Genesis 21:25

21:25 But Abraham lodged a complaint ¹  against Abimelech concerning a well ²  that Abimelech’s servants had seized. ³ 

Job 20:19

20:19 For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; ⁴ 

he has seized a house which he did not build. ⁵ 

Job 24:2

24:2 Men ⁶  move boundary stones;

they seize the flock and pasture them. ⁷ 

Isaiah 59:6

59:6 Their webs cannot be used for clothing;

they cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are sinful;

they commit violent crimes. ⁸ 

Ezekiel 18:7

18:7 does not oppress anyone, but gives the debtor back whatever was given in pledge, ⁹  does not commit robbery, ¹⁰  but gives his bread to the hungry and clothes the naked,

Ezekiel 18:12

18:12 oppresses the poor and the needy, ¹¹  commits robbery, does not give back what was given in pledge, prays to ¹²  idols, performs abominable acts,

Ezekiel 18:18

18:18 As for his father, because he practices extortion, robs his brother, and does what is not good among his people, he will die for his iniquity.

Amos 3:10

3:10 “They do not know how to do what is right.” (The Lord is speaking.)

“They store up ¹³  the spoils of destructive violence ¹⁴  in their fortresses.

Micah 2:2

2:2 They confiscate the fields they desire,

and seize the houses they want. ¹⁵ 

They defraud people of their homes, ¹⁶ 

and deprive people of the land they have inherited. ¹⁷ 

Zephaniah 1:9

1:9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, ¹⁸ 

who fill the house of their master ¹⁹  with wealth taken by violence and deceit. ²⁰ 

[21:25]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to argue; to dispute”; it can focus on the beginning of the dispute (as here), the dispute itself, or the resolution of a dispute (Isa 1:18). Apparently the complaint was lodged before the actual oath was taken.

[21:25]  ² tn Heb “concerning the matter of the well of water.”

[21:25]  ³ tn The Hebrew verb used here means “to steal; to rob; to take violently.” The statement reflects Abraham’s perspective.

[20:19]  ⁴ tc The verb indicates that after he oppressed the poor he abandoned them to their fate. But there have been several attempts to improve on the text. Several have repointed the text to get a word parallel to “house.” Ehrlich came up with עֹזֵב (’ozev, “mud hut”), Kissane had “hovel” (similar to Neh 3:8). M. Dahood did the same (“The Root ’zb II in Job,” JBL 78 [1959]: 306-7). J. Reider came up with עֶזֶב (’ezev, the “leavings”), what the rich were to leave for the poor (“Contributions to the Scriptural text,” HUCA 24 [1952/53]: 103-6). But an additional root עָזַב (’azav) is questionable. And while the text as it stands is general and not very striking, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Dhorme reverses the letters to gain בְּעֹז (bÿ’oz, “with force [or violence]”).

[20:19]  ⁵ tn The last clause says, “and he did not build it.” This can be understood in an adverbial sense, supplying the relative pronoun to the translation.

[24:2]  ⁶ tn The line is short: “they move boundary stones.” So some commentators have supplied a subject, such as “wicked men.” The reason for its being wicked men is that to move the boundary stone was to encroach dishonestly on the lands of others (Deut 19:14; 27:17).

[24:2]  ⁷ tc The LXX reads “and their shepherd.” Many commentators accept this reading. But the MT says that they graze the flocks that they have stolen. The difficulty with the MT reading is that there is no suffix on the final verb – but that is not an insurmountable difference.

[59:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “their deeds are deeds of sin, and the work of violence [is] in their hands.”

[18:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “restores to the debtor his pledge.” The root occurs in Exod 22:25 in reference to restoring a man’s garment as a pledge before nightfall.

[18:7]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term refers to seizure of property, usually by the rich (Isa 3:14; 10:2; Mic 2:2 [see Lev 5:21, 22]).

[18:12]  ¹¹ sn The poor and needy are often mentioned together in the OT (Deut 24:14; Jer 22:16; Ezek 14:69; Ps 12:6; 35:10; 37:14).

[18:12]  ¹² tn Heb “lifts up his eyes.”

[3:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “those who.”

[3:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “violence and destruction.” The expression “violence and destruction” stand metonymically for the goods the oppressors have accumulated by their unjust actions.

[2:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they desire fields and rob [them], and houses and take [them] away.”

[2:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and they oppress a man and his home.”

[2:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and a man and his inheritance.” The verb עָשַׁק (’ashaq, “to oppress”; “to wrong”) does double duty in the parallel structure and is understood by ellipsis in the second line.

[1:9]  ¹⁸ sn The point of the statement all who hop over the threshold is unclear. A ritual or superstition associated with the Philistine god Dagon may be in view (see 1 Sam 5:5).

[1:9]  ¹⁹ tn The referent of “their master” is unclear. The king or a pagan god may be in view.

[1:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “who fill…with violence and deceit.” The expression “violence and deceit” refers metonymically to the wealth taken by oppressive measures.