Exodus 23:4 - Exposition

Thine enemy's ox . A private enemy is here spoken of, not a public one, as in Deuteronomy 23:6 . It is remarkable that the law should have so far anticipated Christianity as to have laid it down that men have duties of friendliness even towards their enemies, and are bound under certain circumstances to render them a service. "Hate thine enemies" ( Matthew 5:43 ) was no injunction of the Mosaic taw, but a conclusion which Rabbinical teachers unwarrantably drew from it. Christianity, however, goes far beyond Mosaism in laying down the broad precept—"Love your enemies."