1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.
17 Three items in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
1 Thou shalt not raise H5375 a false H7723 report: H8088 put H7896 not thine hand H3027 with the wicked H7563 to be an unrighteous H2555 witness. H5707
2 Thou shalt not follow H310 a multitude H7227 to do evil; H7451 neither shalt thou speak H6030 in a cause H7379 to decline H5186 after H310 many H7227 to wrest H5186 judgment:
3 Neither shalt thou countenance H1921 a poor H1800 man in his cause. H7379
4 If thou meet H6293 thine enemy's H341 ox H7794 or his ass H2543 going astray, H8582 thou shalt surely H7725 bring it back H7725 to him again. H7725
5 If thou see H7200 the ass H2543 of him that hateth H8130 thee lying H7257 under his burden, H4853 and wouldest forbear H2308 to help H5800 him, thou shalt surely H5800 help H5800 with him.
6 Thou shalt not wrest H5186 the judgment H4941 of thy poor H34 in his cause. H7379
7 Keep thee far H7368 from a false H8267 matter; H1697 and the innocent H5355 and righteous H6662 slay H2026 thou not: for I will not justify H6663 the wicked. H7563
8 And thou shalt take H3947 no gift: H7810 for the gift H7810 blindeth H5786 the wise, H6493 and perverteth H5557 the words H1697 of the righteous. H6662
9 Also thou shalt not oppress H3905 a stranger: H1616 for ye know H3045 the heart H5315 of a stranger, H1616 seeing H3588 ye were strangers H1616 in the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
10 And six H8337 years H8141 thou shalt sow H2232 thy land, H776 and shalt gather H622 in the fruits H8393 thereof:
11 But the seventh H7637 year thou shalt let it rest H8058 and lie H5203 still; that the poor H34 of thy people H5971 may eat: H398 and what they leave H3499 the beasts H2416 of the field H7704 shall eat. H398 In like manner thou shalt deal H6213 with thy vineyard, H3754 and with thy oliveyard. H2132
12 Six H8337 days H3117 thou shalt do H6213 thy work, H4639 and on the seventh H7637 day H3117 thou shalt rest: H7673 that thine ox H7794 and thine ass H2543 may rest, H5117 and the son H1121 of thy handmaid, H519 and the stranger, H1616 may be refreshed. H5314
13 And in all things that I have said H559 unto you be circumspect: H8104 and make no mention H2142 of the name H8034 of other H312 gods, H430 neither let it be heard H8085 out H5921 of thy mouth. H6310
14 Three H7969 times H7272 thou shalt keep a feast H2287 unto me in the year. H8141
15 Thou shalt keep H8104 the feast H2282 of unleavened bread: H4682 (thou shalt eat H398 unleavened bread H4682 seven H7651 days, H3117 as I commanded H6680 thee, in the time appointed H4150 of the month H2320 Abib; H24 for in it thou camest out H3318 from Egypt: H4714 and none shall appear H7200 before H6440 me empty:) H7387
16 And the feast H2282 of harvest, H7105 the firstfruits H1061 of thy labours, H4639 which thou hast sown H2232 in the field: H7704 and the feast H2282 of ingathering, H614 which is in the end H3318 of the year, H8141 when thou hast gathered H622 in thy labours H4639 out of the field. H7704
17 Three H7969 times H6471 in the year H8141 all thy males H2138 shall appear H7200 before H6440 the Lord H113 GOD. H3068
18 Thou shalt not offer H2076 the blood H1818 of my sacrifice H2077 with leavened bread; H2557 neither shall the fat H2459 of my sacrifice H2282 remain H3885 until the morning. H1242
19 The first H7225 of the firstfruits H1061 of thy land H127 thou shalt bring H935 into the house H1004 of the LORD H3068 thy God. H430 Thou shalt not seethe H1310 a kid H1423 in his mother's H517 milk. H2461
20 Behold, I send H7971 an Angel H4397 before H6440 thee, to keep H8104 thee in the way, H1870 and to bring H935 thee into the place H4725 which I have prepared. H3559
21 Beware H8104 of H6440 him, and obey H8085 his voice, H6963 provoke H4843 him not; for he will not pardon H5375 your transgressions: H6588 for my name H8034 is in him. H7130
22 But if thou shalt indeed H8085 obey H8085 his voice, H6963 and do H6213 all that I speak; H1696 then I will be an enemy H340 unto thine enemies, H341 and an adversary H6887 unto thine adversaries. H6696
23 For mine Angel H4397 shall go H3212 before H6440 thee, and bring H935 thee in unto the Amorites, H567 and the Hittites, H2850 and the Perizzites, H6522 and the Canaanites, H3669 the Hivites, H2340 and the Jebusites: H2983 and I will cut them off. H3582
24 Thou shalt not bow down H7812 to their gods, H430 nor serve H5647 them, nor do H6213 after their works: H4639 but thou shalt utterly H2040 overthrow H2040 them, and quite H7665 break down H7665 their images. H4676
25 And ye shall serve H5647 the LORD H3068 your God, H430 and he shall bless H1288 thy bread, H3899 and thy water; H4325 and I will take H5493 sickness H4245 away H5493 from the midst H7130 of thee.
