A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

Deuteronomy 23

¹ “He that is wounded in the stones or hath his private member cut off shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. — he that is wounded in the stones; in any of them, not accidentally, but purposely;

— or hath his private member cut off; a eunuch should not enter into the congregation was doubtless intended to prevent the Israelitish rulers from making eunuchs of their brethren the children of Israel.

² A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord. — a bastard; probably, a child born of incest or adultery; even to his tenth generation;

³ An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever, — an Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; because their forefathers were begotten in incest (Genesis 19:30);

— or marry an Israelitish woman, and so the Targum of Jonathan says, “the male Ammonites and Moabites are not fit to take a wife of the congregation of the Lord;”

— they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever; that is, not only to the tenth generation, but for ever; and this law was understood as in force in Nehemiah’s time; when, at the time of Nehemiah, the newly-built Temple was infiltrated with an Ammonite named Tobiah,

— who, at the bidding of Sanballat, a Samaritan (Josephus: Sanballat was “satrap of Samaria”) went on to introduce the heresy of the Samaritan “passover” to the Jews; whereby there sprung a branch of Judiasm called the Sadducees,

— further, Tobiah, an Ammonite official and an enemy of Nehemiah who had opposed the rebuilding of the walls, had actually been given a room in the Temple for his possessions. That room had housed many important items, including the money allotted to pay the Levites for their time in the Temple. With no payment forthcoming, the Levites had abandoned their posts and returned to their homes to work their fields, (for more, see Nehemiah 2; 4)

⁴ because they met you not with bread and with water in the way when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor, of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

— in the way when ye came forth out of Egypt; they (viz., the king of the Moabites) had even hired Balaam to curse Israel. In this way they had brought upon themselves the curse which falls upon all those who curse Israel;

⁵ Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam, but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee. — but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee; in the very mouth of Balaam, as the Targum of Jonathan says;

— for when he opened his mouth and Balak expected he would have cursed Israel, and he intended it, could he have been permitted, the Lord overruled his tongue, and put such words into his mouth, that instead of cursing Israel, he blessed him; see Numbers 23:11,

⁶ Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever. — still upon any Ammonite or Moabite: thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days forever; not just until the tenth generation;

— make no contracts, either by marriages, or leagues, or commerce with them, but rather shalt constantly keep a jealous eye over them, as enemies who will watch every opportunity to insnare or disturb thee.

⁷ “Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother. Thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land. — the Edomite, as descended from Esau, the nearest akin to each other of all the nations; and the Egyptian, as of that nation which had shown hospitality to Joseph and his brethren, and shouldn’t be objects of abhorrence.

⁸ The children who are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation. — Edomite, and Egyptian; not in the third generation from the time that this law was made, but from the time that any of their males should embrace the true religion; for females, might be accepted immediately as soon as made proselytes through marriage.

⁹ “When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thyself from every wicked thing. — then keep thee from every wicked thing;

— the Targum of Jonathan adds, by way of explanation, “from strange worship, uncovering of nakedness, and from shedding innocent blood;” that is, from idolatry, uncleanness of every sort, and murder; and all other wickednesses ought to be abstained from at all times by all persons;

¹⁰ “If there be among you any man that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp; he shall not come within the camp. — by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night; through pollution by a nocturnal flux, Leviticus 15:4

¹¹ But it shall be, when evening (first erev) cometh on, he shall wash himself with water; and when the sun is down (second erev) he shall come into the camp again. — he shall wash himself with water; dip himself all over in water, not only wash his garments but his flesh;

¹² “Thou shalt have a place also outside the camp whither thou shalt go forth abroad. — thou shalt have also a place without the camp; a place prepared, as the Targums of Jonathan says, provided on purpose for the use hereafter suggested;

— whither thou shalt go forth abroad; to do the necessities of nature, which they were to do outside the camp, not in any place they thought fit and most convenient, but what was appointed for that purpose.

