Exodus 22:20 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 22:16-24

Here is, I. A law that he who debauched a young woman should be obliged to marry her, Exod. 22:16, 17. If she was betrothed to another, it was death to debauch her (Deut. 22:23, 24); but the law here mentioned respects her as single. But, if the father refused her to him, he was to give satisfaction in money for the injury and disgrace he had done her. This law puts an honour upon marriage and shows likewise how improper a thing it is that children should marry without their parents? consent:... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 22:20

He that sacrificeth unto any god ,.... To Elohim, to strange gods, to the idols of the people, as the Targum of Jonathan; to the Egyptian deities, to the gods of the Moabites, Amorites, Edomites, Canaanites, Philistines, or any other: Aben Ezra says the word Elohim comprehends angels; and by the exceptive clause it is plain it takes in all that had been, were, or ever would be the objects of idolatrous worship, especially the sun, moon, and stars, the principal objects of worship in those... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 22:20

Utterly destroyed - The word חרם cherem denotes a thing utterly and finally separated from God and devoted to destruction, without the possibility of redemption. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:1-31

Exodus 21:33 If a man shall open a pit. Rather, "If a man shall uncover a cistern." Cisterns, very necessary in Palestine, were usually closed by a flat-stone, or a number of planks. To obtain water from them, they had to be uncovered; but it was the duty of the man who uncovered them, to replace the covering when his wants were satisfied. Or dig a pit and not cover it . A man who was making a cistern might neglect to cover it while it was in course of construction, or even... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:16-21

Abominations. This series of precepts deals with seduction, witchcraft, bestiality, and the sin of sacrificing to other gods than Jehovah. The case of the seducer might have been brought under the laws embodying the principle of restitution. It forms a transition to the others, in which we pass from the sphere of judicial right to what is negatively and positively due from Israel as "an holy people" to Jehovah. 1 . Seduction . Lewdness in every form is sternly reprobated by the law... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:16-28

The severity and the tenderness of God. The miscellaneous laws thrown together, without any clear logical sequence or indeed any manifest connection, in the latter part of this chapter, may, generally speaking, be grouped under the two heads of instances of the Divine severity, and instances of the Divine tenderness. Here, as in so many places, "mercy and truth meet together—righteousness and peace kiss each other." God is as merciful to the weak and helpless as severe towards the bold and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:16-31

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:20

Law against sacrificing to false gods. Sacrifice was the chief act of worship; and to sacrifice to a false god was to renounce the true God. Under a theocracy this was rebellion, and rightly punished with temporal death. In ordinary states it would be no civil offence, and would be left to the final judgment of the Almighty. Utterly destroyed . Literally, "devoted;" but with the meaning of "devoted to destruction." read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 22:20

This was probably an old formula, the sense of which, on its ethical side, is comprised in the first and second commandments.Shall be utterly destroyed - The Hebrew word here used is חרם châram (i. e. devoted). See Leviticus 27:28. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 22:18-31

Miscellaneous matters (22:18-23:19)Israelite law prohibited pagan customs and religious practices that threatened the nation’s spiritual life. The penalty for such offences was usually death (18-20). The Israelite people were to remember their own bitter experiences in Egypt and show mercy to the disadvantaged. The law against charging interest on a loan was designed to encourage the rich to help the poor instead of exploiting them (21-27). (For the contrast between lending that is greedy... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 22:16-24

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 22:20

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 22:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:1-31

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:16-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:16-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:16-31

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 22:20

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 22:20

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 22:18-31

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