Exodus 22:28

Exo 22:28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

Ver. 28. Thou shalt not revile the gods.] Blaspheme dignities. {Jdg 1:8} This is blasphemy is the second table.

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.

Exo_22:28

The ruler of thy people.

The Divine right of magistrates to respect

I. That the powers that be are ordained of God (Rom_13:1-5; 1Pe_2:13-15).

II. That magistrates must re treated with respect, both their persons and their decisions (Jos_1:16-18).

1. Because they administer that which, when it is law at all, is based on the will and authority of God (Rom_13:2).

2. Because they administer that which is the bulwark of national stability and personal safety (Rom_13:3).

III. That magistrates must receive respect, irrespective of the effect of their decision (Pro_17:26).

1. Because they are but the servants of the law.

2. Because if through human infirmities, justice should occasionally miscarry, it is better to suffer than to bring the law into disrepute (Pro_24:21-22).

3. But if their decisions violate conscience, then Act_4:19-20; Act_5:29.

IV. That magistrates must be secure against all hostile action (Pro_17:26; Job_34:17-18).

1. Fear will warp the judgment.

2. Fear will divert the course of justice.

V. That magistrates are not only entitled to respect, but to our sympathy and prayers (Psa_22:1-2; Ezr_6:10; 1Ti_2:2).

VI. That disrespect to magistrates is severely condemned (Jud_1:8). Let magistrates, all who are in authority and all who administer law whether civil or domestic, whether in law courts, homes, or houses of business, remember--

1. That they are responsible to God (2Sa_23:3). Let them see

(1) that they accurately know the law, and

(2) that their administration is conscientious and courageous (Psa_72:1-20; Psa_4:12-14).

2. That they are responsible to man. Upon their decisions depend the well-being of the citizen, and the stability of the realm.

3. That their title to sympathy and veneration is recognized by the people at large. (J. W. Burn.)

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

Exo 22:28. Thou shalt not revile the gods — That is, the judges and magistrates. Princes and magistrates are our fathers, whom the fifth commandment obligeth us to honour, and forbids us to revile. St. Paul applies this law to himself, and owns that he ought not to speak evil of the ruler of his people, no, not though he was then his most unrighteous persecutor, Act 23:5.

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

gods--a word which is several times in this chapter rendered "judges" or magistrates.

the ruler of thy people--and the chief magistrate who was also the high priest, at least in the time of Paul (Act 23:1-5).

Next: Exodus Chapter 23

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 28. Thou shalt not revile the gods] Most commentators believe that the word gods here means magistrates. The original is אלהים Elohim, and should be understood of the true God only: Thou shalt not blaspheme or make light of [תקלל tekallel] God, the fountain of justice and power, nor curse the ruler of thy people, who derives his authority from God. We shall ever find that he who despises a good civil government, and is disaffected to that under which he lives, is one who has little fear of God before his eyes. The spirit of disaffection and sedition is ever opposed to the religion of the Bible. When those who have been pious get under the spirit of misrule, they infallibly get shorn of their spiritual strength, and become like salt that has lost its savour. He who can indulge himself in speaking evil of the civil ruler, will soon learn to blaspheme God. The highest authority says, Fear God: honour the king.

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

(28) Thou shalt not revile the gods.—The LXX. And Vulgate give the passage this sense; and so it was understood, or at any rate expounded, by Philo (De Vit. Mos. ii. 26) and Josephus (Ant. Jud. iv. 8, § 10), who boasted that the Jews abstained from reviling the gods of the nations. But the practice of the most pious Israelites in the best times was different (1Ki_18:27; Psa_115:4-8; Psa_135:15-18; Isa_41:29; Isa_44:9-20; Jer_10:11-15, &c.). The gods of the heathen were uniformly, and with the utmost scorn. “reviled.” It has been suggested that the true meaning of elohim in this place is “judges” (Rosenmüller, Zunz, Herxheimer); but to have that sense, the word requires the article. It is best, therefore, to translate by “God,” as is done by De Wette, Knobel, Keil, Kalisch, Canon Cook, &c., and to understand the entire passage as intended to connect the sin of cursing a ruler with that of reviling God, the ruler being regarded as God’s representative.