¹³ And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee. — and thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; a nail or spike, some kind of instrument to make a hole in the ground with, which was fastened to the sword upon their loins; which was to be instead of a spade or mattock to dig with;

— and it shall be, when thou shall ease thyself abroad; outside the camp, in the place appointed for that use, whenever nature required such an action to be performed;

— thou shall dig therewith; with, the paddle, an hole in the earth: to make it a foot deep with a spade or mattock, and to everyone that was newly admitted among them, a little pickaxe was given for that purpose: and shalt turn back; having eased nature;

— and cover that which cometh from thee; their dung, with the earth they dug out of the hole they made. This law was made to preserve modesty and decency becoming men, and not act like brute beasts, as well as cleanliness in the camp,

¹⁴ For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp to deliver thee and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy, that He see no unclean thing in thee and turn away from thee. — for the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and give up thine enemies before thee: to save them from falling into the hands of their enemies;

— therefore shall thy camp be holy; that he see no unclean thing; and turn away from thee; and so they fall into the hands of their enemies; care should be taken not to offend him, and cause him to depart from them;

¹⁵ “Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant who has escaped from his master unto thee. — this case in question is that of a slave who fled from a pagan master to the holy land. It is of course assumed that the refugee was not flying from justice, but only from the tyranny of his lord.

¹⁶ He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it is good for him. Thou shalt not oppress him. — evidently a slave of the Canaanites or some of the neighboring people, who was driven by tyrannical oppression, or induced, with a view of embracing the true religion, to take refuge in Israel;

— in that place he shall choose, in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: he was not to be detained by the person that took him up in his own house, or be obliged to dwell in any certain place under, a restraint, but he might take up his abode in any of the cities of Israel, which would be most for his good.

¹⁷ “There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. — whore and sodomite seem both intended to be taken in the sense in which they belonged to the temples of Baal and Ashtaroth, of persons dedicated to impurity;

— today, such impurities are prevelant in both houses of Israel in the name of liberal democracies; and, with few exceptions, whore and sodomite are far worse than those of the Gentiles;

¹⁸ Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God. — for even both these are an abomination to the Lord thy God; both the hire of the whore and the price of the dog, when brought as a sacrifice to him.

¹⁹ “Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother, interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of any thing that is lent upon interest. — thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; one of the same nation and religion, and who is in poor and necessitous circumstances, and wants either food for himself and family;

— till such times as the fruits of his ground will bring him in a sufficiency for his support, and the payment of what he borrows, and which is to be lent him without any interest.

²⁰ Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon interest, but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

— the case was different with foreigners, who, engaged in trade and commerce, borrowed to enlarge their capital, and might reasonably be expected to pay interest on their loans.

²¹ “When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it; for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee, and it would be sin in thee. — thou shall not slack to pay it; or delay the payment of it, but do it immediately; since zeal and affection might abate;

— and there might not be hereafter an ability to perform, or death might come and prevent it; the Targum of Jonathan adds, at the three feasts, that is, of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles;

²² But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. — there shall be no sin in not making any vow, nor any pledge; no charge of guilt be brought or punishment laid;

²³ That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform, even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

— even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth; it was to be paid, and in the manner as it was vowed and promised;

— the Targum of Jonathan says

the oath which goeth from your lips you shall confirm. The precepts of integrity you shall verily perform, but that which is not right to do ye shall not do; and according as you have vowed shall you fulfil;

sin offerings, trespass offerings, burnt sacrifices, and consecrated victims shall you present before the Lord your God, and bring the libations and the gifts of the sanctuary of which you have spoken (in promises), and alms for the poor which your lips have declared.

²⁴ “When thou comest into thy neighbor’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes to thy fill at thine own pleasure, but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.

²⁵ When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand, but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing corn.

