Exodus 23:2-6

Context

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd¹ in doing evil things;² in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,³ 23:3 and you must not show partiality⁴ to a poor man in his lawsuit.

23:4 “If you encounter⁵ your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return⁶ it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him,⁷ but be sure to help⁸ him with it.⁹

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits.

[23:2] ¹tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2] ²tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2] ³tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[23:3] ⁴tn The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 237).

[23:4] ⁵tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[23:4] ⁶tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[23:5] ⁷tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

[23:5] ⁸tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

[23:5] ⁹sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.