Exodus 23:16

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 23:16

And the feast of harvest ,.... This is the second feast, the feast of wheat harvest, between which and barley harvest were fifty days; or between the firstfruits of the one and the first fruits of the other were seven weeks, as Aben Ezra observes, and was sometimes called the feast of weeks; at which feast were to be brought: the first fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field ; the two wave loaves or cakes, made of the first new wheat, which was the effect of their labour... 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 23:10-20

Sabbaths and feasts. I. SABBATHS . 1 . The Sabbatic year ( Exodus 23:10 , Exodus 23:11 ). Every seventh year the land was to lie fallow, and what it spontaneously produced was to be a provision for the poor, and for the beasts of the field. There was connected with the ordinance a special promise of unusual fertility in the sixth year—of such plenty as would make the nation independent of a harvest in the seventh (Le Exodus 25:21 , Exodus 25:22 ). The Sabbatic year was ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:14-17

Law of Festivals . "The sanctification of days and times," says Richard Hooker, "is a token of that thankfulness and a part of that public honour which we owe to God for admirable benefits, whereof it doth not suffice that we keep a secret calendar, taking thereby our private occasions as we list ourselves to think how much God hath done for all men; but the days which are chosen out to serve as public memorials of such his mercies ought to be clothed with those outward robes of holiness... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:14-17

Festival times. I. FESTIVALS ARE COMMEMORATIONS . The joyful occurrences of our own lives we by a natural instinct commemorate yearly, as the day comes round when they happened to us. Our birth-day, our wedding-day, are thus made domestic festivals. Similarly, a nation commemorates the Day of its Independence, or the three glorious days of its Revolution, or the day on which its armies gained a great and crowning victory. It is reasonable that the practice thus established should... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:14-17

A threefold cord is not quickly broken. To forget is far easier than to remember. Festivals are like posts to which we can fasten the cords of memory, so that, securely fastened, we may not drift down the stream of Lethe. To forget facts is to ignore the duties to which facts prompt us. We must leave undone what we ought to do, unless we take measures to keep us in remembrance. The great fact which the Israelites needed to remember was the relation of dependence in which they stood to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 23:16

The feast of harvest . Fifty days were to be numbered from the day of offering the barley sheaf, and on the fiftieth the feast of harvest, thence called "Pentecost," was to be celebrated. Different Jewish sects make different calculations; but the majority celebrate Pentecost on the sixth of Sivan. The main ceremony was the offering to God of two leavened loaves of the finest flour made out of the wheat just gathered in, and called the first-fruits of the harvest. The festival lasted only... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 23:14-17

This is the first mention of the three great Yearly Festivals. The feast of Unleavened bread, in its connection with the Paschal Lamb, is spoken of in Exodus 12:0; Exodus 13:0: but the two others are here first named. The whole three are spoken of as if they were familiarly known to the people. The points that are especially enjoined are that every male Israelite should attend them at the sanctuary (compare Exodus 34:23), and that he should take with him an offering for Yahweh, presenting... read more

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