Exodus 23:9

Exo 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Ver. 9. Thou shalt not oppress, &c.] {See Trapp on "Exo 22:21"}

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_23:9

Thou shalt not oppress a stranger, for ye knew the heart of a stranger.

The logic of law

The argument is that our conduct is to spring out of our experience; we are to go back upon our own history and consciousness for the law that shall guide us in the treatment of our fellow-men. Why, could we do so, no more should we hear the rasping voice of rancour, hostile criticism, mean remark, or severe demand.

1. Thou shalt not oppress the struggling man, for thou thyself hast had thy struggle. Do not be hard upon those who are going up-hill.

2. Thou shall not oppress a doubting man, for thou thyself hast had thy doubts, if thou art more than half a man.

3. The text has a meaning in reference to ourselves, as well as to others. Thou shalt not renew old fears, for all thy fears have been round, black, blatant liars. Six fears have been with you, have lied to you, have made you play the fool in all the higher relations and issues of life, and yet I detect you this morning talking in the corner to a member of the same false family! Why do you not throw it from you, or order it behind you, or mock it with the jibing of perfect rest in God!

4. Thou shalt not--, because--. That is the logic of the text. Now, what must He be who gave such laws? In the character of the laws, find the character of the legislator. God must be tender; He takes care of strangers. Not only so; He must be aware of human history in all its changes and processes. He knows about the strangers who were in the land of Egypt; He knows about their deliverance; He knows that strangers are a tribe that must be on the earth from age to age; He knows us altogether. He speaks a word for the stranger. Oh, man, friendless, lonely man, you should love God. Oh, woman, mother, sister, sinning woman, you should love Christ. Oh, little children, frail flowers that may wither in a moment, you should put out your little hands, if in but dumb prayer, and long to touch the Son of God. Oh, working man, led away by the demagogue, made to scoff where you ought to pray, the Bible has done more for you than any other book ever attempted to do; this is a human book, a book for the nursery, the family, the market-place, the parliament, the universe! (J. Parker, D. D.)

Kindly qualities developed by adversity

I suppose it is adversity that develops the kindly qualities of our nature. I believe the sense of common degradation has a tendency to make the degraded amiable--at least among themselves. I am told it is found so in the plantations in slave-gangs. (Lord Beaconsfield.)

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

Exo 23:9. Thou shalt not oppress the stranger — Though aliens might not inherit lands among them; yet, they must have justice done them. It is an instance of the equity of our law, that if an alien be tried for any crime, except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners; a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. For ye know the heart of a stranger — That is, ye know by experience what a distressed, friendless condition that of a stranger is. The disposition, dejection, and distress of his heart, make him an object of pity, not of malice or injustice. Ye know his heart is easily depressed, and very unable to bear repulses. There is a great beauty in the expression.

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

For in that that he is a stranger, his heart is sorrowful enough.

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

Verse 9. Ye know the heart of a stranger] Having been strangers yourselves, under severe, long continued, and cruel oppression, ye know the fears, cares, anxieties, and dismal forebodings which the heart of a stranger feels. What a forcible appeal to humanity and compassion!

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

(9) Thou shalt not oppress a stranger.—See Note on Exo_22:21. The repetition of the law indicates the strong inclination of the Hebrew people to ill-use strangers, and the anxiety of the legislator to check their inclination.

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

9. The gêr, or foreigner ‘sojourning’ in Israel, not to be ‘crushed.’ Identical, in great measure verbally, with Exo_22:21 : here, no doubt, directed specially against unfair judgement (cf. Deu_24:17 ‘Thou shalt not wrest the judgement of the sojourner,’ Exo_27:19, Mal_3:5).

stranger (each time)] sojourner: see on Exo_22:11.

for ye (emph.) know …, seeing ye were sojourners, &c.] see on Exo_22:21.

the heart] lit. the soul, i.e. the feelings.

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.

And six years thou shall sow thy land, The land of Canaan, given to their ancestors and to them, and which they were now going to inherit; and when they came into it they were to plant it with vines and olives; or rather, these being ready planted, they were to prune and dress them; and they were to till their land, and plough it, and sow it with various sorts of grain, for six years running, from the time of their possession of it:

and shall gather in the fruits thereof; corn and wine, and oil, into their own garners, treasuries, and cellars, as their own property, to dispose of as they pleased for their own use and profit.

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

The hearts. You have experienced what sorrow and misery they feel. (Menochius)

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).

The heart of a stranger, i.e. the disposition, dejection, and distress of his heart, which makes him an object of pity, not of malice or mischief.

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

9. Not oppress a stranger — This command is repeated from Exo_22:21, with some addition, and shows that the foreigner was entitled to protection from judicial wrongs as well as other forms of oppression. Israel should not forget how the heart of a stranger feels.

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

Thou shalt not oppress a stranger. This is a repetition of Exo_22:21, with perhaps a special reference to oppression through courts of justice. For thou knowest the heart of a stranger. Literally, "the mind of a stranger," or, in other words, his thoughts and feelings. Thou shouldest therefore be able to sympathise with him.

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 oppress the stranger - Though aliens might not inherit lands among them; yet they must have justice done them. It was an instance of the equity of our law, that if an alien be tried for any crime except treason, the one half of his jury, if he desire it, shall be foreigners; a kind provision that strangers may not be oppressed. For ye know the heart of a stranger - You know something of the griefs and fears of a stranger by sad experience.

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

וגר לא תלחץ AND THOU SHALT NOT OPPRESS THE STRANGER — In numerous passages (36 in number) does the Torah offer a caution about the ill-treatment of the stranger, because his original character is bad (Bava Metzia 59b).

אח נפש הגר [FOR YE KNOW] THE SOUL OF A STRANGER — how hard it is for him when people oppress him.

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.