designation (Kedeshah) becomes an honorable title for a prostitute, (Lev_19:29). There were Sodomites also, Lev_18:22; Job_36:14 (1Ki_14:24; 2Ki_23:7). Still less should they deliver to Jehovah (Deu_23:18) the gift or hire. זונה from זנה to depart from the true form of the sexual life, marriage; to digress, to commit excesses. Such gifts were a reward for religious iniquity, a present in which the God of Israel was treated as a lust idol. The special gift was a kid of the goats, Gen_38:17 sq., but also money, hence the price of a dog, not the money received for a dog sold, but the reward of gain of Kadesh (κίναιδος) a Sodomite, one who endured, “what one dog suffers from another.” Knobel. Used here figuratively, because it had grown into a terminus technicus (Rev_22:15; Rev_21:8). Upon house of the Lord. Comp. Intro., § 4, I. 23. For any vow, as Phænician lewdness, dedicated especially these fruits of the body to idols. Even both these, the gift and the giver.

2. Deu_23:19-20. The discourse passes from God to our neighbor, as in Deu_23:20, at the close, back again to God, in a genuine deuteronomic way, showing the profound understanding of the law, of the connection between the two tables. Deu_23:19. נֶשֶׁךְ (from נשׁך to bite) literally something biting, oppressive, the Hiphil is not to give interest, but to take, as Exo_22:25; Lev_25:36 sq.; for if the taking was forbidden, the obligation not to give is of course evident, especially since only the necessity of a brother could bring him to borrow, in the simple relations of Israel, and unselfish love should have arranged for this. We are not to think here of the speculations of trade. Deu_23:20. Comp. Deu_15:3; Deu_15:6; Deu_14:21; for the rest Deu_12:7. The stranger is perhaps one passing through Israel for purposes of trade, not one (גר) remaining or dwelling for a time among Israel. The Phœnicians, Arabians certainly, took interest from Israel. [The permission to take usury (interest) from the stranger carries with it of course the principal. And it is probable that the loaning of money at fair and easy rates, to aid or accommodate a brother, is not here prohibited. And even if prohibited here, it is only for the special cases, and in the peculiar circumstances of the ancient people of God.—A. G.].

3. Deu_23:21-23. נדר, kindred with נזר to set apart, in Niphal: to abstain from anything, to consecrate oneself to anything, hence נדר a devoted thing. The fulfilling must follow. Comp. Deu_15:9. If sin, then of course the demand with penalty. On the other hand the vow, even when near at hand, and customary, may be discontinued. For it is, Deu_23:23, voluntary, or a free-will offering; but the freedom before it is uttered, makes the obligation still stronger afterwards. שׁמר as always to preserve. נְדָבָה voluntariness, here without the בְּ (Hos_14:5), merely voluntary, from נָדַב to move, to give freely, intrans. movable, to be willing, generous, אשר generally what was vowed, especially the utterance, or vow. Comp. moreover Leviticus 27; Num_6:30.

4. Deu_23:24-25. The freedom over against God (with respect to that belonging to Him) leads now again to a corresponding freedom in regard to the property of our neighbor: the more comprehensible as Jehovah is the literal and permanent owner of the promised land. These verses relate to the thirsting and hungry, the former standing first here as the deepest and most painful necessity. The needy one therefore is not the laborer, but rather the traveller, the passer by. It is expressly forbidden that any one should make out of this freedom a means of support. The literal poverty in Israel is not in view here. Comp. further Deu_12:15; Deu_12:20 sq.; Deu_14:26. Fill thy desire. שׂבע, full, be satisfied, satisfaction. Accusative of the closer limitation. Deu_23:25. Comp. upon Deu_16:9. מְלִילָה the ears as standing out. [Ges.: as cut off], (Mat_12:1; Luk_6:1). Usually roasted, Lev_23:14. Thus take no store along with them.

5. Deu_24:1-5. This chapter leads us into the home of the Israelite, into his domestic life. Deu_24:1-4. Of divorce. Deu_24:1. Comp. Deu_22:13; Deu_21:13. To marry a wife, according to this, is to take property into possession, hence to become her lord. The divorce was thus as a mater of fact supposed, and indeed in the case which Moses, in this view of the wife, must leave as it is—when in the closer and daily intercourse of life she was not pleasing to the husband—and thus entirely as in subjection to him who had power over her. Her not finding favor with him must truly rest upon a previous finding on his side with regard to her, and through this has its ground and motives. While the latter finding is always put into the husband’s hands alone, it must still be something that is nakedness (uncleanness) and not might be nakedness (Deu_23:14). Thus a physical or moral occasion for divorce. The school of Hillel at the time of Christ interpreted it as κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰταἰαν (Mat_19:3), i.e., any thing which may not be pleasing to the husband—purely subjective. The stricter school of Schammai confined it to some immodesty, shamelessness, lewdness, adultery. But this latter was a capital crime. Knobel holds correctly, no doubt, to some physical defect. Upon the writing see Hengstenb. Auth. I. 460. In connection with the supposed spread of the art of writing among Israel, this divorce does not appear to have been directly made more difficult by the סֵפֶר (letter, writing) of divorcement, although this may have been the case when “the learned priest or Levite must be brought, who would seek to reconcile the husband.” Herxheimer. Such a form of divorce, gave only into the hand of the divorced wife that which would show, that she was legitimately dismissed, and so free, both generally and before other men, and over against her husband hitherto (Deu_24:4). Deu_24:2. Is a description of her freedom. Deu_24:3. In direct continuance of the preceding, Deu_24:1-2, this verse now utters more fully the case, which is literally in view here. Comp. Deu_21:15; Deu_22:13. A decided hatred alternates with what is said, Deu_24:1, which as to the rest is repeated, except that the case of a wife freed again by the event of death is further supposed here. The apodosis now follows with the condition or limitation of the divorce. [See textual notes. The sentence should be read as one, Deu_24:1-4. The pointing in the original makes it clear that Moses does not institute or command divorce. The pointing in our version implies that he does so. He is merely prescribing limitations or regulations to a prevailing custom, which was not in accordance with the institution of marriage, and was only permitted there in this limited sense, and under these restrictions, “for the hardness of their hearts.” At the same time all these directions tend evidently to prevent any hasty or passionate rupture of the marriage bond, and to guard the interests of the wife as the party most needing protection. For while it seems probable that the wife might initiate the divorce, it was very seldom done.—A. G.]. It is worthy of notice, that the original husband is designated בעל, while the second is always called merely אִישּׁ But although the idea of marriage according to its institution (Gen_2:23 sq.) may not be brought out in this connection, yet still the prohibition, this legal impossibility to take her again, would serve without doubt to check, a hasty divorce, the degradation of the woman, and especially the bestializing of the sexual relation of man and wife. Reconciliation is possible, indeed may be silently read between the lines (comp. 2Sa_3:14), but not the taking her again to wife, after that (אַהֲרֵי referring to the אִיש־אחר, Deu_24:2), she is defiled. Hothpaal: Suffered herself to be defiled. Polluta est alius concubitu. J. H. Michaelis. [Thus it is clear even in these verses. As the Bib. Com. remarks “that divorce whilst tolerated for the time contravenes the order of nature and of God. The divorced woman who marries again is defiled.” This of course is subject to the interpretation of our Lord, who Himself makes divorce valid, and the innocent party free, on the ground of adultery. Our Lord’s teaching on this subject is found in Mat_5:31-32; Mat_19:3-9; Luk_16:18; and Mar_10:2-12. It seems to be clear that we are here taught that while marriage is an indissoluble compact between one man and one woman, which cannot be dissolved at the mere arbitrary will of either party, or indeed of both parties, it may be dissolved by the sin of fornication on the part of either. If a man puts away his wife for any other cause, he commits adultery; if upon this ground he is not guilty of any offence. Where divorce takes place upon this ground there is no sin, even if the man marries again. He is free; as the bond has been annulled by the sin of the other party, and so vice versa.—A. G.]. See Lev_18:20; Num_5:13 sq., of adultery. Man and wife are one flesh, Gen_2:24. To become the same with a third party is not barely a levitical (Lev_15:18) but a moral desecration of the marriage union. So fundamentally and essentially, Mat_5:32; Mat_19:9. As the second marriage of the divorced was defilement, so here remarriage with her first husband is abomination before (in the face of) Jehovah; expressively said in every case as Deu_7:25; Deu_12:31; Deu_22:5. Comp. further Lev_18:25; Jer_3:1. sq.