26 There shall nothing cast their young, H7921 nor be barren, H6135 in thy land: H776 the number H4557 of thy days H3117 I will fulfil. H4390
27 I will send H7971 my fear H367 before H6440 thee, and will destroy H2000 all the people H5971 to whom thou shalt come, H935 and I will make H5414 all thine enemies H341 turn their backs H6203 unto thee.
28 And I will send H7971 hornets H6880 before H6440 thee, which shall drive out H1644 the Hivite, H2340 the Canaanite, H3669 and the Hittite, H2850 from before H6440 thee.
29 I will not drive them out H1644 from before H6440 thee in one H259 year; H8141 lest the land H776 become desolate, H8077 and the beast H2416 of the field H7704 multiply H7227 against thee.
30 By little H4592 and little H4592 I will drive them out H1644 from before H6440 thee, until thou be increased, H6509 and inherit H5157 the land. H776
31 And I will set H7896 thy bounds H1366 from the Red H5488 sea H3220 even unto the sea H3220 of the Philistines, H6430 and from the desert H4057 unto the river: H5104 for I will deliver H5414 the inhabitants H3427 of the land H776 into your hand; H3027 and thou shalt drive them out H1644 before H6440 thee.
32 Thou shalt make H3772 no covenant H1285 with them, nor with their gods. H430
33 They shall not dwell H3427 in thy land, H776 lest they make thee sin H2398 against me: for if thou serve H5647 their gods, H430 it will surely be a snare H4170 unto thee.
1 Thou shalt not take up a false report: put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest `justice':
3 neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause.
4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, thou shalt forbear to leave him, thou shalt surely release `it' with him.
6 Thou shalt not wrest the justice `due' to thy poor in his cause.
7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
8 And thou shalt take no bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 And a sojourner shalt thou not oppress: for ye know the heart of a sojourner, seeing ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the increase thereof:
11 but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, `and' with thy oliveyard.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the sojourner, may be refreshed.
13 And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep: seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it thou camest out from Egypt); and none shall appear before me empty:
16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labors, which thou sowest in the field: and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labors out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord Jehovah.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.
19 The first of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in it mother's milk.
20 Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Take ye heed before him, and hearken unto his voice; provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgression: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and break in pieces their pillars.
25 And ye shall serve Jehovah your God, and he will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 There shall none cast her young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27 I will send my terror before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31 And I will set thy border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand: and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
1 `Thou dost not lift up a vain report; thou dost not put thy hand with a wicked man to be a violent witness.
2 `Thou art not after many to evil, nor dost thou testify concerning a strife, to turn aside after many to cause `others' to turn aside;
3 and a poor man thou dost not honour in his strife.
4 `When thou meetest thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou dost certainly turn it back to him;
5 when thou seest the ass of him who is hating thee crouching under its burden, then thou hast ceased from leaving `it' to it -- thou dost certainly leave `it' with him.
6 `Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of thy needy one in his strife;
7 from a false matter thou dost keep far off, and an innocent and righteous man thou dost not slay; for I do not justify a wicked man.
8 `And a bribe thou dost not take; for the bribe bindeth the open-`eyed', and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 `And a sojourner thou dost not oppress, and ye -- ye have known the soul of the sojourner, for sojourners ye have been in the land of Egypt.
10 `And six years thou dost sow thy land, and hast gathered its increase;
11 and the seventh thou dost release it, and hast left it, and the needy of thy people have eaten, and their leaving doth the beast of the field eat; so dost thou to thy vineyard -- to thine olive-yard.
12 `Six days thou dost do thy work, and on the seventh day thou dost rest, so that thine ox and thine ass doth rest, and the son of thine handmaid and the sojourner is refreshed;
13 and in all that which I have said unto you ye do take heed; and the name of other gods ye do not mention; it is not heard on thy mouth.
14 `Three times thou dost keep a feast to Me in a year;
15 the Feast of Unleavened things thou dost keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things, as I have commanded thee, at the time appointed `in' the month of Abib; for in it thou hast come forth out of Egypt, and ye do not appear `in' My presence empty;
16 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.
17 `Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah.
18 `Thou dost not sacrifice on a fermented thing the blood of My sacrifice, and the fat of My festival doth not remain till morning;
19 the beginning of the first-fruits of thy ground thou dost bring into the house of Jehovah thy God; thou dost not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
20 `Lo, I am sending a messenger before thee to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee in unto the place which I have prepared;
21 be watchful because of his presence, and hearken to his voice, rebel not against him, for he beareth not with your transgression, for My name `is' in his heart;
22 for, if thou diligently hearken to his voice, and hast done all that which I speak, then I have been at enmity with thine enemies, and have distressed those distressing thee.
23 `For My messenger goeth before thee, and hath brought thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I have cut them off.
24 `Thou dost not bow thyself to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their doings, but dost utterly devote them, and thoroughly break their standing pillars.
25 `And ye have served Jehovah your God, and He hath blessed thy bread and thy water, and I have turned aside sickness from thine heart;
26 there is not a miscarrying and barren one in thy land; the number of thy days I fulfil:
27 My terror I send before thee, and I have put to death all the people among whom thou comest, and I have given the neck of all thine enemies unto thee.
