Neighbours, Solemnities, and The Messenger
Background and printed text: Exodus 22
Thou shalt not carry an empty report.
Thou shalt not carry thy hand with a guilty-[one] to be unto violence!
2Thou shalt not be after many to bad-do. And thou shalt not humble concerning a multiple [many] to incline after multiples to cause inclining.
3And thou shalt not honour a poverty-stricken-[one] via his fight.
4If thou meet an ox of thine enemy or his ass wandering, returning, thou shalt return him to him.
5When thou wilt see an ass of thine enemy couching under his burden and thou wilt desist from loosening to him, loosening, thou shalt loosen with him!
6Thou shalt not incline justice of thy poor-[one] via his fight.
7Thou shalt distance from a speech of a lie. And thou shalt not slay an innocent-[one] and a righteous-[one]. For I will not justify a culpable-[one]!
8And thou shalt not receive a bribe. For the bribe will blind perspicuous-[ones] and has subverted speeches of righteous-[ones].
9And thou shalt not oppress a sojourner. And ye, ye knew the being of the sojourner! For ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt!
10And thou shalt sow thy land six years. And thou shalt gather her bringing. 11And the seventh, thou shalt release her and thou shalt abandon her. And poor of thy people shall eat. And a living-[one] of the field shall eat their excess. Established, thou shalt do to thy vineyard, to thine olive.
12Thou shalt do thy doings six of days. And in day the seventh thou shalt cease in order that thine ox will rest, and thine ass. And the son of thy slavewoman has been ‘re-beinged,’ and the sojourner.
13And ye shall guard via all that I said unto you. And ye shall not remind-of the name of other gods. He shall not hear upon thy mouth!
14Thou shalt solemnize three feet to me in a year. 15Thou shalt guard the solemnity of the Matzahs seven of days—thou shalt eat Matzahs just-as she commanded thee to an appointment, month of the spring. For thou exited from Double-Adversity (Egypt) in him. And they shall not see my faces, their emptiness!— 16and the solemnity of the harvest, firstborn-[ones], thy doing—what thou wilt sow in a field; and the solemnity of the gathering via exiting of the year, via thy gathering thy doing from the field! 17Three strokes in the year, Mighty-[One], Faces of the Lord [sing.] Yehovah, will see each: thy male!
18Thou shalt not sacrifice blood of my sacrifice upon vinegar. And fat of my solemnity shall not lodge unto morning!
19Thou shalt bring beginning of firstborn-[ones] of thy soil House of Yehovah thy Gods.
Thou shalt not boil a goat-kid in the fat of his mother!
20Behold, I am sending a messenger to thy faces to guard thee in the way and to bring thee unto a place that I prepared. 21Be-thou-guarded from his faces! And hearken via his voice! Do not embitter thou via him! For he will not carry to your transgression! For my Name is via his approach! 22For if, hearkening, thou shalt hearken via his voice, and thou shalt do all that I will speak, and I ‘will enemy’ thine enemies and I will ‘tribulate’ thy tribulators! 23For, my messenger will walk to thy faces. And he will bring thee unto the Emori and the Khiti and the Preezi and the Canaani, the Khivi and the Yevoosi. And I will obscure him!
24Thou shalt not prostrate to their gods. And thou shalt not serve them. And thou shalt not make as their makings. For smashing, thou shalt smash them, and shattering, thou shalt shatter their pillars!
25And ye shall serve Yehovah your Gods. And He will bless thy bread and thy waters. And I will forefend sickness from thy approach! 26A bereaved-[woman] shall not be, and a barren-[woman], in thy land. I will fill a scrolling of thy days! 27I will send my terror to thy faces. And I will hum [buzz] every people that thou wilt come via them. And I will give all thine enemies unto thee: neck! 28And I will send the hornet to thy faces. And she will expel the Khivi, the Cnaani and the Khiti from thy faces. 29I will not expel him from thy faces in one year lest the land will be a desolation, and a living-[one] of the field will multiply upon thee. 30I will expel him a little, a little from thy faces until-that thou wilt be fruitful. And thou wilt inherit the land. 31And I will set thy border from Ending Sea and unto Palestinian Sea, and from the desert unto the river. For I will give inhabitants of the land into your hand. And ye shall expel him from thy faces! 32Thou shalt not cut a covenant to them and to their gods! 33And they shall not dwell in thy land lest they will sin-cause thee to me! For thou shalt serve thy Gods! For he will be to a snare to thee!