Deu_24:5. The newly formed marriage. A new wife, in distinction from the old, just forbidden him, from whom he had divorced himself; a first or a second wife, perhaps even a divorced or a widow. צָבָא a concentration of the soldierly or warlike manhood, Deu_20:7. While the betrothed must present himself, and then be dismissed, the newly-married is naturally not first marched out for a like release. To the previous prohibition limiting and making more difficult the marriage separation, now we have a positive relaxation in the interest of the marriage union, showing at the same time liberal indulgence to the fresh marriage band. עבר על to break in upon, to pass over any one. Job_13:13. Here generally no public burden. לכל as in Deu_23:18. At home, for the good of his just established domestic life. And cheer up his wife instead of causing her sorrow through the exposure of his life, or burdening her with care of any kind.

6. Deu_24:6-7. The founding of a home leads naturally to its preservation. Deu_24:6חָבַל to bind, by the taking of a pledge, to pledge. רֵחַיִם the handmill, the dual, to indicate the millstones, literally the grinder, from רָחָה to rub, crush. Neither the whole was to be so taken, nor the רֶכֶב in the sense of fixing—the lower stationary—or in the sense of moving [or as the rider] the upper movable stone. The daily preparation of the daily bread depended upon this, and consequently the life (soul) of the poor who had only the most necessary utensils. F. Bovet, in a description of a house at the village of Bireh, says: “the furniture consists of a handmill and a large earthen vessel containing the grain. The mill is a stone mortar, in which they turn a millstone by means of a handle, as in our corn-mills.” [See Thomson, The Land and the Book, pp. 294–296, for the structure and mode of using the mill.—A. G.]. Deu_24:7. The house should not only be preserved for the Israelite, but the Israelite at his home. נֶפֶש introduces the transition. Comp. further Deu_21:14. The harsh, violent treatment, is, as a true deuteronomic and real explanation, inserted between גנב and מכרּ Exo_21:16; (1Ti_1:10; Rev_18:13). Comp. still Deu_13:6. [Wordsworth: “St. Paul transcribes 1Co_5:13, the words of the Sept. here, and thus teaches us to apply these Levitical laws to spiritual things.”—A. G.].

7. Deu_24:8-9. The case, when an Israelite must leave his home, is: in the נֶגַע—time (upon the skin as from a blow) of צָרַעַת (from צָרַע to break forth) i.e., of the eruption, thus at the first appearance; as more precisely explained, Leviticus 13. sq. Schultz and Keil understand the בְ needlessly as if: take heed because (of the cost) of the plague of leprosy (as a punishment, i.e., do nothing to incur it). Luther, as the Vulg., takes בְ for מִן, from before. They should exactly and strictly observe (שׁמר) hold fast, what Moses had commanded the priests and Levites (Intro., § 4, I. 22). They thus direct only (Deu_17:10) according to the law, when they in case of the leprosy remove any one from his home and separate him from the people (Lev_13:45-46). The strictness of the admonition is followed by an equally stringent command to obedience, and this, Deu_24:9, is enforced by a reference to Miriam, Num_12:10 sq. In the case of Miriam the leprosy was the punishment for her rebellion against Moses; but it is not the leprosy, but what Jehovah had done to her (Num_12:14), her separation beyond the camp, which is here in view. The onward march of the people was at that time restrained by her course, Num_12:15. Neither the rank nor the person could be regarded.

8. 10–13. For the rest, the home of a fellow-Israelite must be respected. Deu_24:10. Comp. Deu_15:2; Deu_15:6. Johlson: In order to take his pledge. Herxheimer: To seize from him a pledge or security. The lender should not invade or disturb the home of the debtor, he is not to act as a landlord. It presupposes better relations than Deu_24:6. According to Deu_24:11 the borrower defines what the pledge shall be; that he can do without it, is also presupposed according to Deu_24:6. For if it is something which he can spare, indeed, but only for the day, so it may be taken from him only for the day. Deu_24:12 sq.; Comp. Exo_22:25-26. Deu_24:13. Comp. upon Deu_6:25. [The directions here given are to guard the poor and unfortunate from oppression. Their homes could not be violated. The creditor must stand without and wait for the pledge to be brought. But the right to the pledge is recognized. It must be brought. And doubtless the law or custom would regulate what pledge was sufficient. Within these limits the creditor would have the right to judge.—A. G.].