Deuteronomy 24

¹ “When a man hath taken a wife and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes because he hath found some uncleanness in her, then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

— some uncleanness; some hateful thing, some distemper of body, or quality of mind, not observed before marriage; evidently mere caprice and dislike are not intended here: there must be some real ground of complaint;

² And when she has departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. — she may go and be other man’s wife; it was permitted her to marry another man, she being by her divorce freed from the law of her former husband;

³ And if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement, and putteth it in her hand and sendeth her out of his house, or if the latter husband die who took her to be his wife,

— or if her latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; and she survives him; as she is then by death loosed from the law of an husband, she may lawfully marry another man, but not her former husband;

⁴ her former husband who sent her away may not take her again to be his wife after she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord, and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

— for that is abomination before the Lord; for a man to take his wife again, after she had been divorced by him, and married to another man;

— and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance; since if this was allowed, that men might put away their wives, and take them again at pleasure, and change them as often as they thought fit;

⁵ “When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business; but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife whom he hath taken.

— he shall be free at home one year, that their affections newly engaged may be firmly settled, so as there may be no occasions for the divorces last mentioned.

⁶ “No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone in pledge, for then he taketh a man’s life in pledge. — MSG “Don’t seize a handmill or an upper millstone as collateral for a loan. You’d be seizing someone’s very life.”

⁷ “If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him or selleth him, then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.

— MSG “If a man is caught kidnapping one of his kinsmen, someone of the People of Israel, to enslave or sell him, the kidnapper must die. Purge that evil from among you.”

⁸ “Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.

— take heed, in the plague of leprosy; whether in the bodies of men, or in houses, or in garments, not to hide and conceal it; or cut out the bright spot; that thou observe diligently;

⁹ Remember what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam on the way after ye had come forth out of Egypt.

— remember what the Lord did unto Miriam; this seems to have been intended as an admonition, to take care lest they spoke evil of dignities, or disobeyed the commands of the priest, which might bring such a stroke upon them as God inflicted upon Miriam.

¹⁰ “When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. — thou shall not go into his house to fetch his pledge; which would be an exercise of too much power and authority;

— to go into a neighbour’s house, and take what was liked; and besides, as no doubt he would take the best, so he might take that which the poor man could not spare;

¹¹ Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. — if the lender or creditor had been allowed to go in and take what he pleased for a pledge, he would choose the best; so, on the other hand, the borrower or debtor would be apt to bring the worst, what was of the least value and use;

¹² And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge. — and if the man be poor; which may be thought to be the case of anyone that gives pledges for a debt he owes, or a sum of money he borrows;

¹³ In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment and bless thee; and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God.

— in any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again, when the sun goeth down; if it was a night covering; but if it was his day clothes, he was to return it in the morning, when the sun arose;

¹⁴ “Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren or of thy strangers who are in thy land within thy gates. — not oppress a hired servant; by detaining his wages from him when due;

¹⁵ At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor and setteth his heart upon it, lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee. — lest he cry against thee to the Lord; having none to apply unto but him, who is the patron of the poor and needy;

¹⁶ “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

— the fathers shall not be put to death for the sin of their children; by the civil magistrates, for sins committed by them of a capital nature, and which are worthy of death: neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin;

¹⁷ “Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless, nor take a widow’s raiment in pledge; — the law against perverting the right of strangers, widows, and orphans is here repeated from Exodus 22:20, 21; Exodus 23:9 with the addition that the raiment of the widow was not to be taken in pledge;

¹⁸ but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence. Therefore I command thee to do this thing. — but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt; the remembrance of which may cause sympathy with persons in distress; particularly the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

¹⁹ “When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field and hast forgotten a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.

— when thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field; whether barley harvest or wheat harvest, when either of them are ripe for cutting, mowing, or reaping, and are cutting down: and hast forgot a sheaf in the field; it shall be for the stranger; or proselyte; or for the fatherless and for the widow; which of them soever should first find it.

²⁰ When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

— thou shall not go over the boughs again; to beat off some few that may remain; they were not nicely to examine the boughs over again, whether there were any left or not: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow;

²¹ When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. — thou shalt not glean after thee, that is, after thou hast reaped and gathered for thyself;

²² And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command thee to do this thing.

— and thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; when they would have been glad to have enjoyed the like favours, as small as they might seem to be, even to glean in their fields, vineyards, and oliveyards.

~ by Joel on May 25, 2024.

Posted in Books of Moses