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

28. Reverence to be shewn to God, and to those in authority.

revile] the word (ḳâlal) usually rendered curse (e.g. Exo_21:17): here represented by revile, because of the syn. (’ârar) in v. 28b.

God] The paraphrase judges (RVm.) is not here admissible; for though ‘to go to God’ might mean to go to the judges, as the representatives or spokesmen of God, this would not justify ‘God’ in any connexion being taken to signify judges. LXX. θεούς, Vulg. diis, AV. the gods; and so Jos. Ant. iv. 8, 10, c. Ap. ii. 33, and Philo, Vit. Mos. iii. p. 166, de Mon. i. p. 219 (cited by Kn.), understanding the passage, in a sense agreeable the circumstances of their own time, of heathen gods: but this, rough quite legitimate grammatically, would make the precept one very alien to the spirit of the OT.

a ruler] lit. one lifted up, i.e. placed above others in a position of authority. A word very common (see on Exo_16:12) in P and Ezek., but rare elsewhere. The command is quoted by St Paul in Act_23:5, almost exactly as it stands in the LXX. Cf. Pro_24:21, Rom_13:1, 1Pe_1:17; 1Pe_2:13.

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.

Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep,.... That is, with the firstborn, which were to be set apart to the Lord; and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"the firstborn of thine oxen, and of thy sheep;''for having spoken of the firstborn of men, the Scripture proceeds to speak of the firstborn of cattle, great and small, the separation of which was enjoined in one and the same precept, Exo 13:2,

seven days it shall be with his dam; whether it be a calf or a lamb; before it was seven days old it was not to be taken from it, and given to the Lord:

on the eighth day thou shall give it me; that is, they might do it then, but not before; yet they were not obliged to bring it exactly on that day, but they might do it any time within the month, and at a month's end they were obliged to redeem it, that is, give the priest the sum of five shekels for it, Num 18:16. The Jewish canon runs thus (n);"how long are Israelites bound for the bringing of the firstborn, i.e. before they offer it to the priest? in small cattle thirty days, in large cattle fifty days.''

(n) Misn. Becorot, c. 4. sect. 1.

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

The gods - Heb. אלהים 'ělôhı̂ym. See Exo 21:6 note. Many take it as the name of God (as in Gen 1:1), and this certainly seems best to represent the Hebrew, and to suit the context.

Curse the ruler ... - See Act 23:5.

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

Gods. Judges, priests, &c. Josephus and Philo say, we must not speak ill of strange gods, lest the Gentiles should take occasion to blaspheme the true God, and that we may be farther removed from the danger of taking the name of God in vain, and losing that respect which we owe to it.

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).

Gods; not gods falsely so called, as some would have it, as appears by 1Ki 18:27; Jer 10:11; but magistrates and governors, whether civil or ecclesiastical, as it is evident both from Act 23:3-5 and from the following words, which explain the former, according to the common use of Scripture, and from the title of gods commonly given to such, as Exo 7:1; Psa 82:6; Joh 10:34,35.

The ruler of thy people. Compare Sir 10:20, Jdg 1:8.

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

28. Thou shalt not revile the gods — Rather, God. Our version follows the Sept., Vulg., and other versions, and conveys the idea that even the gods of the heathen are not to be reviled. Others understand the reference to be to judges, but this seems sufficiently comprehended in the words ruler of thy people, which immediately follow. This verse associated God and the civil ruler in a very noticeable way. The latter is, according to Rom_12:4, God’s minister, and a becoming respect and reverence for the civil magistrate is one way of honouring God himself.

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

Law against reviling God, or rulers. It has been proposed to render Elohim here either

1. "God;" or

2. "The gods;" or

3. "Judges.

The last of these renderings is impossible, since Elohim in the sense of "judges" always has the article. The second, which is adopted by the Septuagint and the Authorised Version, seems precluded by the constant practice of the most religious Jews, prophets and others, to speak with contempt and contumely of the false gods of the heathen. The passage must therefore be understood as forbidding men to speak evil of God. (Compare Lev_24:15, Lev_24:16) Nor curse the ruler of thy people. Rather, "one exalted among thy people." The term is generally used of the heads of families (Num_3:24, Num_3:30, Num_3:35, etc.) and tribes (Num_7:10, Num_7:18, Num_7:24, etc.) in the Pentateuch. Later, it is applied to kings (1Ki_11:34; Eze_12:10 Eze_45:7, etc.) Our translators generally render it by "prince."