28 `And I have sent the hornet before thee, and it hath cast out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee;
29 I cast them not out from before thee in one year, lest the land be a desolation, and the beast of the field hath multiplied against thee;
30 little `by' little I cast them out from before thee, till thou art fruitful, and hast inherited the land.
31 `And I have set thy border from the Red Sea, even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River: for I give into your hand the inhabitants of the land, and thou hast cast them out from before thee;
32 thou dost not make a covenant with them, and with their gods;
33 they do not dwell in thy land, lest they cause thee to sin against Me when thou servest their gods, when it becometh a snare to thee.'
1 Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness.
2 Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert [judgment].
3 Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.
4 -- If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt certainly bring it back to him.
5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, beware of leaving [it] to him: thou shalt certainly loosen [it] with him.
6 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7 Thou shalt keep far from the cause of falsehood; and the innocent and righteous slay not; for I will not justify the wicked.
8 And thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blindeth those whose eyes are open, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 And the stranger thou shalt not oppress; for ye know the spirit of the stranger, for ye have been strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in its produce;
11 but in the seventh thou shalt let it rest and lie [fallow], that the poor of thy people may eat [of it]; and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thine olive-tree.
12 -- Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger may be refreshed.
13 And ye shall be on your guard as to everything that I have said unto you; and shall make no mention of the name of other gods -- it shall not be heard in thy mouth.
14 Thrice in the year thou shalt celebrate a feast to me.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread, (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I have commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear in my presence empty;)
16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours which thou hast sown in the field, and the feast of in-gathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the presence of the Lord Jehovah.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.
19 The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee to the place that I have prepared.
21 Be careful in his presence, and hearken unto his voice: do not provoke him, for he will not forgive your transgressions; for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt diligently hearken unto his voice, and do all that I shall say, then I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries.
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their deeds; but thou shalt utterly destroy them, and utterly shatter their statues.
25 And ye shall serve Jehovah your God; and he shall bless thy bread and thy water; and I will take sickness away from thy midst.
26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days will I fulfil.
27 I will send my fear before thee, and confound every people to which thou comest, and will make all thine enemies turn their back to thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year: lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou art fruitful, and possess the land.
31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the river; for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, that thou mayest dispossess them from before thee.
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it is sure to be a snare unto thee.
1 "You shall not spread a false report. Don't join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.
2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; neither shall you testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice;
3 neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.
4 "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
5 If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don't leave him, you shall surely help him with it.
6 "You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.
7 "Keep far from a false charge, and don't kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked.
8 You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.
9 "You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, seeing you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
10 "For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase,
11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In like manner you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove.
12 "Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your handmaid, and the alien may be refreshed.
13 "Be careful to do all things that I have said to you; and don't invoke the name of other gods, neither let them be heard out of your mouth.
14 "You shall observe a feast to me three times a year.
15 You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out from Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty.
16 And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field: and the feast of harvest, at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord Yahweh.
18 "You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.
19 The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of Yahweh your God. "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
20 "Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21 Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don't provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.
22 But if you indeed listen to his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries.
23 For my angel shall go before you, and bring you in to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off.
24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor follow their practices, but you shall utterly overthrow them and demolish their pillars.
25 You shall serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from your midst.
26 No one will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of your days.
27 I will send my terror before you, and will confuse all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28 I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you.
29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the animals of the field multiply against you.
30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and inherit the land.
31 I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
32 You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."
1 Do not let a false statement go further; do not make an agreement with evil-doers to be a false witness.
2 Do not be moved to do wrong by the general opinion, or give the support of your words to a wrong decision:
3 But, on the other hand, do not be turned from what is right in order to give support to a poor man's cause.
4 If you come across the ox or the ass of one who is no friend to you wandering from its way, you are to take it back to him.
5 If you see the ass of one who has no love for you bent down to the earth under the weight which is put on it, you are to come to its help, even against your desire.
6 Let no wrong decisions be given in the poor man's cause.
7 Keep yourselves far from any false business; never let the upright or him who has done no wrong be put to death: for I will make the evil-doer responsible for his sin.
8 Take no rewards in a cause: for rewards make blind those who have eyes to see, and make the decisions of the upright false.
9 Do not be hard on the man from a strange country who is living among you; for you have had experience of the feelings of one who is far from the land of his birth, because you yourselves were living in Egypt, in a strange land.
10 For six years put seed into your fields and get in the increase;
11 But in the seventh year let the land have a rest and be unplanted; so that the poor may have food from it: and let the beasts of the field take the rest. Do the same with your vine-gardens and your olive-trees.
12 For six days do your work, and on the seventh day keep the Sabbath; so that your ox and your ass may have rest, together with the son of your servant and the man from a strange land living among you.
13 Take note of all these things which I have said to you, and let not the names of other gods come into your minds or from your lips.
14 Three times in the year you are to keep a feast to me.
15 You are to keep the feast of unleavened bread; for seven days let your bread be without leaven, as I gave you orders, at the regular time in the month Abib (for in it you came out of Egypt); and let no one come before me without an offering:
16 And the feast of the grain-cutting, the first-fruits of your planted fields: and the feast at the start of the year, when you have got in all the fruit from your fields.
17 Three times in the year let all your males come before the Lord God.
18 Do not give the blood of my offering with leavened bread; and do not let the fat of my feast be kept all night till the morning.
