31 May 2014

EJ&T: Exodus 23:6-19: The poor, bribes, feasts, sacrificial fat, and boiling goats

In the Every Jot and Tittle project, I am listing all of the Bible's commandments from Genesis to Revelation, in accordance with Jesus's words in Matthew 5:18-19. I have no idea how many commandments I'll find, but Jewish tradition claims there are 613. See here for a list of those that I've found so far.

  1. Don't deny justice to the poor.
  2. Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Exodus 23:6

  3. Don't make false accusations.
  4. Keep thee far from a false matter. Exodus 23:7a

  5. Don't kill innocent or righteous people.
  6. The innocent and righteous slay thou not. Exodus 23:7

    Shed not innocent blood. Jeremiah 7:6

  7. Don't accept a bribe.
  8. Thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. Exodus 23:8

    Woe unto them that ... justify the wicked for reward. Isaiah 5:22-23

  9. Every seventh year do not plant or harvest any crops.
  10. Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. Exodus 23:10-11

    When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee. And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat. Leviticus 25:2-7

    Don't worry about what you'll eat on the seventh year when you plant no crops. If you ask God nicely, he'll make sure your sixth year crop will be enough for the next three years.
    And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store. Leviticus 25:20-22

  11. Don't mention the names of any of the other gods.
  12. Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. Exodus 23:13

    Neither make mention of the name of their gods. Joshua 23:7

  13. Celebrate three feasts during the year: unleavened bread, the first harvest, and the last harvest.
  14. Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Exodus 23:14-16

    Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor. First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib, for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering. Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest. “Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields. Exodus 23:14-16, New Living Translation

    The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib. Exodus 34:18

    Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. Exodus 34:22

    Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein. Deuteronomy 16:1-8

  15. