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Texts -- Exodus 22:1-31 (NET)

Context
Laws about Property
22:1 “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back five head of cattle for the ox , and four sheep for the one sheep . 22:2 “If a thief is caught breaking in and is struck so that he dies , there will be no blood guilt for him. 22:3 If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief must surely make full restitution ; if he has nothing , then he will be sold for his theft . 22:4 If the stolen item should in fact be found alive in his possession , whether it be an ox or a donkey or a sheep , he must pay back double . 22:5 “If a man grazes his livestock in a field or a vineyard , and he lets the livestock loose and they graze in the field of another man, he must make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard . 22:6 “If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes , so that stacked grain or standing grain or the whole field is consumed , the one who started the fire must surely make restitution . 22:7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or articles for safekeeping , and it is stolen from the man’s house , if the thief is caught , he must repay double . 22:8 If the thief is not caught , then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges to see whether he has laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods . 22:9 In all cases of illegal possessions , whether for an ox , a donkey , a sheep , a garment , or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’ the matter of the two of them will come before the judges , and the one whom the judges declare guilty must repay double to his neighbor . 22:10 If a man gives his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep , and it dies or is hurt or is carried away without anyone seeing it, 22:11 then there will be an oath to the Lord between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods , and its owner will accept this, and he will not have to pay . 22:12 But if it was stolen from him, he will pay its owner . 22:13 If it is torn in pieces , then he will bring it for evidence , and he will not have to pay for what was torn . 22:14 “If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor , and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it will surely pay . 22:15 If its owner was with it, he will not have to pay ; if it was hired , what was paid for the hire covers it.
Moral and Ceremonial Laws
22:16 “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged and has sexual relations with her, he must surely endow her to be his wife . 22:17 If her father refuses to give her to him, he must pay money for the bride price of virgins . 22:18 “You must not allow a sorceress to live . 22:19 “Whoever has sexual relations with a beast must surely be put to death . 22:20 “Whoever sacrifices to a god other than the Lord alone must be utterly destroyed . 22:21 “You must not wrong a foreigner nor oppress him, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt . 22:22 “You must not afflict any widow or orphan . 22:23 If you afflict them in any way and they cry to me, I will surely hear their cry , 22:24 and my anger will burn and I will kill you with the sword , and your wives will be widows and your children will be fatherless . 22:25 “If you lend money to any of my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender to him; do not charge him interest . 22:26 If you do take the garment of your neighbor in pledge , you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down , 22:27 for it is his only covering – it is his garment for his body . What else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I will hear , for I am gracious . 22:28 “You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people . 22:29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats . You must give me the firstborn of your sons . 22:30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep ; seven days they may remain with their mothers , but give them to me on the eighth day . 22:31 “You will be holy people to me; you must not eat any meat torn by animals in the field . You must throw it to the dogs .

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The Covenants of Scripture:; Definition

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • Abram asked God to strengthen his faith. In response Yahweh promised to give the patriarch innumerable descendants. This led Abram to request some further assurance that God would indeed do what He promised. God graciously ob...
  • After Shechem the Canaanite raped Dinah, Simeon and Levi gained revenge by deceiving the Shechemites into being circumcised as the condition for Dinah's marriage. Then they murdered the incapacitated men of the city."The stor...
  • Exodus embraces about 431 years of history, from the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt (ca. 1876 B.C.) to the erection of the tabernacle in the wilderness of Sinai (ca. 1445 B.C.). However 1:1-7 is a review of Jacob's ...
  • I. The liberation of Israel 1:1-15:21A. God's preparation of Israel and Moses chs. 1-41. The growth of Jacob's family 1:1-72. The Israelites' bondage in Egypt 1:8-223. Moses' birth and education 2:1-104. Moses' flight from Eg...
  • ". . . the slaying of the first-born is both the culmination of the plague narrative and the beginning of the passover tradition. Chapter 11 as a literary unit, therefore, points both backward and forward."187Evidently Moses ...
  • The Lord had liberated Israel from bondage in Egypt, but now He adopted the nation into a special relationship with Himself."Now begins the most sublime section in the whole Book. The theme of this section is supremely signif...
  • Moses revealed God's purpose for giving the Mosaic Covenant in this chapter.19:1-6 The Israelites arrived at the base of the mountain where God gave them the law about three months after they had left Egypt, in May-June (v. 1...
  • God did not just condemn forms of worship that were inappropriate, but He instructed the Israelites positively how they were to worship Him.This pericope serves as an introduction to 42 judgments in 21:1-23:12. A similar sect...
  • The "ordinances"were not laws in the usual sense of that word but the rights of those living within Israel. The Book of the Covenant (20:22-23:33) was Israel's "Bill of Rights.""A selection of judgments' is provided as a samp...
  • 21:33-34 The pit represents a typical case of damage caused by an inanimate object or natural phenomenon. These specific cases doubtless served as precedents for other similar cases.21:35-36 The law concerning a cattle fight ...
  • 22:16-17 Next we have a case of seduction. Here the girl is viewed as the property of her father. If a young couple had premarital sex, the young man had to marry the young woman and give his father-in-law the customary payme...
  • In this final part of the Book of the Covenant, which concludes with 23:33, God gave the Israelites promises and precepts relating to their conquest of the Promised Land. Suzerainty treaties normally concluded with an explana...
  • "The great event in chapter 24 is the climax of the Book of Exodus."41324:1-8 The remaining verses in this section contain God's directions to Moses personally. He, Aaron, Aaron's two eldest sons, and 70 of the elders of Isra...
  • Having given directions clarifying Israel's obedience in the Book of the Covenant (20:22-23:33) God now summoned Moses up into the mountain again to receive His directions regarding Israel's worship. The Book of the Covenant ...
  • Breaking God's covenant resulted in the Israelites' separation from fellowship with Him. It did not terminate their relationship with Him, but it did hinder their fellowship with Him. Similarly when Christians sin we do not c...
  • Moses had obtained God's promise to renew the covenant bond with Israel (33:14). Now God directed him to restore the covenant revelation by recopying the Ten Commandments on two new stone tablets. God both provided and wrote ...
  • The Israelites erected the tabernacle on the first day of the first month, almost exactly one year after the Israelites left Egypt (vv. 2, 17). This was about nine months after Israel had arrived at Mt. Sinai (cf. 19:1).First...
  • Adams, Dwayne H. "The Building Program that Works (Exodus 25:4--36:7 [31:1-11])."Exegesis and Exposition1:1 (Fall 1986):82-92.Aharoni, Yohanan. "Kadesh-Barnea and Mount Sinai."In God's Wilderness: Discoveries in Sinai, pp. 11...
  • "This chapter contains a selected list of creatures that divides each type of creature into various classes of purity. According to the final verse in the chapter, the decisive question was whether a class of animals was uncl...
  • The Israelites were not to exploit one another (vv. 35-38). They were not to charge one another interest on loans (v. 37; cf. Exod. 22:25; Deut. 23:19-20). This policy would have enabled a poor farmer to buy enough seed for t...
  • This chapter contains one of the great failures of Israel that followed one of its great blessings.238As God was preparing to bless His people they were preparing to disobey Him."So now we come to the ultimate rebellion of Is...
  • Moses turned in his address from contemplating the past to an exhortation for the future. This section is the climax of his first speech."The parallel between the literary structure of this chapter and that of the Near Easter...
  • Moses' homiletical exposition of the law of Israel that follows explains reasons for the covenant laws that arose from the Ten Commandments. This address concludes with directions for celebrating and confirming the covenant (...
  • Moses considered seven types of cases in these verses.The first case (vv. 13-19) is of a man who marries a woman and then falsely charges her with being a harlot (not being a virgin when he married her). If the girl could pro...
  • The Israelites could charge interest when they made loans to non-Israelites, but they were not to charge their brethren interest (vv. 19-20; cf. Exod. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-37).". . . the evidence shows that ancient rates of inte...
  • At first, David piously tried to salve Joab's conscience for his complicity in Uriah's death (11:25). The Hebrew word translated "displease"literally means "be evil in your sight."David was calling what was sin something othe...
  • Ahab had a problem of perception similar to Obadiah's (v. 17; cf. v. 7). The real source of Israel's troubles was Ahab and Omri's disregard of the Mosaic Covenant and their preference for idolatry (Deut. 6:5)."This was a crim...
  • Israel had evidently retaken Ramoth-gilead after Ben-Hadad I had defeated Ahab there 12 years earlier. Israel was now defending it against the attacking Arameans (v. 14). The horsemen and Joram who asked Jehu, "Is it peace?"w...
  • The Chronicler featured Azariah's sermon (vv. 1-7), Asa's reformation (vv. 8-15), and Maacah's removal (vv. 16-19) during the middle part of Asa's reign.A message from the prophet Azariah was the spark that ignited revival in...
  • This chapter evidently describes a situation that prevailed for more than the 52 days the wall was under construction (cf. v. 14). The writer probably included it in the text here because it was another situation that threate...
  • 15:2a-b In this section the psalmist summarized what was necessary to have an intimate relationship with the Lord. First, he or she must have a pattern of life that is blameless (Heb. tamim). This word means genuine, free fro...