19 The best of the first-fruits of your land are to be taken into the house of the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother's milk.
20 See, I am sending an angel before you, to keep you on your way and to be your guide into the place which I have made ready for you.
21 Give attention to him and give ear to his voice; do not go against him; for your wrongdoing will not be overlooked by him, because my name is in him.
22 But if you truly give ear to his voice, and do whatever I say, then I will be against those who are against you, fighting those who are fighting you.
23 And my angel will go before you, guiding you into the land of the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, and they will be cut off by my hand.
24 Do not go down on your faces and give worship to their gods, or do as they do; but overcome them completely, and let their pillars be broken down.
25 And give worship to the Lord your God, who will send his blessing on your bread and on your water; and I will take all disease away from among you.
26 All your animals will give birth without loss, not one will be without young in all your land; I will give you a full measure of life.
27 I will send my fear before you, putting to flight all the people to whom you come; all those who are against you will go in flight, turning their backs before you.
28 I will send hornets before you, driving out the Hivite and the Canaanite and the Hittite before your face.
29 I will not send them all out in one year, for fear that their land may become waste, and the beasts of the field be increased overmuch against you.
30 Little by little I will send them away before you, till your numbers are increased and you take up your heritage in the land.
31 I will let the limits of your land be from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the waste land to the river Euphrates: for I will give the people of those lands into your power; and you will send them out before you.
32 Make no agreement with them or with their gods.
33 Let them not go on living in your land, or they will make you do evil against me: for if you give worship to their gods, it will certainly be a cause of sin to you.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 23
Commentary on Exodus 23 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
Lastly, no one was to violate another's rights. - Exodus 23:1. “Thou shalt not raise (bring out) an empty report .” שׁוא שׁמע , a report that has no foundation, and, as the context shows, does injury to another, charges him with wrongdoing, and involves him in legal proceedings. “ Put not thine hand with a wicked man (do not offer him thy hand, or render him assistance), to be a witness of violence .” This clause is unquestionably connected with the preceding one, and implies that raising a false report furnishes the wicked man with a pretext for bringing the man, who is suspected of crime on account of this false report, before a court of law; in consequence of which the originator or propagator of the empty report becomes a witness of injustice and violence.
Exodus 23:2-3
Just as little should a man follow a multitude to pervert justice. “ Thou shalt not be behind many (follow the multitude) to evil things, nor answer concerning a dispute to incline thyself after many (i.e., thou shalt not give such testimony in connection with any dispute, in which thou takest part with the great majority), so as to pervert ” ( להטּות ), sc., justice. But, on the other hand, “ neither shalt thou adorn the poor man in his dispute ” (Exodus 23:3), i.e., show partiality to the poor or weak man in an unjust cause, out of weak compassion for him. (Compare Leviticus 19:15, a passage which, notwithstanding the fact that הדר is applied to favour shown to the great or mighty, overthrows Knobel's conjecture, that גּדל should be read for ודל , inasmuch as it prohibits the showing of favour to the one as much as to the other.)
Exodus 23:4-5
Not only was their conduct not to be determined by public opinion, the direction taken by the multitude, or by weak compassion for a poor man; but personal antipathy, enmity, and hatred were not to lead them to injustice or churlish behaviour. On the contrary, if the Israelite saw his enemy's beast straying, he was to bring it back again; and if he saw it lying down under the weight of its burden, he was to help it up again (cf. Deuteronomy 22:1-4). The words וגו מעזב וחדלתּ , “ cease (desist) to leave it to him (thine enemy); thou shalt loosen it (let it loose) with him, ” which have been so variously explained, cannot have any other signification than this: “beware of leaving an ass which has sunk down beneath its burden in a helpless condition, even to thine enemy, to try whether he can help it up alone; rather help him to set it loose from its burden, that it may get up again.” This is evident from Deuteronomy 22:4, where התעלּמתּ לא , “withdraw not thyself,” is substituted for מעזב חדלתּ , and עמּו תּקים הקם , “set up with him,” for עמּו תּעזב עזב . From this it is obvious that עזב is used in the first instance in the sense of leaving it alone, leaving it in a helpless condition, and immediately afterwards in the sense of undoing or letting loose. The peculiar turn given to the expression, “thou shalt cease from leaving,” is chosen because the ordinary course, which the natural man adopts, is to leave an enemy to take care of his own affairs, without troubling about either him or his difficulties. Such conduct as this the Israelite was to give up, if he ever found his enemy in need of help.
Exodus 23:6-8
The warning against unkindness towards an enemy is followed by still further prohibitions of injustice in questions of right: viz., in Exodus 23:6, a warning against perverting the right of the poor in his cause; in Exodus 23:7, a general command to keep far away from a false matter, and not to slay the innocent and righteous, i.e., not to be guilty of judicial murder, together with the threat that God would not justify the sinner; and in Exodus 23:8, the command not to accept presents, i.e., to be bribed by gifts, because “ the gift makes seeing men ( פּקחים open eyes) blind, and perverts the causes of the just .” The rendering “ words of the righteous” is not correct; for even if we are to understand the expression “seeing men” as referring to judges, the “righteous” can only refer to those who stand at the bar, and have right on their side, which judges who accept of bribes may turn into wrong.