9. Deu_24:14-22. The mention of the debtor leads, Deu_24:14-15, to the similarly placed laborer, but with this to the still wider and varied methods how Israel must deport itself at home. Deu_24:16-22. For עני, Deu_24:14, as Deu_24:12 (comp. Deu_15:11), and upon the added אֶבְיוֹן (comp. Deu_15:4). עָשַׁק, to cut, to defraud, comp. upon Lev_19:13. גֵר collectively. Deu_24:15. He was usually a day-laborer (Mat_20:8).—Upon it, i.e. the wages which are still deferred (Eph_4:26). So also upon it, i.e. he raises, lifts up his desire upon that, which to each day is its fitting reward. Comp. further Deu_15:9 (Jam_5:4). The condition and expectation of the poor should Israel consider at home, and hence, Deu_24:16 does not confound the justice of God (Deu_5:9) with that of men, nor visit the death-penalty upon the closest kindred of the guilty, as the physical connection carried with it the punishment among the Persians and other heathen nations. על (Deu_22:6), upon, i.e., on account of. In such wretched cases Israel must regard and spare the family band, which might impel to like heathen practices (2Ki_14:6; 2Ch_25:4; Jer_31:30; Eze_18:20). Deu_24:17 regards the condition of the poor in its wider relation; comp. Deu_16:19; Deu_10:18-19; Deu_27:19. Upon the whole passage, comp. Exo_22:21 sq.; Deu_23:9; Lev_19:33 sq. The righteousness, Deu_24:13, leads at first in Deu_24:14-15, to that which is privately right and reasonable, but then, Deu_24:16, to the public justice; so we pass in Deu_24:17 from right generally in the private relations, to the right as connected with security or pledges (Deu_24:6). In Israel right should be maintained publicly and privately, and indeed according to righteousness as it is love, or better still, grace and mercy, as man becomes acquainted with it in God (Deu_24:13, לפני יהוה), as Israel especially had already grown acquainted with it in his God. The widow, the womanly, is noticed with peculiar tenderness; her raiment may be viewed as a whole history of poverty (Deu_24:12). Upon Deu_24:18, comp. Deu_15:15; Deu_5:15; Deu_7:8. Deu_24:19-22. These verses respect the state and even expectation of the poor which they are justified in cherishing, from their position under Jehovah, the landlord of Canaan. Comp. Lev_19:9 sq.; Deu_23:22; Deu_14:29. The olives, when they were not entirely ripe, were beaten off with poles, and then yielded finer oil (Isa_17:6). Deu_24:22 as Deu_24:18. [The three-fold repetition, 19, 20, 21, of these classes who were thus partly provided for, is calculated surely to impress the care and tenderness of God over the poor, and the humanity of the laws of Moses.—A. G.]

10. Chap. 25, Deu_25:1-3. To the wretched, not habitually, but for the time, in the ideal connection of this paragraph with the foregoing, belongs also the case of one exposed to punishment. But Deu_25:1 brings out first of all the prevailing righteousness for Israel. The poor or wretched even in this reference could only be treated righteously. Comp. Exo_23:7. צדק, to be firm, straight. Opposed to רָשַׁע, to separate, to turn aside. Whoever in any given case is righteous, the opponent is unrighteous, i.e. guilty, not however in the moral sense, but sensu forensi. Deu_25:2. לְפָנָיו, i.e. before the judge, who should observe the number and the kind of stripes, and perhaps also limit the dishonor in the case, through such a form of proceeding. Bovet, who regards the tabernacle “as the tent of justice standing in the centre of the people,” before which “the Lord of Israel cites His people,” describes the mode in which justice is pronounced and executed in Egypt to-day; the whole scene now aptly illustrating that which we may suppose to have occurred here. כדי (comp. Deu_15:8), according to the measure, with reference to the number, i.e. as many as the crime demands according to the jus talionis, Deu_25:3. Forty, i.e. 4 × 10. thus according to all the world, on all sides, a perfect measure. (“From Gen_7:12 it is the full measure of the development of judgment.” Keil.)—Not exceed, i.e., not more than forty. Anxious not to overstep this extreme limit, the later Jews fixed the number of stripes at thirty-nine (2Co_11:24).—[And yet they did not hesitate to use the whip or scourge, instead of the stick or rod.—A. G.]—Any excess over these would be too many stripes—not so much in reference to what a man can endure, as with respect to its spiritual, humane side or aspect. In such a case there would be no limit to the arbitrary will; the sufferer, as to why he was still punished, would not be under the law, but barely under the rod; he would not be even under the protection of the law. Moreover, he would suffer loss in the eyes of his brethren, if it was not retribution nor even dishonor, but the stripes merely which were in view here. וְנִקְלָה, from קָלָה, to rub open, sweep away [Ges.: roast], e.g. by fire, hence light, to make small, despicable, so that it is not necessary to render the Niphal with Meier to be ruined.—[Bib. Com.: “The son of Israel was not to be lashed like a slave at the mercy of another. The judge was to see that the law was not over-passed.”—A. G.]

11. Deu_25:4. The treatment of a man as a brute, if we can think of such in an unlimited scourging, gives occasion for the mention of the brutes even, according to righteousness, Deu_25:4. If his wages are to be given to the hired laborer daily, so also the laboring animal should be permitted to eat of the grain which it treads out, or over which it draws the threshing-cart (Winer, Lex. I., p. 276). Comp. upon this the present usage in the East; Hengst., Moses and Egypt (1Co_9:9; 1Ti_5:18). Such a reference to animals makes the reference to the dead brother in the following paragraph to appear more appropriate.—[Wordsworth dwells upon the use which the Apostle makes of this passage, “not only as showing that the Levitical law has a spiritual sense, in which it is still binding upon all, but as giving us the key by which we may unlock the casket and take out of its treasures.” But this opens wide the door to a very loose and fanciful exposition. It would need great sobriety and judgment to keep at all within bounds on the principle here stated. We cannot safely argue from what the apostle did, and justify ourselves in a like course. And the Apostle seems to use the words rather as illustrative of the truth he was teaching than as assigning to them a figurative and spiritual sense.—A. G.]