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

Thou shalt not revile the gods - That is, the Judges and magistrates. Princes and magistrates are our fathers, whom the fifth commandment obligeth us to honour, and forbids us to revile. St. Paul applies this law to himself, and owns that he ought not to speak evil of the ruler of his people, no, not though he was then his most unrighteous persecutor, Acts xxiii, 5.

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

"Thou shalt not despise God, and the prince among thy people thou shalt not curse." Elohim does not mean either the gods of other nations, as Josephus, Philo, and others, in their dead and work-holy monotheism, have rendered the word; or the rulers, as Onkelos and others suppose; but simply God, deity in general, whose majesty was despised in every break of the commandments of Jehovah, and who was to be honoured in the persons of the rulers (cf. Pro 24:21; Pe1 2:17). Contempt of God consists not only in blasphemies of Jehovah openly expressed, which were to be punished with death (Lev 24:11.), but in disregard of His threats with reference to the oppression of the poorer members of His people (Exo 22:22-27), and in withholding from them what they ought to receive (Exo 22:29-31). Understood in this way, the command is closely connected not only with what precedes, but also with what follows. The prince (נשׂיא, lit., the elevated one) is mentioned by the side of God, because in his exalted position he has to administer the law of God among His people, and to put a stop to what is wrong.

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.)

You must not blaspheme me, God

"Do not insult God" or "Do not speak evil about God"

nor curse a ruler

"and do not ask God to do bad things to a ruler"

translationWords

blasphemy

curse

rule

people group

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

מלאתך [THOU SHALT NOT DELAY TO OFFER FROM] THY FULLNESS — The duty which falls upon you as soon as your crop becomes fully ripened: this refers to the first fruits (בכורים).

ודמעך means THE HEAVE OFFERING, — thus do our Rabbis explain it (cf. Mekhilta), but I do not know what the expression דמע means (i. e. I do not know how it comes to have the meaning of (תרומה).

לא תאחר THOU SHALT NOT DELAY — i. e. thou shalt not alter the prescribed sequence of separating them from the crops, setting aside last what should be first and setting aside first what should be last — i. e. that one should not set aside the heave-offering before the first fruit nor the tithe before the heave-offering (Mekhilta).

בכור בניך תתן לי THE FIRST BORN OF THY SONS SHALT THOU GIVE UNTO ME — by redeeming him from the priest by the payment of five Sela’im. Scripture, it is true, has already given an ordinance concerning him (the firstborn) in another passage (Numbers 18:16), but it is stated here again in order to bring it into juxtaposition with the next verse: “Likewise shalt thou do with that of thine ox”, and to illustrate the latter command by the former. How is it in the case of a human being? He (the father) redeems it after thirty days, for it is said, (Numbers 18:16) “and those that are to be redeemed, from a month old shalt thou redeem”! So, too, has the owner of small cattle to look after it for 30 days and only afterwards must he give it to the priest (cf. Mekhilta and Bekhorot 26b).

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.