I. An Empty Report (verse 1)
Yehovah commanded each Israeli: “Thou shalt not carry an empty report.”
Questions
1. What is an empty report?
2. What does “carry an empty report” mean?
3. What is wrong with carrying an empty report if the first thing said is, “Now, I don’t know this for sure, but this is what I heard”?
4. Who is thou?
II. Joining in Violence (verse 1)
He continued, commanding each Israeli to not “carry thy hand” with one who is guilty so that the hand will be unto violence.
Questions
1. What does “carry thy hand” mean?
2. Explain the entire command:
III. Yielding to the Majority (verse 2)
Yehovah command each Israeli to not be after a large group to do bad. Also, each Israeli must not humble himself or anyone in matters of many in order to bend anyone or any group to go after large groups to bend others to do something. (See questions.)
Questions
1. What does “be after many” mean?
2. What does “Thou shalt not be after many to bad-do” mean?
3. Suppose that the Israelis are grouping to rightly and properly execute a person who has done a death-penalty offense; if another Israeli accompanies this large group, is this group about to ‘bad do’?
4. What does “thou shalt not humble…” mean?
5. What does incline mean in this text?
6. This command has several parts. What is being commanded by “thou shalt not humble concerning a multiple [many] to incline after multiples to cause inclining”?
IV. Honouring the Poor (verse 3)
Each Israeli must never honour another who is very poor by means of the fight of that poor one. (See Questions.)
Questions
1. What is a poverty-stricken person?
2. Why would a poverty-stricken person have a fight? What is this fight?
3. Shouldn’t a person stand up for a poverty-stricken person who is being mistreated?
4. What is wrong with honouring a poverty-stricken person by means of his fight?
V. Meeting a Wandering Ox and Ass (verse 4)
Yehovah commanded each Israeli to return a wondering ox of an enemy or a wandering ass of an enemy to the enemy owner.
Questions
1. Why must an Israeli return to an enemy an animal that isn’t his own and that belongs to the enemy?
2. Does this command only have to do with wandering animals of enemy neighbours?
3. Suppose that the enemy Israeli accuses the Israeli returning the item of stealing it; what must the Israeli do, and should the Israeli refuse to return another lost item or animal next time?
4. Suppose that the Israeli returning the wandering ox just takes the ox directly to the stall, and then leaves without seeing the owner; would that be sufficient?
VI. An Enemy’s Couching Ass (verse 5)
When an Israeli will see an enemy’s ass couching (that is, setting itself down on the ground) under his burden, and when the Israeli will desist (stop participating in action) from loosening to him—that is, from helping to unload the ass’s burden, the Israeli instead must loosen the ass with the enemy.
Questions
1. What does couching mean?
2. Why would an animal couch under his burden?
3. What does “desist from loosening to him” mean?
4. What does this text command the Israeli to do?
5. Does this command only cover animals and burdens?
6. Suppose that the Israeli has an appointment that he must keep, and time is very important; can he go on his way, and leave his enemy in order to keep his appointment (including keeping his word that he gave when he made the appointment)?
VII. Inclining Justice of the Poor (verse 6)
No Israeli is permitted to incline justice (that is, to make justice go in a particular direction) of the Israeli’s poor one by means of the poor one’s fight.
Questions
1. Isn’t this command the same as the one in verse 3?
2. Why is Yehovah so against helping poor folks win in cases of justice?
3. Suppose that someone wealthy and very intelligent takes advantage of the ignorance of a poor person, and by that means cheats the poor person using legal means; wouldn’t giving the poor person a justice advantage be the right thing to do?
VIII. Distancing from Injustice (verse 7)
The Israeli must distance himself/herself from a speech of a lie. The Israeli must not slay one who is innocent and one who is righteous. Yehovah will not justify (declare righteous) one who is guilty!
Questions
1. What is a speech of a lie?
2. What does “Thou shalt distance from a speech of a lie” mean?
3. What is an innocent one?
4. What is a righteous one?
5. Was Yeshua righteous?
6. Did the Israelis have to slay Yeshua?
7. Why must the Israelis refrain from slaying an innocent one and a righteous one?
8. What does justify mean?
9. What does culpable mean?
10. Yehovah stated, “I will not justify a culpable one.” If this is true, how can a person who is guilty before Yehovah ever become righteous?
