Exodus 23:10-11

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 23:10-19

Here is, I. The institution of the sabbatical year, Exod. 23:10, 11. Every seventh year the land was to rest; they must not plough nor sow it at the beginning of the year, and then they could not expect any great harvest at the end of the year: but what the earth did produce of itself should be eaten from hand to mouth, and not laid up. Now this was designed, 1. To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them?that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 23:10

And six years thou shall sow thy land , The land of Canaan, given to their ancestors and to them, and which they were now going to inherit; and when they came into it they were to plant it with vines and olives; or rather, these being ready planted, they were to prune and dress them; and they were to till their land, and plough it, and sow it with various sorts of grain, for six years running, from the time of their possession of it: and shall gather in the fruits thereof ; corn and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 23:11

But the seventh year thou shall let it rest, and lie still ,.... From tillage, and make its fruits common, as the Targum of Jonathan; the note of Jarchi is, "let it rest", from perfect tillage, as ploughing and sowing; "and lie still", from dunging and harrowing, or weeding: this law was intended to show that God was the original proprietor and owner of this land, and that the Israelites held it under him; and to teach them to depend upon and trust in his providence; as well as that there... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 23:11

The seventh year thou shalt let it rest - As, every seventh day was a Sabbath day, so every seventh year was to be a Sabbath year. The reasons for this ordinance Calmet gives thus: - " To maintain as far as possible an equality of condition among the people, in setting the slaves at liberty, and in permitting all, as children of one family, to have the free and indiscriminate use of whatever the earth produced. " To inspire the people with sentiments of humanity, by making it their duty... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 23:10

Verse 10 10.And six years shalt thou sow. Another Sabbatical institution (Sabbathismus) follows, viz., that of years, in reference to the cultivation of the land; for as men and cattle rested on every seventh day, so God prescribed that the earth should rest on the seventh year. According to the fertility or barrenness of the soil, fields are fallowed every third or fourth year, lest they should become altogether unproductive through exhaustion. Indeed a soil can hardly be found of such... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:1-10

Doing justice and loving mercy. In pursuance of its great requirement of love to one's neighbour, the law next prohibits the raising of a false report, the bearing of false witness in a court of justice, and the wresting of judgment. Recognising however, that "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts , murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness , blasphemies" ( Matthew 15:19 ), the taw, in addition to forbidding the outward acts, is at pains to warn against the motives... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:1-19

THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT .— Continued . MISCELLANEOUS LAWS — continued . The same want of logical arrangement appears in this chapter as in the preceding one. The first nine verses contain some twelve laws, of which not more than two that are consecutive can be said to be on the same subject. There is perhaps in the section a predominant idea of warning against sins and errors connected with the trial of causes before a court, but Exodus 23:4 and Exodus 23:5 , at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:1-33

1 . That he will send an angel before them to be their guide, director, and helper ( Exodus 23:20 - 23). 2 . That he will be the enemy of their enemies ( Exodus 23:22 ), striking terror into them miraculously ( Exodus 23:27 ), and subjecting them to other scourges also ( Exodus 23:28 ). 3 . That he will drive out their enemies "by little and little" ( Exodus 23:30 ), not ceasing until he has destroyed them ( Exodus 23:23 ). 4 . That he will give them the entire... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:10-11

CEREMONIAL LAWS ( Exodus 23:10-19 ). Law of the Sabbatical year . Days of rest, at regular or irregular intervals, were well known to the ancients and some regulations of the kind existed in most countries But entire years of rest were wholly unknown to any nation except the Israelites. and exposed them to the reproach of idleness.. In a primitive condition of agriculture, when rotation of crops was unknown, artificial manure unemployed, and the need of letting even the best land... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:10-11

The Sabbatical year. The Sabbatical year—an institution peculiar to the Israelites, and quite contrary to anything of which they had had experience in Egypt—is a remarkable proof, I. OF THE DIVINE WISDOM . Under the ordinary circumstances of tillage, land from time to time requires rest. In Egypt it was otherwise. There, under the exceptional circumstances of a soil continually recruited by the spread over it of a rich alluvium from the great river, not only was the whole... read more

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