Exodus 23:9
The warning against oppressing the foreigner, which is repeated from Exodus 22:20, is not tautological, as Bertheau affirms for the purpose of throwing suspicion upon this verse, but refers to the oppression of a stranger in judicial matters by the refusal of justice, or by harsh and unjust treatment in court (Deuteronomy 24:17; Deuteronomy 27:19). “ For ye know the soul ( animus , the soul as the seat of feeling) of the stranger, ” i.e., ye know from your own experience in Egypt how a foreigner feels.
Exodus 23:10-13
Here follow directions respecting the year of rest and day of rest, the first of which lays the foundation for the keeping of the sabbatical and jubilee years, which are afterwards instituted in Lev 25, whilst the latter gives prominence to the element of rest and refreshment involved in the Sabbath, which had been already instituted (Exodus 20:9-11), and presses it in favour of beasts of burden, slaves, and foreigners. Neither of these instructions is to be regarded as laying down laws for the feasts; so that they are not to be included among the rights of Israel, which commence at Exodus 23:14. On the contrary, as they are separated from these by Exodus 23:13, they are to be reckoned as forming part of the laws relating to their mutual obligations one towards another. This is evident from the fact, that in both of them the care of the poor stands in the foreground. From this characteristic and design, which are common to both, we may explain the fact, that there is no allusion to the keeping of a Sabbath unto the Lord, as in Exodus 20:10 and Leviticus 25:2, in connection with either the seventh year or seventh day: all that is mentioned being their sowing and reaping for six years, and working for six days, and then letting the land lie fallow in the seventh year, and their ceasing or resting from labour on the seventh day. “ The seventh year thou shalt let (thy land) loose ( שׁמט to leave unemployed), and let it lie; and the poor of thy people shall eat (the produce which grows of itself), and their remainder (what they leave) shall the beast of the field eat .” הנּפשׁ : lit., to breathe one's self, to draw breath, i.e., to refresh one's self (cf. Exodus 31:17; 2 Samuel 16:14). - With Exodus 23:13 the laws relating to the rights of the people, in their relations to one another, are concluded with the formula enforcing their observance, “ And in all that I say to you, take heed, ” viz., that ye carefully maintain all the rights which I have given you. There is then attached to this, in Exodus 23:14, a warning, which forms the transition to the relation of Israel to Jehovah: “ Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth .” This forms a very fitting boundary line between the two series of mishpatim, inasmuch as the observance and maintenance of both of them depended upon the attitude in which Israel stood towards Jehovah.
The Fundamental Rights of Israel in its Religious and Theocratical Relation to Jehovah. - As the observance of the Sabbath and sabbatical year is not instituted in Exodus 23:10-12, so Exodus 23:14-19 do not contain either the original or earliest appointment of the feasts, or a complete law concerning the yearly feasts. They simply command the observance of three feasts during the year, and the appearance of the people three times in the year before the Lord; that is to say, the holding of three national assemblies to keep a feast before the Lord, or three annual pilgrimages to the sanctuary of Jehovah. The leading points are clearly set forth in Exodus 23:14 and Exodus 23:17, to which the other verses are subordinate. These leading points are משׁפּטים or rights , conferred upon the people of Israel in their relation to Jehovah; for keeping a feast to the Lord, and appearing before Him, were both of them privileges bestowed by Jehovah upon His covenant people. Even in itself the festal rejoicing was a blessing in the midst of this life of labour, toil, and trouble; but when accompanied with the right of appearing before the Lord their God and Redeemer, to whom they were indebted for everything they had and were, it was one that no other nation enjoyed. For though they had their joyous festivals, these festivals bore the same relation to those of Israel, as the dead and worthless gods of the heathen to the living and almighty God of Israel.