IX. The Bribe (verse 8)
An Israeli must not receive a bribe. A bribe blinds folks who normally see very well so that they won’t see well. A bride has subverted (turned into the opposite) speeches of righteous ones (so that the speeches are those of guilty ones).
Questions
1. What is a bribe?
2. What is wrong with receiving a bribe?
3. Is offering a bribe wrong?
4. What does perspicuous mean?
5. What occurs if a perspicuous one receives a bribe?
6. What does subvert mean?
7. Explain “the bribe has subverted speeches of righteous-[ones]”:
X. Oppressing a Sojourner (verse 9)
An Israeli must not oppress a sojourner. The Israelis knew the being (body, soul and spirit) of the sojourner! They were sojourners in the land of Egypt!
Questions
1. What does oppress mean?
2. Why would a person desire to oppress a sojourner?
3. What does “ye knew the being of the sojourner” mean?
4. Why were the Israelis sojourners in the land of Egypt?
XI. Releasing the Land and Vineyard (verses 10-11)
An Israeli will sow his/her land six years. He/She will gather what the land brings. The seventh year, the Israeli must release the land, and the Israeli must abandon the land. The poor of the Israeli’s people will eat, and a living one of the field will eat their excess (their leftovers). It is established also that the Israeli must do the same to his/her vineyard and to his/her olive.
Questions
1. Who must sow the land six years?
2. What does “And thou shalt gather her bringing” mean?
3. What does “thou shalt release her and thou shalt abandon her” mean?
4. If plants that produce food grow on their own in the seventh year, what can be done with that crop?
5. What does “a living-[one] of the field shall eat their excess” mean?
6. Suppose that a person has many grape vines or has an olive orchard; should the person gather from those?
7. What is the holder of the land supposed to eat if he/she cannot eat from anything growing on his/her own land?
8. Why did Yehovah command this seventh year release and abandonment?
XII. Ceasing for Others (verse 12)
Each Israeli must do his/her doings six of the days (of a week). Each must cease from his/her doings in order that his/her ox and ass can rest. Even the son of his/her slavewoman has been ‘re-beinged,’ and the sojourner, from this ceasing.
Questions
1. The text states, “Thou shalt do thy doings six of days.” What are these doings?
2. Must the Israelis work six days?
3. What must occur on “day the seventh”?
4. Why would an ox need to rest? Won’t it still eat grass in the field?
5. Why does the text mention the son of the slavewoman instead of the slavewoman herself? Doesn’t she get to cease from working on this day?
6. What does re-beinged mean?
7. Why is the sojourner also mentioned?
XIII. Guarding and Not Naming (verse 13)
The Israelis must guard (and will guard) all that Yehovah said unto them. They must not remind of the name of other gods! He shall not hear that name upon an Israeli’s mouth!
Questions
1. Why did Yehovah command at this point, “And ye shall guard via all that I said unto you”?
2. What does “And ye shall not remind-of the name of other gods” mean?
3. Aren’t the names of other gods mentioned in the Bible? Isn’t the Bible designed and meant to be read out loud (besides reading it in private?)?
4. What does “He shall not hear upon thy mouth” indicate?
XIV. Three Feet: Matzahs, Harvest, Gathering (verses 14-17)
Each Israeli must guard the solemnity of the Matzahs seven of the days. He/She will eat Matzahs just as she commanded each Israeli for an appointment, the month of the spring. This is because each Israeli exited from Egypt in the month of the spring.
The Israelis will not see Yehovah’s faces along with their emptiness!
They must also guard the solemnity of the harvest: the firstborn ones, the doing of each: what each will sow in a field.
They must also guard the solemnity of the gathering by means of the exiting of the year, by means of each person’s gathering from the field what he/she is doing.
Mighty One, Who is the Faces of Lord Yehovah, will see each—the male of every Israeli—three strokes (times) in the year.
