Discovery BoxExodus 23:9-12
Context23:9 “You must not oppress 1 a foreigner, since you know the life 2 of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
23:10 3 “For six years 4 you are to sow your land and gather in its produce. 23:11 But in the seventh year 5 you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the field 6 may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove. 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help 7 may refresh themselves. 8
Deuteronomy 16:11-12
Context16:11 You shall rejoice before him 9 – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, 10 the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name. 16:12 Furthermore, remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so be careful to observe these statutes.
Deuteronomy 24:14-22
Context24:14 You must not oppress a lowly and poor servant, whether one from among your fellow Israelites 11 or from the resident foreigners who are living in your land and villages. 12 24:15 You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
24:16 Fathers must not be put to death for what their children 13 do, nor children for what their fathers do; each must be put to death for his own sin.
24:17 You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow’s garment as security for a loan. 24:18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do all this. 24:19 Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and leave some unraked grain there, 14 you must not return to get it; it should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow so that the Lord your God may bless all the work you do. 15 24:20 When you beat your olive tree you must not repeat the procedure; 16 the remaining olives belong to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard you must not do so a second time; 17 they should go to the resident foreigner, orphan, and widow. 24:22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt; therefore, I am commanding you to do all this.
Nehemiah 10:31
Context10:31 We will not buy 18 on the Sabbath or on a holy day from the neighboring peoples who bring their wares and all kinds of grain to sell on the Sabbath day. We will let the fields lie fallow every seventh year, and we will cancel every loan. 19
Nehemiah 13:15-21
Context13:15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain and loading them onto donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day that they sold these provisions. 13:16 The people from Tyre 20 who lived there were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah – and in Jerusalem, of all places! 21 13:17 So I registered a complaint with the nobles of Judah, saying to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 13:18 Isn’t this the way your ancestors 22 acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!”
13:19 When the evening shadows 23 began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered 24 the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned 25 some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day. 13:20 The traders and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice. 13:21 But I warned them and said, 26 “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” 27 From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. 28
[23:9] 1 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] 2 tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”
[23:10] 3 sn This section concerns religious duties of the people of God as they worship by giving thanks to God for their blessings. The principles here are: God requires his people to allow the poor to share in their bounty (10-11); God requires his people to provide times of rest and refreshment for those who labor for them (12); God requires allegiance to himself (13); God requires his people to come before him in gratitude and share their bounty (14-17); God requires that his people safeguard proper worship forms (18-19).
[23:10] 4 tn Heb “and six years”; this is an adverbial accusative telling how long they can work their land. The following references to years and days in vv. 10-12 function similarly.
[23:11] 5 tn Heb “and the seventh year”; an adverbial accusative with a disjunctive vav (ו).
[23:11] 6 tn Heb “living thing/creature/beast of the field.” A general term for animals, usually wild animals, including predators (cf. v. 29; Gen 2:19-20; Lev 26:22; Deut 7:22; 1 Sam 17:46; Job 5:22-23; Ezek 29:5; 34:5).
[23:12] 7 tn Heb “alien,” or “resident foreigner.” Such an individual would have traveled out of need and depended on the goodwill of the people around him. The rendering “hired help” assumes that the foreigner is mentioned in this context because he is working for an Israelite and will benefit from the Sabbath rest, along with his employer.
[23:12] 8 tn The verb is וְיִּנָּפֵשׁ (vÿyyinnafesh); it is related to the word usually translated “soul” or “life.”
[16:11] 9 tn Heb “the
[24:14] 11 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not limited only to actual siblings; cf. NASB “your (+ own NAB) countrymen.”
[24:14] 12 tn Heb “who are in your land in your gates.” The word “living” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[24:16] 13 tn Heb “sons” (so NASB; twice in this verse). Many English versions, including the KJV, read “children” here.
[24:19] 14 tn Heb “in the field.”
[24:19] 15 tn Heb “of your hands.” This law was later applied in the story of Ruth who, as a poor widow, was allowed by generous Boaz to glean in his fields (Ruth 2:1-13).
[24:20] 16 tn Heb “knock down after you.”
[24:21] 17 tn Heb “glean after you.”
[10:31] 19 tn Heb “debt of every hand,” an idiom referring to the hand that holds legally binding contractual agreements.
[13:16] 20 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[13:16] 21 tn The words “of all places” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to indicate the emphasis on Jerusalem.
[13:18] 22 tn Heb “your fathers.”
[13:19] 23 tn Heb “the gates of Jerusalem grew dark.”
[13:19] 24 tn Heb “said” (so also in v. 22).
[13:19] 25 tn Heb “caused to stand.”
[13:21] 26 tn The Hebrew text includes the words “to them,” but they have been excluded from the translation for stylistic reasons.
[13:21] 27 tn Heb “I will send a hand on you.”
[13:21] 28 sn This statement contains a great deal of restrained humor. The author clearly takes pleasure in the effectiveness of the measures that he had enacted.