12. Deu_25:5-10. The Levirate marriages. It is not the dead brother alone, but the widow also, who with him claims special notice here. In the following primitive institution there is no allusion to the “taking possession of the landed property”, Knobel, and hence, Deu_25:5, the dwelling together cannot be placed as a condition to the obligation, with Knobel, Keil [Bib. Com.], but only brings to bear from the beginning, the actual position, the local nearness of the brother-in-law as giving rise to it. It was customary to dwell together, if not in the same house, yet upon the same paternal inheritance. וּבֵן אֵין־לֹו, according to Jewish tradition, without child or grandchild, Mat_22:24; Mar_12:19; Luk_20:28. That a son was alluded to here, and expressly in Deu_25:6, is only natural. But if the dead left behind him even a daughter, it was, according to Num_27:4; Num_36:8, sufficient. The widow was not free to marry any one belonging to a family beyond the tribe or kindred (Num_36:3). Comp. Gen_19:31. יָבָם, literally, allied, related by marriage, levir (δαήρ), in the Jewish interpretation: the own brother on the father’s side, if unmarried? יָבַם, Piel, act the part of the brother-in-law. Deu_25:6. Shall succeed [Schroeder: stand up], not to the name of his own father, but to that of his dead uncle, and so be registered in the genealogical table, i.e. as is self-evident, be enrolled as his heir. Others hold that he should not only thus perpetuate the name of the dead, but that he should be literally named after him. But comp. Rth_4:10; Rth_4:17, for the refutation of this view.—וְלֹא־יִמָּחֶה, from מחה, to wipe off, namely, from the genealogical tables. As e.g. Ohad (Gen_46:10; Exo_6:15; comp. with Num_26:12; 1Ch_4:24). Thus also it was not so much the marriage of the widow which was in question, as much more the preservation in this way of the name, and therewith the person of the dead. But while the law makes valid this custom, coming down from the time of the patriarchs (Gen_38:8), it is still only in its prevalent form a custom, and therefore without constraint. It leaves the inclination free, permits the refusal. Deu_25:7 delivers it from pure arbitrariness, regulates its expression (comp. Deu_21:19; Num_16:12-14), in the way of notice, accusation, public hearing and treatment by the magistrate, Deu_25:8, at which the marriage of the brother-in-law, as also the loss to his own inheritance (Rth_4:6), and even the perpetuation of his own name (Gen_38:9), may find public utterance, and ordains, in case the disinclination continues, no strictly legal punishment, but permits a temporary disgrace through the act of the sister-in-law, Deu_25:9, and a permanent disgrace in the community, Deu_25:10, both of which, however, could be maintained with the custom itself, or grow feeble, if they did not fall away with it.—In the presence of the elders, i.e. publicly, and because he must submit to what follows. The loosing of the shoe from his foot by the sister-in-law—in distinction from Rth_4:7-8, in which case it was not the own natural brother, and in which also the redemption of the inheritance was especially in view, and thus the kinsman himself could loose his own shoe—divested the unwilling brother-in-law of his rights with respect to the widow. Hupfeld: Psa_60:8 says correctly, it was the symbol of renunciation. The reproach put upon her is compensated by the spitting in his face (Lev_15:8; Num_12:14; Job_30:10); she now contemns him on her side. The Talmud weakens it into: spit before him on the ground. Upon ענה, comp. upon Deu_21:7; Deu_19:16, and also Gen_16:2; Gen_30:3; Rth_4:11. The founding and establishment of the family! Hence the reproachful title extends even to his house, and thus the occurrence becomes a lasting remembrance and reproach. But still not as Knobel, Keil, “a bare-footed abject,” since it is not as bare-footed, as without possessions, that he is infamous, but as one from whom his sister-in-law has loosed his shoe.

Deu_25:11-12, limit the interference of a woman permitted in the above custom (comp. קרב with נגשׁ, Deu_25:9); upon the other side, morality required such a limitation. Freedom, but not shamelessness, especially in regard to what the sister-in-law had precisely claimed (comp. Exo_21:22). The attack was, moreover, dangerous to life. Hence the severe and strict penalty which the Rabbins change into a penalty corresponding to the worth of the hand. Comp. Deu_19:21; Deu_7:16.—[“It is of course to be understood that the act was wilful, and that the penalty was inflicted by the sentence of the Judges. This is the only mutilation prescribed by the law of Moses, unless we accept the retaliation prescribed as a punishment for the infliction on another of bodily injuries, Lev_24:19 sq.” Bib. Com.—A. G.]

13. Deu_25:13-19. How Israel should proceed according to righteousness in trade, Deu_25:13-16, and in their intercourse with others, Deu_25:17-19. Deu_25:13. בְּכִיסְךָ. As they usually had a purse at the girdle for this purpose, Mic_6:11. The repetition: stone and stone [divers weights], (Deu_25:14 : Ephah and Ephah [divers measures]), as is immediately explained, designates the diverse, the two kinds of weights, the large used in the purchase, and the small in selling (Psa_12:2; Amo_8:5). As with the weights, so it should be also with the grain-measures (from אָפָה, to collect, gather, hold, whence: vessel). As in the purse, so in the house, i.e. neither to use, nor even to have. Deu_25:15. שָׁלֵם is unhurt, complete, whole, both all together, and each one by itself, must be just. For it concerns righteousness. Comp. Lev_19:36. The promise the same as in Deu_5:16 at the close of the first table. The more solemn conclusion follows in Deu_25:16; comp. Deu_28:12; Deu_22:5. The injunction passes from the particular trade, to every transaction of the kind generally. עָוֶל, to contract, distort, Arabia: to overstep the right measure. With this Deu_25:17 joins the exception, which is still however only according to the righteousness of God, and thus also forms the conclusion to this whole section. The case befel the Israelites on the way. Comp. Exo_17:8 sq. Deu_25:18 gives the closer description of the iniquitous conduct of Amalek from the recollection of an eye-witness, who had experienced it. זָנַב, to extend, to swerve, in the Piel: to bend aside, injure, destroy the tail, the rear. This inhumanity shows already that there is no fear of God with Amalek. Comp. on the other hand Exo_15:14; Exo_18:1. Deu_25:19. Comp. Deu_12:10; Exo_17:14; Deu_9:7. The execution follows in 1 Samuel 15.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. Israel itself “rescued from bondage,” realizes in Deu_23:15-16, “a command to humanity” (Knobel), but a humanity which appears to be stamped with the highest ideas of human nature. As according to its original destination, it was “to be a blessing to all the families of the earth,” so it is in Christ the asylum of enslaved humanity.

2. From the Old Testament stand-point, “the conversion of the Gentiles rests in the depths of hope and desire.” Baumgarten.

3. The element of lust in the heathen religions still in Mohammedanism. The dangerous character of religious fanaticism in this aspect. The sobriety of the religion of Israel.

4. Interest must be distinguished from usury; but also the persons, whether it is the poor borrowing from necessity, or others borrowing for gain.

5. Compare L. Wiese, upon the Vow in the evangelical sense, Berlin, 1861. Mosheim [Ethics VI., p. 177) distinguishes: either to omit things which otherwise could be done innocently, or to perform something which (or binding to some kind and manner of observance) the law does not require. The purpose: gratitude, desire to devote ourselves to God, zeal in sanctification. Vows should be maturely considered beforehand. Ben. Pictet, Morale Chret. I. Book III., Chap. 16.: The vow is a solemn promise to God to do some special thing in His service, and to His honor. Thus not as to the general life, as in baptism and in prayer.

