29 `Thy fulness and thy liquids thou dost not delay; the first-born of thy sons thou dost give to Me;
`Sanctify to Me every first-born, opening any womb among the sons of Israel, among man and among beast; it `is' Mine.'
and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of thy works which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of the In-Gathering, in the outgoing of the year, in thy gathering thy works out of the field.
that thou hast caused every one opening a womb to pass over to Jehovah, and every firstling -- the increase of beasts which thou hast: the males `are' Jehovah's.
that thou hast taken of the first of all the fruits of the ground which thou dost bring in out of thy land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, and hast put `it' in a basket, and gone unto the place which Jehovah thy God doth choose to cause His name to tabernacle there. `And thou hast come in unto the priest who is in those days, and hast said unto him, I have declared to-day to Jehovah thy God, that I have come in unto the land which Jehovah hath sworn to our fathers to give to us; and the priest hath taken the basket out of thy hand, and placed it before the altar of Jehovah thy God. `And thou hast answered and said before Jehovah thy God, A perishing Aramaean `is' my father! and he goeth down to Egypt, and sojourneth there with few men, and becometh there a nation, great, mighty, and numerous; and the Egyptians do us evil, and afflict us, and put on us hard service; and we cry unto Jehovah, God of our fathers, and Jehovah heareth our voice, and seeth our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression; and Jehovah bringeth us out from Egypt, by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great fear, and by signs, and by wonders, and he bringeth us in unto this place, and giveth to us this land -- a land flowing with milk and honey. `And now, lo, I have brought in the first of the fruits of the ground which thou hast given to me, O Jehovah; -- and thou hast placed it before Jehovah thy God, and bowed thyself before Jehovah thy God,
And a man hath come from Baal-Shalishah, and bringeth in to the man of God bread of first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in its husk, and he saith, `Give to the people, and they eat.'
and at the spreading forth of the thing have the sons of Israel multiplied the first-fruit of corn, new wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field, and the tithe of the whole in abundance they have brought in.
For, in My holy mountain, In the mountain of the height of Israel, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah, There serve Me do all the house of Israel, All of it, in the land -- there I accept them, And there I do seek your heave-offerings, And with the first-fruit of your gifts, With all your holy things.
My wo `is' to me, for I have been As gatherings of summer-fruit, As gleanings of harvest, There is no cluster to eat, The first-ripe fruit desired hath my soul.
And not only `so', but also we ourselves, having the first-fruit of the Spirit, we also ourselves in ourselves do groan, adoption expecting -- the redemption of our body;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 22
Commentary on Exodus 22 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 22
Ex 22:1-31. Laws concerning Theft.
1-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep—The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because it was presumable he (the thief) was not a practised adept in dishonesty. A robber breaking into a house at midnight might, in self-defense, be slain with impunity; but if he was slain after sunrise, it would be considered murder, for it was not thought likely an assault would then be made upon the lives of the occupants. In every case where a thief could not make restitution, he was sold as a slave for the usual term.
6. If fire break out, and catch in thorns—This refers to the common practice in the East of setting fire to the dry grass before the fall of the autumnal rains, which prevents the ravages of vermin, and is considered a good preparation of the ground for the next crop. The very parched state of the herbage and the long droughts of summer, make the kindling of a fire an operation often dangerous, and always requiring caution from its liability to spread rapidly.
stacks—or as it is rendered "shocks" (Jud 15:5; Job 5:26), means simply a bundle of loose sheaves.
26, 27. If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, &c.—From the nature of the case, this is the description of a poor man. No Orientals undress, but, merely throwing off their turbans and some of their heavy outer garments, they sleep in the clothes which they wear during the day. The bed of the poor is usually nothing else than a mat; and, in winter, they cover themselves with a cloak—a practice which forms the ground or reason of the humane and merciful law respecting the pawned coat.
28. gods—a word which is several times in this chapter rendered "judges" or magistrates.
the ruler of thy people—and the chief magistrate who was also the high priest, at least in the time of Paul (Ac 23:1-5).