Of the three feasts at which Israel was to appear before Jehovah, the feast of Mazzoth , or unleavened bread, is referred to as already instituted, by the words “ as I have commanded thee, ” and “ at the appointed time of the earing month, ” which point back to chs. 12 and 13; and all that is added here is, “ ye shall not appear before My face empty .” “ Not empty: ” i.e., not with empty hands, but with sacrificial gifts, answering to the blessing given by the Lord (Deuteronomy 16:16-17). These gifts were devoted partly to the general sacrifices of the feast, and partly to the burnt and peace-offerings which were brought by different individuals to the feasts, and applied to the sacrificial meals (Num 28 and 29). This command, which related to all the feasts, and therefore is mentioned at the very outset in connection with the feast of unleavened bread, did indeed impose a duty upon Israel, but such a duty as became a source of blessing to all who performed it. The gifts demanded by God were the tribute, it is true, which the Israelites paid to their God-King, just as all Eastern nations are required to bring presents when appearing in the presence of their kings; but they were only gifts from God's own blessing, a portion of that which He had bestowed in rich abundance, and they were offered to God in such a way that the offerer was thereby more and more confirmed in the rights of covenant fellowship. The other two festivals are mentioned here for the first time, and the details are more particularly determined afterwards in Leviticus 23:15., and Numbers 28:26. One was called the feast of Harvest, “of the first-fruits of thy labours which thou hast sown in the field,” i.e., of thy field-labour. According to the subsequent arrangements, the first of the field-produce was to be offered to God, not the first grains of the ripe corn, but the first loaves of bread of white or wheaten flour made from the new corn (Leviticus 23:17.). In Exodus 34:22 it is called the “feast of Weeks,” because, according to Leviticus 23:15-16; Deuteronomy 16:9, it was to be kept seven weeks after the feast of Mazzoth ; and the “feast of the first-fruits of wheat harvest,” because the loaves of first-fruits to be offered were to be made of wheaten flour. The other of these feasts, i.e., the third in the year, is called “ the feast of Ingathering, at the end of the year, in the gathering in of thy labours out of the field.” This general and indefinite allusion to time was quite sufficient for the preliminary institution of the feast. In the more minute directions respecting the feasts given in Leviticus 23:34; Numbers 29:12, it is fixed for the fifteenth day of the seventh month, and placed on an equality with the feast of Mazzoth as a seven days' festival. השּׁנה בּצאת does not mean after the close of the year, finito anno, any more than the corresponding expression in Exodus 34:22, השּׁנה תּקוּפת , signifies at the turning of the year. The year referred to here was the so-called civil year, which began with the preparation of the ground for the harvest-sowing, and ended when all the fruits of the field and garden had been gathered in. No particular day was fixed for its commencement, nor was there any new year's festival; and even after the beginning of the earing month had been fixed upon for the commencement of the year (Exodus 12:2), this still remained in force, so far as all civil matters connected with the sowing and harvest were concerned; though there is no evidence that a double reckoning was carried on at the same time, or that a civil reckoning existed side by side with the religious. בּאספּך does not mean, “when thou hast gathered,” postquam collegisti ; for בּ does not stand for אחר , nor has the infinitive the force of the preterite. On the contrary, the expression “ at thy gathering in, ” i.e., when thou gatherest in, is kept indefinite both here and in Leviticus 23:39, where the month and days in which this feast was to be kept are distinctly pointed out; and also in Deuteronomy 16:13, in order that the time for the feast might not be made absolutely dependent upon the complete termination of the gathering in, although as a rule it would be almost over. The gathering in of “ thy labours out of the field ” is not to be restricted to the vintage and gathering of fruits: this is evident not only from the expression “out of the field,” which points to field-produce, but also from the clause in Deuteronomy 16:13, “gathering of the floor and wine-press,” which shows clearly that the words refer to the gathering in of the whole of the year's produce of corn, fruit, oil, and wine.
“ Three times in the year ” (i.e., according to Exodus 23:14 and Deuteronomy 16:16, at the three feasts just mentioned) “ all thy males shall appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah .” The command to appear, i.e., to make a pilgrimage to the sanctuary, was restricted to the male members of the nation, probably to those above 20 years of age, who had been included in the census (Numbers 1:3). But this did not prohibit the inclusion of women and boys (cf. 1 Samuel 1:3., and Luke 2:31.).
The blessing attending their appearing before the Lord was dependent upon the feasts being kept in the proper way, by the observance of the three rules laid down in Exodus 23:18 and Exodus 23:19. “ Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice upon leavened bread .” על upon , as in Exodus 12:8, denoting the basis upon which the sacrifice was offered. The meaning has been correctly given by the early commentators, viz., “as long as there is any leavened bread in your houses,” or “until the leaven has been entirely removed from your houses.” The reference made here to the removal of leaven, and the expression “blood of My sacrifice,” both point to the paschal lamb, which was regarded as the sacrifice of Jehovah κατ̓ ἐξοχήν , on account of its great importance. Onkelos gives this explanation: “My Passover” for “My sacrifice.” - “ Neither shall the fat of My feast remain ( ילין to pass the night) until the morning.” “The fat of My feast” does not mean the fat of My festal sacrifice, for חג , a feast, is not used for the sacrifice offered at the feast; it signifies rather the best of My feast, i.e., the paschal sacrifice, as we may see from Exodus 34:25, where “the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover” is given as the explanation of “the fat of My feast.” As the paschal sacrifice was the sacrifice of Jehovah par excellence , so the feast of the Passover was the feast of Jehovah par excellence . The expression “fat of My feast” is not to be understood as referring at all to the fat of the lamb, which was burned upon the altar in the case of the expiatory and whole offerings; for there could have been no necessity for the injunction not to keep this till the morning, inasmuch as those parts of every sacrifice which were set apart for the altar were burned immediately after the sprinkling of the blood. The allusion is to the flesh of the paschal lamb, which was eaten in the night before daybreak, after which anything that remained was to be burned. עד־בּקר (without the article) till morning, has the same meaning as לבּקר “for the (following) morning” in Exodus 34:25.