Questions
1. What are feet in, “Thou shalt solemnize three feet to me in a year”?
2. What does “Thou shalt solemnize three feet to me in a year” mean?
3. What is Matzah?
4. How can one guard the solemnity of the Matzahs?
5. Who is she in, “just as she commanded thee…”?
6. What is this appointment?
7. What does matzah, in general, typify?
8. What event will mark the time of the appointment being fulfilled?
9. Yehovah now inserts a threat. What is the threat, and why does He threaten using this?
10. Explain the solemnity of the harvest:
11. Explain the solemnity of the gathering:
12. What are strokes?
13. Who is this Mighty One?
14. How often will this Mighty One see every male of Israel?
15. Why will He only see the males? Aren’t the females important to Him, and won’t they be heroic?
XV. No Sacrificial Vinegar or Lodging Fat (verse 18)
No Israeli is permitted to sacrifice the blood of Yehovah’s sacrifice upon vinegar.
The fat of Yehovah’s solemnity shall not lodge (spend the night) unto morning!
Questions
1. What does vinegar picture (when it pictures anything in the Bible)?
2. What does blood typify?
3. What is wrong with sacrificing blood upon vinegar?
4. Why did Yehovah refer to the sacrifice as “my sacrifice”?
5. What is the fat of Yehovah’s solemnity?
6. What is wrong with permitting the fat to lodge (to stay overnight) unto morning?
XVI. Firstborn of Soil (verse 19)
The Israeli must bring the beginning of all firstborn ones of his/her soil, the House of Yehovah, His/Her Gods!
Questions
1. What is the “beginning of firstborn-[ones] of the soil”?
2. The text doesn’t say, “to the House of Yehovah thy Gods.” Is this an error, or is it intentional?
3. Who is thou in, “Thou shalt bring…”?
4. What does “Thou shalt bring beginning of firstborn-[ones] of thy soil House of Yehovah thy Gods” typify?
XVII. No Kid-Boiling (verse 19)
An Israeli must never boil a goat kid in the fat of his mother!
Questions
1. Why would anyone want to boil a goat kid (baby or young goat) in the fat of his own mother?
2. Orthodox Jews believe that this command means that no meat should ever be cooked with dairy, and that no meat should ever be eaten with dairy. They even believe that this command disallows eating meat on a dairy dish with dairy utensils (that is, with silverware that has been dedicated to use only with dairy products), etc. Is this what this command is saying?
XVIII. The Messenger (verses 20-23)
Yehovah next announces that He is sending a messenger to the faces of Israel to guard Israel in the way and to bring Israel unto a place that Yehovah prepared.
Israel must be guarded from his faces! Israel must hearken to his voices! Israel must refrain from embittering by means of him! The reason: this messenger will not carry to the transgression of the Israelis! Yehovah’s Name is by means of his approach!
Now, if Israel will truly hearken by means of his voice, and if Israel will do all that Yehovah will speak, Yehovah will ‘enemy’ Israel’s enemies, and He will ‘tribulate’ Israel’s tribulators! For, Yehovah’s messenger will walk to Israel’s faces. He is the One who will bring Israel unto the Emori and the Khiti and the Preezi and the Canaani, the Khivi and the Yevhoosi.
Yehovah will conceal this messenger!
Questions
1. What is a messenger?
2. What will this messenger do?
3. What does “to thy faces” mean?
4. Will Israel be able to see this messenger?
5. Where is this place that Yehovah has prepared?
6. Is this place already prepared at this very time (in 2011)?
7. Who is thou in, “Be thou guarded from his faces”?
8. Why must Israel be guarded from his faces?
9. The next statement is, “And hearken via his voice.” What does this command mean?
10. What does “Do not embitter thou via him” mean?
11. What does “he will not carry to your transgression” mean?
12. Yehovah then stated, “For my Name is via his approach!” What does this mean?
13. Yehovah makes this statement: “For if, hearkening, thou shalt hearken via his voice, and thou shalt do all that I will speak…” Yehovah combined hearkening via his voice with “do all that I will speak.” What does this show?
14. What will be the results of hearkening to this messenger, according to verse 22?
15. Why doesn’t Yehovah just turn these enemies and tribulators of Israel into friends?
16. Why does Yehovah again state that His messenger will walk to Israel’s faces?
17. Verse 23 states, “And he [the messenger] will bring thee unto the Emori and the Khiti and the Preezi and the Canaani, the Khivi and the Yevoosi.” The text didn’t say, “unto the land of,” but instead mentioned six races. Is this event the historical event in Joshua’s day, or is this referring to another event in a future day?