6. When Moses comes to speak of divorce, the bill of divorcement is a ספר כריתת, a record literally of the cleaving apart, cutting away, namely, one from the other, of those who together were one flesh. Thus throughout according to the idea of marriage, which is its ethical spirit and end. The writing of divorcement is likewise also something more than the mere utterance or declaration of the husband; thou art dismissed, repudiated, as occurs among other Oriental nations. It is here treated especially in the interest of the ideality of marriage, see the Exegetical Notes. “The law-giver,” Knobel remarks, “appears to have regarded divorce unfavorably (Deu_23:4), and therein to have agreed with the prophets, Mal_2:16.” Israel is therein considered in its perfection, although the ordinance of Moses must imply the hardness of their hearts, as is truly the case (comp. Lange, Matthew 5 and Matthew 19). The negative character of the divine law has, in like manner as its pre supposition, what we are ever prone, to in our evil nature. Israel according to its nature separates the kind of his wives, but that he does so in opposition to the nature of true marriage, that appears manifoldly; and therewith “the rays of the full divine truth and revelation break through the dark veil, under which the actual life of Israel is permitted provisional room and scope.” Baumgarten.

7. As a militant church Israel must not however interfere with or prevent the inward peace and joy, Deu_24:5.

8. “Generally in the last discourses of Moses love is presented clearly as the innermost spirit of the law” (Baumgarten). A parallel: the last discourse of Jesus in the gospel by John.

9. How has the Mosaic law-giving obviated from the very first the violent measures which in Greece and Rome, from time to time, were found necessary to correct the hard and intolerable relations of the poor debtor!

10. “When Moses, who so strongly, and before all things, urges purity and holiness of heart, does not hesitate to consider the somewhat hard treatment of an animal (Deu_25:4) in the midst of the most important laws, he stands at the divine central point of the world, from which straight lines lead to all creatures.” (Baumgarten).

11. The Levirate marriage has indeed no connection with the general human “needs and desires of immortality” (Keil), although a similar custom is found among the Mongolians, Circassians, Druses, Abyssinians, and others. This necessity was not indeed distinctly felt by Israel, (hence the Sadduceean pretence, Mat_22:24 sq.), but it is truly from Abraham on entirely included in the promise, as Christ asserts, Matthew 22, and indeed the promise of this life, for the Word must become flesh. Thus the custom lying at the basis of the legal regulation is an old and honored one in the chosen family. Indeed the main line of the tribe of Judah, the peculiar line of promise, Mat_1:3 sq., springs from that forced or surreptitious marriage of Thamar (Genesis 38). Leyrer, Herz. Encycl., VIII. 358. Compare beside the Levirate marriage of Ruth. In Israel all is directed with reference to the name and the house, and not so much generally “to a continuous life in posterity” (Schultz). Hence beyond the law, and even those more distant than the brother are allowed to act. The Goel appears as the husband’s brother, Ruth 4. Hence even against the law (Lev_18:16), incest [Blutschande] is blood-honor; love as the fulfilling of the law. [It should be rather, that in this case and for the ends in view, to preserve the name, the house, the ordinary rules as to inter-marriage were set aside. Such a marriage was not incest.—A. G.].

12. For Amalek comp. Doct. and Eth. upon i. 6 sq. 6. What was said as to Israel at home, closes significantly with a recollection of the Edomite Amalek; for thus it is said that a man’s enemies will be those of his own house, and that Israel as the people of Jehovah must remain in the camp. Israel’s perfection is not merely secured through the promise in the future, but in the way of duty made dependent upon its development in obedience.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Deu_23:15-16. The letter of Paul to Philemon. Deu_23:18. Luther: “Thus all gains by sin are unacceptable to God; He will be honored with reverence. Berl. Bib.: “Even everything devoted in some measure to the Lord, on account of currish quarrels and bitterness among each other is also an abomination to the Lord.” Deu_23:19-20. Osiander: “If we decline a gain to please God He will in turn restore it to us in another place and way.” Deu_23:21-23. God loves a free-will service. Promises create obligation, and our acts should correspond with our words. Deu_23:24-25. Wurth. Bib.: “God gives the blessing upon our fields not for ourselves alone, but for our neighbors also.” Berl. Bib.: See the community of goods! It is all yours. But if thou takest for thyself unreasonably, with a false freedom, it applies not to thee.

Deu_24:1. Berl. Bib.: “The tying together of Samson’s foxes sets all in a flame.” Wurth. Bib.: “God often suffers that to happen in which He has no pleasure, in order to avoid greater evil and distress, Mat_13:30.” Berl. Bib.: “Christ wills that among believers, whose disposition is not so harsh, there should be obedience to the first institution, that all opposition should be obviated by love and reasonable endurance, all crosses and sickness should be patiently borne, and the marriage state preserved in faithfulness to the end of life.” Schultz: “Lycurgus, Solon, and Numa, permit according to Plutarch a change of wives.” Comp. Isa_1:1. God receives back again, Jer_3:1. [Wordsworth: “Here was God’s love made manifest. He invites the people generally of spiritual adultery to return to him.”—A. G.]. Deu_24:5. Osiander: “Woe to those who forbid to marry, 1Ti_4:3.” Berl. Bib.: “God spares young Christians heavy tests, and gives them some sweet foretastes of knowledge and consolation.” Deu_24:7. Starke: “Judas took his own life, Act_1:18.” Berl. Bib.: “The slave trade.” Osiander: “We should learn prudence from the loss of others, rather than by our own misfortune.” Berl. Bib.: “That the whole lump may not be leavened. 1Co_5:2; 1Co_5:6; 1Co_5:13.” [Wordsworth: Deu_24:13. He who injures the poor does violence to God.—A. G.]. Deu_24:15. Baumgarten: “Thus was the master put in the place of his laborers. But such feeling is possible only through love, which alone knows how to feel for others, to feel as they feel.” Comp. Jam_5:4. Osiander: “He is a thief in the sight of God.” Deu_24:16. Baumgarten: “If only strict righteousness rules then no child of Adam can hope for salvation or life; thus this iron link of the natural connection must be broken, which occurs only through divine grace. (Jer_31:29-30; Eze_18:20).” Deu_24:17 sq. Strangers, fatherless, widows; these three classes are here four times recommended. Deu_24:19. The forgotten sheaf the sheaf of the Lord. In this point they should not have a good remembrance, but a good conscience. Osiander: “Pious generosity brings no loss.” Deu_24:22. Lange: “God reveals the grounds of His will, to convince us so much more fully of its reasonableness; thus man should not require a blind obedience.