Exodus 23:19
The next command in Exodus 23:19 has reference to the feast of Harvest, or feast of Weeks. In “ the first-fruits of thy land ” there is an unmistakeable allusion to “the first-fruits of thy labours” in Exodus 23:16. It is true the words, “the first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God,” are so general in their character, that we can hardly restrict them to the wave-loaves to be offered as first-fruits at the feast of Weeks, but must interpret them as referring to all the first-fruits, which they had already been commanded not to delay to offer (Exodus 22:29), and the presentation of which is minutely prescribed in Numbers 18:12-13, and Deuteronomy 26:2-11, - including therefore the sheaf of barley to be offered in the second day of the feast of unleavened bread (Leviticus 23:9.). At the same time the reference to the feast of Weeks is certainly to be retained, inasmuch as this feast was an express admonition to Israel, to offer the first of the fruits of the Lord. In the expression בּכּוּרי ראשׁית , the latter might be understood as explanatory of the former and in apposition to it, since they are both of them applied to the first-fruits of the soil (vid., Deuteronomy 26:2, Deuteronomy 26:10, and Numbers 18:13). But as ראשׁית could hardly need any explanation in this connection, the partitive sense is to be preferred; though it is difficult to decide whether “the first of the first-fruits” signifies the first selection from the fruits that had grown, ripened, and been gathered first-that is to say, not merely of the entire harvest, but of every separate production of the field and soil, according to the rendering of the lxx ἀπαρχηὰς τῶν πρωτογεννημάτων τῆς γῆς , - or whether the word ראשׁית is used figuratively, and signifies the best of the first-fruits. There is no force in the objection offered to the former view, that “in no other case in which the offering of first-fruits generally is spoken of, is one particular portion represented as holy to Jehovah, but the first-fruits themselves are that portion of the entire harvest which was holy to Jehovah.” For, apart from Numbers 18:12, where a different rendering is sometimes given to ראשׁית , the expression מראשׁית in Deuteronomy 26:2 shows unmistakeably that only a portion of the first of all the fruit of the ground had to be offered to the Lord. On the other hand, this view is considerably strengthened by the fact, that whilst בּכּוּר , בּכּוּרים signify those fruits which ripened first, i.e., earliest, ראשׁית is used to denote the ἀπαρχή , the first portion or first selection from the whole, not only in Deuteronomy 26:2, Deuteronomy 26:10, but also in Leviticus 23:10, and most probably in Numbers 18:12 as well. - Now if these directions do not refer either exclusively or specially to the loaves of first-fruits of the feast of Weeks, the opinion which has prevailed from the time of Abarbanel to that of Knobel , that the following command, “Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk,” refers to the feast of Ingathering, is deprived of its principal support. And any such allusion is rendered very questionable by the fact, that in Deuteronomy 14:21, where this command is repeated, it is appended to the prohibition against eating the flesh of an animal that had been torn to pieces. Very different explanations have been given to the command. In the Targum , Mishnah , etc., it is regarded as a general prohibition against eating flesh prepared with milk. Luther and others suppose it to refer to the cooking of the kid, before it has been weaned from its mother's milk. But the actual reference is to the cooking of a kid in the milk of its own mother, as indicating a contempt of the relation which God has established and sanctified between parent and young, and thus subverting the divine ordinances. As kids were a very favourite food (Genesis 27:9, Genesis 27:14; Judges 6:19; Judges 13:15; 1 Samuel 16:20), it is very likely that by way of improving the flavour they were sometimes cooked in milk. According to Aben Ezra and Abarbanel , this was a custom adopted by the Ishmaelites; and at the present day the Arabs are in the habit of cooking lamb in sour milk. A restriction is placed upon this custom in the prohibition before us, but there is no intention to prevent the introduction of a superstitious usage customary at the sacrificial meals of other nations, which Spencer and Knobel have sought to establish as at all events probable, though without any definite historical proofs, and for the most part on the strength of far-fetched analogies.
Relation of Jehovah to Israel. - The declaration of the rights conferred by Jehovah upon His people is closed by promises, through which, on the one hand, God insured to the nation the gifts and benefits involved in their rights, and, on the other hand, sought to promote that willingness and love which were indispensable to the fulfilment of the duties incumbent upon every individual in consequence of the rights conferred upon them. These promises secured to the people not only the protection and help of God during their journey through the desert, and in the conquest of Canaan, but also preservation and prosperity when they had taken possession of the land.
Exodus 23:20-27
Jehovah would send an angel before them, who should guard them on the way from injury and destruction, and bring them to the place prepared for them, i.e., to Canaan. The name of Jehovah was in this angel (Exodus 23:21), that is to say, Jehovah revealed Himself in him; and hence he is called in Exodus 33:15-16, the face of Jehovah, because the essential nature of Jehovah was manifested in him. This angel was not a created spirit, therefore, but the manifestation of Jehovah Himself, who went before them in the pillar of cloud and fire, to guide and to defend them (Exodus 13:21). But because it was Jehovah who was guiding His people in the person of the angel, He demanded unconditional obedience (Exodus 23:21), and if they provoked Him ( תּמּר for תּמר , see Exodus 13:18) by disobedience, He would not pardon their transgression; but if they followed Him and hearkened to His voice, He would be an enemy to their enemies, and an adversary to their adversaries (Exodus 23:22). And when the angel of the Lord had brought them to the Canaanites and exterminated the latter, Israel was still to yield the same obedience, by not serving the gods of the Canaanites, or doing after their works, i.e., by not making any idolatrous images, but destroying them (these works), and smiting to pieces the pillars of their idolatrous worship ( מצבת does not mean statues erected as idols, but memorial stones or columns dedicated to idols: see my Comm. on 1 Kings 14:23), and serving Jehovah alone. Then would He bless them in the land with bountiful provision, health, fruitfulness, and length of life (Exodus 23:23-26). “Bread and water” are named, as being the provisions which are indispensable to the maintenance of life, as in Isaiah 3:1; Isaiah 30:20; Isaiah 33:16. The taking away of “sickness” (cf. Exodus 15:26) implied the removal of everything that could endanger life. The absence of anything that miscarried, or was barren, insured the continuance and increase of the nation; and the promise that their days should be fulfilled, i.e., that they should not be liable to a premature death (cf. Isaiah 65:20), was a pledge of their well-being.