18. At the end of verse 23 is the statement, “And I will obscure him!” Who is him, and what will occur that is described by obscuring him?
19. Why does Yehovah desire to obscure him?
XIX. Dealing with Other Gods (verse 24)
Israel must not prostrate to the gods of the races mentioned above. Israel must not serve them. Israel must not make as they make. Instead, smashing, Israel must smash those gods! And shattering, Israel must shatter their pillars!
Questions
1. What does prostrate mean?
2. Why would anyone prostrate himself/herself to false gods?
3. Why would Yehovah have to command Israel to refrain from prostrating to the gods of the Emori, Khiti, Preezi, Canaani, Khivi and the Yevoosi, and who are these folks?
XX. Results of Serving Yehovah (verses 25-33)
The Israelis shall serve Yehovah their Gods. Yehovah will bless Israel’s bread and Israel’s waters. Yehovah will fend off sickness in advance from Israel’s approach.
There won’t be a bereaved woman in the Land of Israel, and there won’t be a barren woman in that Land.
Yehovah will fill a scrolling of Israel’s days.
He will ‘buzz’ every people that Israel will come by means of them. Yehovah will give all Israel’s enemies unto Israel: the neck!
Yehovah will send the hornet to Israel’s faces. She, the hornet, will expel the Khivi, the Canaani and the Khiti from Israel’s faces. Now, Yehovah won’t expel one of these races from Israel’s faces in one year; that would cause the land to become desolate, and every living creature of the field would multiply upon Israel. Instead, Yehovah will expel him a little at a time, a little at a time from Israel’s faces until Israel will be fruitful.
Israel will inherit the land.
Yehovah will set Israel’s border from Ending Sea (‘Red Sea’) unto Palestinian Sea (the Mediterranean), and from the desert unto the river. Yehovah will give inhabitants of the land into Israel’s hand. And the Israelis will expel ‘him’ from Israel’s faces.
Israel must not cut a covenant to them and to their gods. And they must not dwell in Israel’s land lest they will cause Israel to sin to Yehovah! Instead, Israel shall serve Israel’s Gods! For ‘he’ will become to a snare to Israel!
Questions
1. When will the Israelis serve Yehovah their Gods?
2. What must the Israelis do to be serving Yehovah their Gods?
3. What does bless mean?
4. What will occur if Yehovah blesses bread and waters?
5. What does forefend mean?
6. What does “I will forefend sickness from thy approach” mean?
7. What is a bereaved woman?
8. Why won’t a bereaved woman be in the Land of Israel?
9. What is a barren woman?
10. Why won’t there be a barren woman in the Land of Israel?
11. What does “I will fill a scrolling of thy days” mean?
12. What will occur if Yehovah will send His terror to Israel’s faces? Will He terrorize Israel?
13. What occurs if Yehovah hums (buzzes) every people to which Israel will come?
14. What does “And I will give all thine enemies unto thee: neck” mean?
15. Yehovah next states, “I will send the hornet to thy faces.” What is this hornet?
16. What will be the effect of sending the hornet?
17. Yehovah next states, “I will not expel him from thy faces in one year…” Why will Yehovah not do it in a year? Will He take two years to do this?
18. Where will the inhabitants of the land go as their homes and their lands are taken from them?
19. Doesn’t Yehovah love the little children of the world, including the children of the Canaanites?
20. If Yehovah is just expelling the Hivite, won’t he live and move to another location?
21. Yehovah stated that He will expel him (the inhabitant of the land) a little, a little “until that thou wilt be fruitful.” What does that last part mean, and why will He stop doing what He is doing when they are fruitful?
22. Who will inherit the land, and what land is this?
24. What is the Palestinian Sea?
25. What desert is mentioned in verse 31?
26. What is the river mentioned in verse 31?
27. If Yehovah gives the inhabitants of the land into the hand of the Israelis, who does the expelling?
28. Explain the wording, cut a covenant:
29. What is wrong with cutting a covenant to the inhabitants of the land of Canaan?
30. What is wrong with cutting a covenant to the gods of Canaanites, etc.?
31. What is wrong with permitting these other races to stay where they are, while the Israelis move in?
32. Can one person really cause another person to sin?
33. Who is he in, “For he will be to a snare to thee,” and what is a snare?