Deu_25:1. Richter: “An image of the righteousness of God, 1Ki_8:32.” Berl. Bib.: “The judicial office, a characteristic of God, is often made to be a characteristic of the devil.” Starke: “One may thus come before the judgment with a good conscience in case of need.” Deu_25:2, Herxheimer: “Every one was equal before the law in Israel.” Schultz: “This punishment fails in the modern idea of dignity, but not with respect to the knowledge of that worth or dignity, even in the body, grounded in the inward relation to Jehovah. The divine law requires that when a man has put off his own worth the delusive appearance of it shall be taken away also. Corporeal punishment, because of the moral earnestness and sense of truth.” Deu_25:3. The offender still a man. Schultz: “The guilt of the individual should bring to mind the guilt of all. The number forty characterizes the humiliation, the temptation, and the wandering as ordained by divine power. Comp. Gen_7:12; the forty years in the wilderness; Deu_9:9; Deu_9:18; Lev_12:1 sq.; Jon_3:4; Eze_4:6; 1Ki_19:8; Mat_4:2. Comp. Bahr II. 490.” Deu_25:5 sq. Baumgarten: “In the duty of mutual love and aid, the external communion first reaches its real truth and significance.” The levirate marriage has ceased among the Jews. Wurtb. Bib.: “Blood relatives should truly receive the widows and fatherless left behind, and aid them in word and deed.” Deu_25:9-10. Berl. Bib.: “Each family should be preserved by this law, that we may better recognize the Messiah, who should be born from the entirely humbled or sunken family of David.” Deu_25:11 sq. Starke: “Every immodest touch is sin.” Deu_25:13 sq. Schultz: “The most customary and daily transactions are the most important; where there is the most sin there will be the most sighs. Mammon is always a mammon of unrighteousness.” [“It is noteworthy that John the Baptist puts the like duties in the fore-front of his preaching, Luk_3:12 sq.; and that the prophets, Eze_45:10-12; Amo_8:8; Mic_6:10-11, and the Psalms, insist upon these duties;” Bib. Com.—A. G.]. Richter: “1 Thess. Deu_4:6. The curse of God is the righteous penalty for such secret sins. Israel must have just balances as God in His sanctuary.” Berl. Bib.: “Not two kinds of words in thy mouth.” Baumgarten: “These manifold directions of love and indulgence, end in this sharp point, that love and indulgence may never blunt in Israel the sense for the opposition to all evil.” Schultz: “As the development of the world cannot end but in the dualism of heaven and hell, so neither the development of the law, without this dualism of love and hatred.”

Footnotes:

[5][Deu_23:15. Literally: Thou shalt not shut.—A. G.].

[6][Deu_23:17. Margin: Sodomites. Literally: sanctified, or a holy one. Words expressive of consecration were applied by the heathen to designate those sunken in peculiar sins.—A. G.].

[7][Deu_23:19. The Hebrew word is expressive from the root, to bite, as if any interest was biting or oppressive.—A. G.].

[8][Deu_24:1. Literally: and he shall give unto her a roll, writing, of cutting off. The accents in the original do not justify the colon in this verse; and the construction requires that the periods at the end of Deu_23:1-2 should be removed.— A. G.].

[9][Deu_24:5. Margin: more literally: not any thing shall paes upon him.—A. G.].

[10][Deu_24:6. Hebrew: the chariot or rider.—A. G.].

[11][Deu_24:10. Margin: lend the loan of anything.—A. G.].

[12][Deu_24:10. To pledge his pledge. Schroeder: that he may pledge his pledge.—A. G.].

[13][Deu_24:20. Margin: Thou shalt not bough it after thee.—A. G.].

[14][Deu_25:5. The margin: next kinsman is not so literal as the text. It is rather an interpretation than a reading.—A. G.].

[15][Deu_25:7. The text is to be preferred to the margin.—A. G.].

[16][Deu_25:15. Literally: a full stone and righteousness shall be to thee, a fall ephah and righteousness shall be to thee. So Schroeder.—A. G.].

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This is meant of the heathen, who fled for their masters’ cruelty, and embraced the true religion.

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

Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped from his master unto thee--evidently a servant of the Canaanites or some of the neighboring people, who was driven by tyrannical oppression, or induced, with a view of embracing the true religion, to take refuge in Israel.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Thou shalt not deliver - the servant which is escaped - unto thee] That is, a servant who left an idolatrous master that he might join himself to God and to his people. In any other case, it would have been injustice to have harboured the runaway.

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

Thou shall not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee. That is, one that has been used ill by a cruel and tyrannical master, and was in danger of his life with him, or of being lamed by him, and therefore obliged to make his escape from him on that account; such an one, when he fell into the hands of an Israelite, was not to be taken and bound, and sent back to his master again, but was to be retained till his master's anger subsided; or however until inquiry could be made into the cause of the difference between him and his master, and matters be made up between them to mutual satisfaction; or if it appeared that the flight of the servant was just, and it was not safe for him to return to his master, then he was to be used as hereafter directed; for it cannot be thought that this law was made to encourage and protect every idle, disobedient, and fugitive servant, which would be very sinful and unjust: the Jewish writers generally understand it of the servants of idolaters fleeing for the sake of religion; Onkelos renders it,"a servant of the people,''of Heathen people; the Targum of Jonathan is,"thou shalt not deliver a stranger (i.e. a proselyte of righteousness, as Maimonides (w) calls this servant) into the hands of those that worship idols, but he shall be delivered by you, that he may be under the shadow of my Shechinah, because that he fled from the worship of his idol.''Jarchi makes mention of another sense; that it may be understood of"a Canaanitish servant of an Israelite that flees (from his master) without the land, where he was not obliged to go with him, and serve him against his will; but I suppose a proselyte is meant;''and much more then will this hold good of an Hebrew servant in such circumstances. Aben Ezra interprets this of a servant not an Israelite, who, in time of war, flees from his master, not an Israelite also, unto the camp of Israel, and that for the glory of the divine name which is called upon Israel; such an one, though a servant, might not be delivered to his master.

(w) Hilchot Abadim, c. 8. sect. 11.

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

The case in question is that of a slave who fled from a pagan master to the holy land. It is of course assumed that the refugee was not flying from justice, but only from the tyranny of his lord.

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

To thee, from among the Gentiles. The promised land was thus declared a land of liberty, (Calmet) to encourage poor slaves to embrace the service of the true God, and to flee from the slavery of the devil, and from the society of those who adored him in their idols. The whole earth belongs to the Lord, and He was thus pleased to punish those who might claim a right to these slaves. (Haydock) --- Some believe that the price was given to the owner, at the public expense. The Rabbins allow this privilege of an asylum, only to those who fled from a foreign country, or from an infidel master, to embrace the true religion. Circumcision was given to them as an inviolable mark of liberty. (Chaldean) Those who had been sold for their crimes, or for debt, by the sentence of the judge, could not claim this exemption. (Grotius, Jur. iii. 7.) --- Philo (de humanit.) says, it would be unjust to give up a slave who has sought refuge with us. We ought either to reconcile him to his master, or sell him to another, and give the price to the former owner. Some translate the Hebrew in a contrary sense, "Thou shalt not shut up the slave who has fled to thee from his master," as if it were unjust to refuse to deliver him up. But the law points out some cases where it is lawful for a slave to flee away, and consequently people must be allowed to receive him. The following verse is decisive in favour this explanation.

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).