M’LEIATHCHA V’DIM’ACHA’ (OF THE FULNESS OF THY HARVEST, AND OUT OF THE OUTFLOW OF THY PRESSES) THOU SHALT NOT DELAY TO OFFER. We find the word m’leiah with reference to seed, thus: lest there be forfeited ‘ham’leiah’ (the fulness) of the seed which thou hast sown, and again: ‘v’kamleiah’ (and as the fulness) of the winepress, meaning wine and oil, just as it is said, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. It appears to me in connection with these terms, that fruits of the field and vineyard are called t’vuah [of the root bo — come in] because the farmers “bring” the whole crop in together to the homes. It is also called asif (the ingathering): ‘osef’ (the ingathering) shall not come; and the feast of ‘ha’asif’ (the ingathering). This is why produce is called m’leiah (fulness), because a gathering-together into one place of a mass of material or people is called milui (fulness): though there be called forth against him ‘m’lo’ (a multitude of) shepherds; even they are ‘malei’ (in full) cry after you; together against me ‘yitmalo’un’ — they gather themselves and come. Similarly, and his seed shall become ‘m’lo’ nations — means an assembly and multitude of nations.It is further possible that produce is called m’leiah (full) as a substitute term for a blessing — that the granaries shall be full of corn, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil, and the reaper fills his hands, and the binder of sheaves his bosom, and gathers grapes in the vintage. For when their portion is cursed Scripture says, Let them be as the grass upon the housetops, which withereth afore it springeth up; wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom, but when their portion is blessed, it is called m’leiah (full). And in that case dim’acha [literally: “your tear”] is an allusion to wine and oil, a usage borrowed from dim’ath ha’ayin (tear of the eye), because the drops from the grape and olive resemble the tear of the eye. Or it may be that all moisture that falls in globules — even drops of water — are called dim’ah (tear), such as: and mine eyes shall run down ‘dim’ah’ (with tear), and it is not a term used only for tears. And the intention of the verse is, that when you gather in the crops of the field, and the granaries will be full of corn, and you press the grapes and olives to extract their juice, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil, you should not delay them in your possession, but right at the beginning you are to give your tithings to Me, just as He said, The first fruits of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil… shalt thou give him — [i.e., the priest]. In the opinion of our Rabbis, of blessed memory, thou shalt not delay means that: “you are not to set aside last what should be first, [and set aside first what should be last].” Now here He did not explain [the correct order of the gifts], for here He mentions the commandments in a general way, and afterwards He explained them in detail. The Rabbis arranged the order of the gifts as follows: first-fruits, the heave-offering, the First Tithe, and the Second Tithe. This order they established on the basis of the following interpretation with reference to these gifts, just as we have been taught: “How do we know that first-fruits come before the heave-offering, being that this one is called by Scripture terumah (heave-offering) and reshith (the first), and the other is also called terumah and reshith? (the heave-offering of your hand); they are called reshith in this Scriptural section (further 23:19). The heave-offering is called terumah in Numbers 18:8, and is called reshith in Deuteronomy 18:4. First-fruits have priority because they are the first [to grow] of all produce. The heave-offering comes before the First Tithe, because it is called reshith (the first), (the heave-offering of your hand); they are called reshith in this Scriptural section (further 23:19). The heave-offering is called terumah in Numbers 18:8, and is called reshith in Deuteronomy 18:4. and the First Tithe comes before the Second Tithe because it contains in it reshith” [since the Levite who receives the First Tithe must give a tenth of it as terumah to the priest].Onkelos translated m’leiathcha v’dim’acha: “bikurach (your first fruit), v’dim’ach.” untranslated. As explained further it is a term denoting the priest’s share of the produce — in other words, the terumah [or the heave-offering]. According to Onkelos the verse thus refers to the first-fruits and the heave-offering. And Rashi explained: “M’leiathcha — this means the duty which falls upon you when your crop becomes fully ripened, and it refers to the first-fruits. V’dim’acha means the heave-offering. But I do not know what the term dim’a means.” It is similarly stated in the Mechilta: “M’leiathcha means the first-fruits which are taken from the full crop, and dim’acha means the heave-offering.” Perhaps in the same way that according to the Rabbis the first-fruits are called in this verse m’leiah (fulness), because they are taken from the full crop, so the heave-offering is called dim’ah [literally: “tear” or “outflow,” as explained above], because it is set aside from wine and oil, [as liquids], not from the fruit. Scripture mentioned only these two kinds of produce, [wine and oil], in order to hint at the law that the heave-offering only has to be set aside from them when in the form of wine and oil, there being no obligation upon the owner to anticipate and set it aside when they are still grapes and olives.Thus He only mentioned these commandments here by way of allusion, as if to say, “Be careful to keep these commandments about which I will command you further,” in a similar manner to that which He said above, and I will appoint thee a place whither he may flee. This was in order to write down these commandments in the book of the covenant which He mentions in a subsequent section, and Scripture explains them all again in another place, [each one in detail].

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.