Exodus 23:27
But the most important thing of all for Israel was the previous conquest of the promised land. And in this God gave it a special promise of His almighty aid. “ I will send My fear before thee .” This fear was to be the result of the terrible acts of God performed on behalf of Israel, the rumour of which would spread before them and fill their enemies with fear and trembling (cf. Exodus 15:14.; Deuteronomy 2:26; and Joshua 2:11, where the beginning of the fulfilment is described), throwing into confusion and putting to flight every people against whom ( בּהם - אשׁר ) Israel came. ערף את־איב נתן to give the enemy to the neck, i.e., to cause him to turn his back, or flee (cf. Psalms 18:41; Psalms 21:13; Joshua 7:8, Joshua 7:12). אליך : in the direction towards thee.
Exodus 23:28
In addition to the fear of God, hornets ( הצּרעה construed as a generic word with the collective article), a very large species of wasp, that was greatly dreaded both by man and beast on account of the acuteness of its sting, should come and drive out the Canaanites, of whom three tribes are mentioned instar omnium , from before the Israelites. Although it is true that Aelian ( hist. anim. 11, 28) relates that the Phaselians, who dwelt near the Solymites, and therefore probably belonged to the Canaanites, were driven out of their country by wasps, and Bochart ( Hieroz . iii. pp. 409ff.) has collected together accounts of different tribes that have been frightened away from their possessions by frogs, mice, and other vermin, “the sending of hornets before the Israelites” is hardly to be taken literally, not only because there is not a word in the book of Joshua about the Canaanites being overcome and exterminated in any such way, but chiefly on account of Joshua 24:12, where Joshua says that God sent the hornet before them, and drove out the two kings of the Amorites, referring thereby to their defeat and destruction by the Israelites through the miraculous interposition of God, and thus placing the figurative use of the term hornet beyond the possibility of doubt. These hornets, however, which are very aptly described in Wis. 12:8, on the basis of this passage, as προδρόμους , the pioneers of the army of Jehovah, do not denote merely varii generis mala , as Rosenmüller supposes, but acerrimos timoris aculeos, quibus quodammodo volantibus rumoribus pungebantur, ut fugerent ( Augustine , quaest . 27 in Jos .). If the fear of God which fell upon the Canaanites threw them into such confusion and helpless despair, that they could not stand before Israel, but turned their backs towards them, the stings of alarm which followed this fear would completely drive them away. Nevertheless God would not drive them away at once, “in one year,” lest the land should become a desert for want of men to cultivate it, and the wild beasts should multiply against Israel; in other words, lest the beasts of prey should gain the upper hand and endanger the lives of man and beast (Leviticus 26:22; Ezekiel 14:15, Ezekiel 14:21), which actually was the case after the carrying away of the ten tribes (2 Kings 17:25-26). He would drive them out by degrees ( מעט מעט , only used here and in Deuteronomy 7:22), until Israel was sufficiently increased to take possession of the land, i.e., to occupy the whole of the country. This promise was so far fulfilled, according to the books of Joshua and Judges, that after the subjugation of the Canaanites in the south and north of the land, when all the kings who fought against Israel had been smitten and slain and their cities captured, the entire land was divided among the tribes of Israel, in order that they might exterminate the remaining Canaanites, and take possession of those portions of the land that had not yet been conquered (Joshua 13:1-7). But the different tribes soon became weary of the task of exterminating the Canaanites, and began to enter into alliance with them, and were led astray by them to the worship of idols; whereupon God punished them by withdrawing His assistance, and they were oppressed and humiliated by the Canaanites because of their apostasy from the Lord (Judg 1 and 2).
Exodus 23:31-33
The divine promise closes with a general indication of the boundaries of the land, whose inhabitants Jehovah would give up to the Israelites to drive them out, and with a warning against forming alliances with them and their gods, lest they should lead Israel astray to sin, and thus become a snare to it. On the basis of the promise in Genesis 15:18, certain grand and prominent points are mentioned, as constituting the boundaries towards both the east and west. On the west the boundary extended from the Red Sea (see Exodus 13:18) to the sea of the Philistines, or Mediterranean Sea, the south-eastern shore of which was inhabited by the Philistines; and on the east from the desert, i.e., according to Deuteronomy 11:24, the desert of Arabia, to the river (Euphrates). The poetic suffix מו affixed to גּרשׁתּ answers to the elevated oratorical style. Making a covenant with them and their gods would imply the recognition and toleration of them, and, with the sinful tendencies of Israel, would be inevitably followed by the worship of idols. The first כּי in Exodus 23:33 signifies if ; the second, imo , verily, and serves as an energetic introduction to the apodosis. מוקשׁ , a snare (vid., Exodus 10:7); here a clause of destruction, inasmuch as apostasy from God is invariably followed by punishment (Judges 2:3).