This is not to be understood universally, as if all servants that flee from their masters, though without any sufficient cause or colour of justice, might be detained from them by any person to whom they fled for refuge, for this is apparently contrary to all the laws of religion, and justice, and charity, and would open a door to infinite disorders and mischiefs; but it is to be understood,

1. Of the servants of strangers, because it follows, Deu 23:16, he shall dwell with thee, even among you, which shows that he had dwelt with and belonged to another people.

2. Of such as belonged to the Canaanites, or other neighbouring nations, because if he had lived in remote countries, it is not probable that he would flee so far to avoid his master, or that his master would follow him so far to recover him. And for the Canaanites this sentence was most just, because both they and theirs were all forfeited to God and to Israel, and whatsoever they enjoyed was by special indulgence. And for the other neighbours it may seem just also, partly, because some of them were within the larger limits of the land belonging to Israel by God’s grant or deed of gift, Gen 15:18; Jos 1:4; partly, because by their hostile carriages they had given Israel a right to much more of theirs than a few servants that might possibly run away from their masters; and especially, because both masters and servants of these and other nations are unquestionably at the dispose of the Lord their Maker and sovereign Ruler.

3. Of such as upon inquiry appear to have been unjustly oppressed by their masters, as is implied by that phrase of his, making an escape, which supposeth a deliverance from danger or vexation. Now it is not strange nor unjust, if the great God, who hates all tyranny, and styles himself the refuge of the oppressed, doth interpose his authority, and help to rescue such persons from their cruel masters, who otherwise would be too strong for them.

4. Of such as came to them out of a desire to embrace the true religion, which possibly his master perceiving endeavoured by force to restrain him from, as it may be probably thought from his choosing and liking to live among the Israelites, expressed Deu 23:16. Now if this great and supreme Master, to whom all other masters are but servants, and they and theirs are absolutely in his power, shall receive and protect one that gives up himself to his service against the will of the under-master, who in this case rebels against his sovereign Lord, what shadow is there of injustice in the case?

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15, 16. The servant which is escaped — The fugitive from oppression was to be received. A slave who had fled from a heathen master was not to be sent back into bondage.

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

Vers. 15, 16. A slave that had escaped from his master was not to be given up, but allowed to dwell in the land, in whatever part he might choose. The reference is to a foreign slave who had fled from the harsh treatment of his master to seek refuge in Israel, as is evident from the expression, v djab, "in one of thy gates," i.e. in any part of thy land. Onkelos, ymim dbi "a slave of the Gentiles." His master; the word used is the plural adonim , masters. The use of this for a human master or lord is peculiar to the Pentateuch (cf. Gen_24:9, 51 39:2; Exo_21:4, Exo_21:6, Exo_21:32, etc.) In this use of the term there is no reference to severity of rule, as if this were a plural intensive.

Vers. 15, 16. Israel"s land a refuge for the oppressed.

For the Mosaic treatment of slavery, (see Homily on Deu_15:12-18) To the features of his legislation thereon this must be added that, as soon as ever a foreign slave set foot on Hebrew soil, he was free. Israel"s land was for him the land of liberty!

Vers. 15-23. Various precepts,

No very close connection exists between the precepts in these verses, yet they are variously related, and suggest by their juxtaposition lessons of importance. We have

I A WORD SPOKEN IN THE INTERESTS OF LIBERTY. (Vers. 15, 16.)

1. The fugitive slave is not to be given back to his master. The case is that of a slave escaping from a heathen master. The spirit of the Mosaic Law is wholly opposed to slavery. This precept anticipates our own law, that a slave setting foot on British territory is free.

2. Every encouragement is to be given him to settle in the land. He is not to be oppressed or treated with unkindness, but is to be allowed to settle where he pleases. The holy land was thus a true asylum for the oppressed.

II A BLOW STRUCK AT LEWDNESS. (Vers. 17, 18.) The lawgiver alone, so far as we know, among ancient nations, lays his axe at the root of this great evil. He refuses to it the least toleration. He is right. The prevalence of lewdness in a land blights and withers everything good. It saps the manhood of the nation, destroys its love of liberty, (2Pe_2:19) turns religion to hypocrisy, (Mat_23:25-29) kills humane feeling, dissolves domestic ties, and degrades the wretched victim of it to the lowest point of brutishness

It hardens a" within, And petrifies the feeling! BURNS.

The contrast between the noble severity of the Bible teaching on this subject, and the wretchedly low tone of the teaching of such writers as Bolingbroke, or even of Hume, is very noteworthy.

III CHECKS IMPOSED ON COVETOUSNESS.

1. The lender is not permitted to exact usury from his brother (vers. 19, 20). That the taking of interest was not regarded as in itself sinful is plain from the permission to take usury from a stranger. But in the circumstances of the time, and in view of the design of the lawgiver to cheek rather than to encourage extensive commercial operations on the part of the Jews, the law was a wise one, and tended to repress covetousness in a form which would very readily have developed itself. Lending was to be free and cordial, and God"s blessing, the best usury, was promised in return.

2. Vows were to be faithfully performed (vers. 21-23). This checked covetousness, so far as that might prompt the person vowing to grudge payment when the time for paying his vow arrived. The vow was in his own choice, but, if made, it was to be religiously performed. (Ecc_5:4, Ecc_5:5) It is easier to vow than at the proper time to make the sacrifices which the vow demands. J.O.

Vers. 15, 16. The Hebrew fugitive law.

We have here a most remarkable law, entirely in the interests of the slave, and showing conclusively that no such thing as property in mankind was recognized in the theocracy. When a slave ran away, the person to whom he repaired is directed to harbor him and give him a place with his servants, but not to restore him to his former master. Here, then, is a fugitive law such as permitted no such monster as a slave-hunter to defile the land of Palestine.

I THE BIBLE RECOGNIZES NO PROPERTY IN MAN. We cannot do better than quote from Dr. Cheerer"s "God against Slavery," He says, "The Jewish Law strictly forbade any one from ever returning unto his master that servant that had fled from his master to him. If an ox or an ass had strayed from its owner, any one finding the beast was commanded to restore it to its owner as his property; but if a man"s servant had fled away, every one was in like manner forbidden to restore him, demonstrating in the strongest manner that a servant was never regarded as property, and could not be treated as such. A man"s ox belonged to him, and must be restored to him as his property; but a man"s servant did not belong to him, and could not be his property, and, if he chose to take himself away, was not considered as taking away anything that belonged to his master or could be claimed and taken back by him. It is not possible for an incidental demonstration to be stronger than this.

II RUNAWAY SLAVES ARE ENTITLED TO AN OPPORTUNITY OF EARNING A LIVELIHOOD. Not only is he not to be restored, but he is also to be allowed a place in the establishment to which he has escaped. Doubtless he had a good idea of a vacancy being there, and the need for an extra servant. In such a case he is to get his chance, and be allowed without oppression to earn his livelihood. We do not assert that every human being, no matter how "heart-lazy," has a right to a living; but every one has surely a right to a livelihood. It is the organization of labor and livelihoods, rather than poor-laws, that should engross the attention of philanthropists.

