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Exodus 23:2-9

Context

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd 1  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 partiality 4  to a poor man in his lawsuit.

23:4 “If you encounter 5  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return 6  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 help 8  him with it. 9 

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance 10  from a false charge 11  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, 12  for I will not justify the wicked. 13 

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see 14  and subverts the words of the righteous.

23:9 “You must not oppress 15  a foreigner, since you know the life 16  of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

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[23:2]  1 tn 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]  2 tn 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]  3 tn 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]  4 tn 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]  5 tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

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

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

[23:5]  8 tn 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]  9 sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.

[23:7]  10 tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”

[23:7]  11 tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.

[23:7]  12 tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).

[23:7]  13 sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.

[23:8]  14 tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”

[23:9]  15 tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).

[23:9]  16 tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”



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