  • The writer envisioned God sitting as Judge over a gathering of human judges, the judges that lived in every town in Israel. The human judges in Israel served as God's judicial representatives among His people. The Hebrew word...
  • As was true in the chapter 10-15 section, this one (16:1-22:16) also becomes more difficult to outline as it ends because there are fewer groupings of proverbs.19:7 The first part of this verse is hyperbole (overstatement to ...
  • 2:1-2a The Lord spoke to Jeremiah and instructed him to proclaim a message to the people of Jerusalem, a message from Yahweh.2:2b The Lord recalled how His people used to love (Heb. hesed) Him devotedly when they were followi...
  • Israel deserved judgment, and this pericope shows why. Jeremiah presented a series of pictures of the nation's irresponsibility and corruption.2:29 The Lord wanted to know why His people were angry with Him. The difficulties ...
  • This section is another of Jeremiah's autobiographical "confessions."In literary form it is another individual lament, like many of the psalms (cf. Ps. 6). It is one of Jeremiah's most significant self-disclosures. The sectio...
  • Three cases illustrate this principle: a father doing right (vv. 5-9), his son doing evil (vv. 10-13), and his grandson doing right (vv. 14-18). In each case Ezekiel described the individual's actions and the Lord's responses...
  • 20:10-12 So the Lord led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness. At Mount Sinai He gave them statutes and ordinances that would result in their welfare if they obeyed them, namely, the Mosaic Law. He also gave th...
  • 22:1-2 Another message came from the Lord instructing Ezekiel to remind the residents of the bloody city of Jerusalem about all their abominations (cf. 20:4). A list of specific sins was necessary for him to pronounce judgmen...
  • This final message brings Oholah and Oholibah back together and passes judgment on all Israel. It is a summary oracle for the section that indicts Israel's leaders (chs. 20-23).23:36-37 The Lord called Ezekiel to pass judgmen...
  • This is the sixth and last message that Ezekiel received from the Lord the night before the refugees reached the exiles with the message that Jerusalem had fallen (cf. 33:21-22). It too deals with God's plans for Israel in th...
  • Having given His essential response to the people's repentance, the Lord now explained what He would do in more detail. This section is chiastic with the focus of emphasis on verses 21-24. Verses 19 and 26-27 promise a restor...
  • Not all the sins that Amos identified appear in verses 6-8; two more appear in verse 12. Amos named seven sins of Israel all together rather than just one, as in the previous oracles, though he continued to use the "for three...
  • References to false prophets open and close this pericope (vv. 6-7, 11). In the middle, Micah again targeted the greedy in Judah for criticism (vv. 8-10). Apparently the false prophets condoned the practices of the greedy and...
  • 5:38 Retaliation was common in the ancient Near East. Frequently it led to vendettas in which escalating vengeance continued for generations. Israel's "law of retaliation"(Lat. lex talionis) limited retaliation to no more tha...
  • Jesus continued His instruction to the disciples about His return. He told them a parable designed to encourage them to continue praying while they lived in the interval before His second coming.18:1 The audience for this par...
  • 10:31-33 Clearly the Jews understood Jesus to be claiming more than simple agreement with God in thought and purpose but equality with the Father as deity. They prepared to stone Him for blasphemy.370They believed Jesus was b...
  • The scene shifts back to life within the church (cf. 4:32-5:11). Luke wrote this pericope to explain some administrative changes that the growth of the church made necessary. He also wanted to introduce the Hellenistic Jews w...
  • "The irregular structure of Luke's account of Paul's defense before the Sanhedrin evidently reflects the tumultuous character of the session itself. Three matters pertaining to Luke's apologetic purpose come to the fore: (1) ...
  • James proceeded to explain in 1:26-2:13 what a doer of works (1:25) does.1:26 "Religious"(Gr. threskos, used here only in the New Testament) describes someone who fears or worships God. In particular, it refers to the outward...
  • 2:26 The "these things"in view probably refer to what John had just written (vv. 18-25)."The author concludes his attack on the false teachers with a warning and a word of encouragement for his followers."992:27 The "anointin...
  • 9:20 These three severe judgments (fire, smoke, and brimstone, vv. 17-18) will not move the remaining unbelievers as a whole to repent (cf. Exod. 7:13, 23; 8:15, 19, 32; 9:7, 12, 35; 10:20; 11:10)."In all cases in the apocaly...
  • 18:4 Another voice from heaven instructed God's people to separate themselves from the system that the city symbolizes so they would avoid getting caught in her judgment. The being speaking is evidently an angel who speaks fo...
  • Abbott-Smith, George. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1950.Aldrich, Roy L. "The Divisions of the First Resurrection."Bibliotheca Sacra128:510 (April-June 1971):117-19.Alford, Henry. ...
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