III WHILE MEN HAVE NO RIGHT TO OUR PERSONS, GOD HAS WE ARE HIS. We are God"s slaves. "We are bought with a price," andtherefore bound to glorify trim with our bodies. (1Co_6:20) He has a title to us by virtue of creation; but for him we should not have existed. He has a title to us by virtue of his providence; for in him we not only live, but move and have our being. He has a title to us by virtue of redemption; for he has redeemed us at no less a cost than the blood of his Son. He has a title to us by virtue of his inspirations; for any good and holy desires and aspirations we entertain are through the indwelling of his Spirit. If we intelligently recognize our position, we shall own our obligations to him, and acknowledge we are slaves of God. But his slavery is "perfect freedom." Better to be the Lord"s slave than the world"s freeman. His Law is "the perfect Law of liberty," and when under it we are realizing that broadest phase of freedom which has made his slaves the mightiest of men. R.M.E.

Vers. 15, 16Sympathy for the oppressed.

It is supposed that oppressive forms of slavery existed among the neighboring nations; and it might be anticipated that the oppressed would seek asylum among the people of God. The social atmosphere was to be that of healthful freedom, which is fatal to inhuman thraldom.

I WE SEE SOCIAL RELATIONSHIP IN ITS EXTREME LIMITS. One is a master; one is a slave. One has risen to power; one has sunk into weakness. Humanity has immense capacity for rising and falling. Such abject dependence may be the result of external calamity, or it may be the effect of culpable folly.

II THIS PROPRIETORSHIP IN MAN IS CAPABLE OF GREAT ABUSE. A slave-master must have great self-restraint if he does not abuse his purchased power. To no man ought irresponsible control over his fellows be entrusted. The temptation to encroach on human rights is too great to be put within any man"s reach. Good men will use every position they occupy so as to do good to others; and even a slave-holder may be a source of large blessing. On the other hand, coarse and cruel men can turn the institution into a nest of villainy.

III ABUSE OF SLAVERY MAY BECOME SELF-CURATIVE. A reflecting master will calculate that, if he injure his slave, he injures his property he injures himself. But in moments when passion is dominant, a reckless slave-holder will think nothing about consequences. Yet his slave may flee. The common instincts of humanity will impel disinterested persons to aid the fugitive. And the successful flight of one will encourage others to make the attempt.

IV THE OPPRESSED HAVE A CLAIM UPON OUR PRACTICAL SYMPATHY. The Hebrews could not easily discover the real merits of quarrel between a foreign slave and his master. But they would know that a slave would not leave his master and his home without sufficient cause. It was a precarious chance how an alien slave would find a livelihood. Therefore the refugee had a claim upon the Hebrews" sympathy. The oppressed of every laud have a large place in the heart of God, and every friend of God will strive to imitate his deeds. Emmanuel"s land is to be the laud of liberty. Liberty may not suddenly be given to every man, in any condition of mind; yet liberty is man"s birthright his true inheritance; for this he is to prepare. A man is dwarfed, stunted, deformed, if he be not free. D.

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

The servant - Of such as belonged to the Canaanites, or other neighbouring nations, because if he had lived in remote countries, it is not probable that he would flee so far to avoid his master, or that his master would follow him so far to recover him. For the Canaanites this sentence was most just, because both they and theirs were all forfeited to God and Israel, and whatsoever they enjoyed was by special indulgence. And for the other neighbours it may seem just also, because both masters and servants of these and other nations are unquestionably at the disposal of the Lord their maker and sovereign ruler. Understand it likewise of such as upon enquiry appear to have been unjustly oppressed by their masters. Now it is not strange if the great God, who hates all tyranny, and styles himself the refuge of the oppressed doth interpose his authority to rescue such persons from their cruel masters.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Various Duties Within the Congregation.

v. 15. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant, the slave, which is escaped from his master unto thee. This rule concerned the case of a slave from one of the heathen nations, who had fled from his master on account of inhuman treatment.

v. 16. He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, in any of the cities of Israel, where it liketh him best, he was at liberty to make such changes frequently, until he found a place which suited him in every respect; thou shalt not oppress him, he should be treated as a fellow-dweller in the good land of Jehovah, and there was always chance of his becoming a member of God’s people.

v. 17. There shall be no whore, a so-called consecrated prostitute, of the daughters of Israel, nor a Sodomite of the sons of Israel, both of whom prostituted their bodies in the service of the Phenician goddess Astarte, a most shameful practice.

v. 18. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, namely, one engaged in such unnatural excesses, or the price of a dog, what was usually paid to a Sodomite for one service, into the house of the Lord, thy God, for any vow, for the heathen even went to the extent of paying such money, the fruits of their lewdness, to their idols; for even both these are an abomination unto the Lord, thy God, both the gift and the giver.

v. 19. Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother, take any interest for a necessary loan; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury, since this would not agree with the demands of unselfish love.

v. 20. Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury, perhaps one passing through Israel for purposes of trade; but unto thy brother, a member of the children of Israel, thou shalt not lend upon usury, the peculiar circumstances of the chosen people of God demanding the strictest insistence upon the law of love; that the Lord, thy God, may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

v. 21. When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord, thy God, Num 30:2, thou shalt not slack to pay it, Lev 27:1-13; for the Lord, thy God, will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee, for it was a sacred obligation and demanded payment.

v. 22. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee, for it is better not to make a vow than to vow and then not to pay, Ecc 5:3-4.

v. 23. That which is gone out of thy lips, in the form of a sacred promise to the Lord, thou shalt keep and perform; even a free-will offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord, thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

v. 24. When thou comest into thy neighbor’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill, enough to satisfy the demands of hunger, at thine own pleasure, according to the appetite and desire; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel, to carry away a supply.

v. 25. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, into the maturing grain, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand, Mat 12:1; Luke 6 :l; but thou shalt not move a sickle, in the act of reaping, unto thy neighbor’s standing corn. It was a privilege granted to the traveler, to the passer-by, who might feel hunger, but it was not to be abused by avaricious neighbors. With Christians the law of love regulates all the affairs of their lives, and they gladly submit to its guidance.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so the words "you" and "your" here are singular. (See: Forms of You)

a slave who has escaped from his master

The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "a slave from another country who escaped from his master and came to Israel" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Let him live with you

"Let the slave live among your people"

translationWords

lord

servant

oppress

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ולא יראה בך THAT HE SEE NOT IN THEE — that the Holy One, blessed be He see not in thee ערות דבר A NAKEDNESS OF ANYTHING.

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.