Exodus 22:26

Exo 22:26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:

Ver. 26, 27. Thy neighbour’s raiment.] Meant only of his bedclothes, tegumentum nocturnum; without which he cannot comfortably rest in the night.

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.

If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, &c.--From the nature of the case, this is the description of a poor man. No Orientals undress, but, merely throwing off their turbans and some of their heavy outer garments, they sleep in the clothes which they wear during the day. The bed of the poor is usually nothing else than a mat; and, in winter, they cover themselves with a cloak--a practice which forms the ground or reason of the humane and merciful law respecting the pawned coat.

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 26. If thou - take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge] It seems strange that any pledge should be taken which must be so speedily restored; but it is very likely that the pledge was restored by night only, and that he who pledged it brought it back to his creditor next morning. The opinion of the rabbins is, that whatever a man needed for the support of life, he had the use of it when absolutely necessary, though it was pledged. Thus he had the use of his working tools by day, but he brought them to his creditor in the evening. His hyke, which serves an Arab as a plaid does a Highlander, (See Clarke on Ex 12:34), was probably the raiment here referred to: it is a sort of coarse blanket, about six yards long, and five or six feet broad, which an Arab always carries with him, and on which he sleeps at night, it being his only substitute for a bed. As the fashions in the east scarcely ever change, it is very likely that the raiment of the Israelites was precisely the same with that of the modern Arabs, who live in the very same desert in which the Hebrews were when this law was given. How necessary it was to restore the hyke to a poor man before the going down of the sun, that he might have something to repose on, will appear evident from the above considerations. At the same time, the returning it daily to the creditor was a continual acknowledgment of the debt, and served instead of a written acknowledgment or bond; as we may rest assured that writing, if practised at all before the giving of the law, was not common: but it is most likely that it did not exist.

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

(26, 27) Thy neighbour’s raiment.—The simlah, or salmah, here translated “raiment,” was the large flowing outer raiment, elsewhere called beged, which was commonly of woollen, and corresponded to the abba of the modern Arabs. It was a warm wrapper, and has sometimes been compared to a Scotch plaid. The poor Israelite did not much want it by day; but needed it as a blanket by night—a practice known to many modern tribes of Arabs. The present passage forbids the retention of this garment as a pledge during the night, and seems to imply a continuous practice of pledging the simlah by day, and being allowed to Enjoy the use of it, nevertheless, as a nocturnal covering.

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

26. garment] mantle (Heb. salmâh), the large rectangular piece of cloth described in the note on Exo_12:34; perhaps the only article that a poor man would have to offer as a pledge, as well as his only covering by night (v. 27). The mantle might be retained by the debtor, in order that he might sleep in it himself: see Deu_24:12. A garment was a common pledge: see not only Amo_2:8, Job_22:6, already quoted, but also Pro_20:16 = Pro_27:13. The poor still sleep in Palestine in their ordinary clothes (L. and B. i. 54, 99, iii. 89); cf. Shaw, Travels in Barbary and the Levant (1738), p. 290 (cited by Kn.).

26, 27. A garment taken in pledge to be returned before sun-down. Cf. Ḥamm. § 241. Comp. Deu_24:6; Deu_24:10-13, where other limitations are placed on the arbitrary power of the creditor. Loans on interest are forbidden, in Dt. (Deu_23:19 f.) not less than here (v. 25): but loans on the security of a pledge are permitted, under certain provisos checking harsh or arbitrary action on the part of the creditor; he is not, for instance, to enter the house of the debtor to choose his own pledge, or to take in pledge an article necessary to life, such as the domestic hand-mill. For pledges given on a large scale as security for a loan, see Neh_5:3 (where houses and vineyards were, as we should say in such a case, mortgaged), 5 (children). Allusions to abuses in the exaction or retention of pledges are contained in Amo_2:8, Eze_18:12; Eze_18:16 (contrast v. 7), Exo_33:15, Job_22:6; Job_24:3; Job_24:9.

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 not revile the gods,.... Meaning not the idols of the Gentiles, which they reckon gods, and worship as such; which is the sense of Philo, and some others, particularly Josephus (i), who, to curry favour with the Roman emperors given to idolatry, has from hence inserted the following among the laws given to Moses;"let no man blaspheme the gods, which other cities think are such, nor rob strange sacred places, nor receive a gift dedicated to any deity;''but this cannot be the sense of the text, being contrary to Deu 12:2 nor can it be thought that care should be taken, lest the honour of the Heathen deities should be detracted from; but civil magistrates, the judges of the land, and the like, are meant, who are powers ordained of God, are in his stead, and represent him, and therefore respect should be shown them; nor should they be treated with any degree of slight and contempt, which may discourage and intimidate them, and deter them from the execution of their office: the Targum of Jonathan interprets them of judges very rightly, agreeably to Psa 82:1 and so Aben Ezra says,"they are the judges and the priests, the sons of Levi, with whom the law is:"

nor curse the ruler of thy people whether civil or ecclesiastic; the last mentioned Jewish writer intend of the king, who is the supreme ruler in things civil, and ought to be honoured and loved, served and obeyed, and not hated and cursed, no, not secretly, not in the bedchamber, nor in the thought of the heart, since not only the thing is criminal but dangerous; it is much if it is not discovered, and then ruin follows upon it, Ecc 10:20. The Apostle Paul applies it to the high priest among the Jews, who was the ruler in sacred things, Act 23:5 and may be applicable to the prince of the sanhedrim, or chief in the grand court of judicature; and even to all dignified persons, who ought not to be spoken ill of, and to be abused in the execution of their office, and especially when they perform well.

(i) Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 10. Contr. Apion. 1. 2. c. 33.

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

The law regarding pledges is expanded, Deu 24:6, Deu 24:10-13.

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

Thy neighbour’s; to wit, that is poor, as appears by comparing this with the next verse, where he is supposed to have but one garment, and with Deu 24:12,13.

By that the sun goeth down; because he speaks of such raiment or covering wherein he used to sleep, Exo 22:27. But you are not to think that the creditor would every morning take, and every night redeliver his pledge; and therefore this is rather a prohibition to take any such thing for a pledge as a man hath great and daily need of, by this argument, that if he did take it, he could not keep it. Compare Deu 24:6.

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

If thou take at all thy neighbour"s raiment to pledge. Lending upon pledge, the business of our modern pawnbrokers, was not forbidden by the Jewish law; only certain articles of primary necessity were forbidden to be taken, as the handmill for grinding flour, or either of its mill-stones. (Deu_24:6) Borrowing upon pledge was practised largely in the time of Nehemiah, and led to very ill results. See Nehemiah ch. 5. Thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down. The reason is given in the next verse. As it could not have been worth while to take the pledge at all, if it was immediately to have been given back for good, we must suppose a practice of depositing the garment during the day, and being allowed to have it out at night.

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

כי הוא כסותה FOR THAT IS HIS RAIMENT — i. e. his upper garment;

שמלתו means HIS SHIRT (the שמלה for the skin);

במה ישכב WHEREIN SHALL HE LIE DOWN — These words are used to include amongst the articles which must be returned to him during the day the couch and its coverings on which he rests during day-time (Mekhilta).

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.

AND I WILL HEAR FOR I AM GRACIOUS — showing favor and accepting everyone’s supplication even though he is unworthy, the word chanun (gracious) being derived from the word chinam (for nothing). And the meaning of the verse is that you should not think: “I will not take the righteous man’s garment as a pledge, but the garment of a man who is not righteous I will take as a pledge and not return to him, for G-d will not hear his cry.” Therefore He said, for I am gracious and I hear the cry of all who beseech Me.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.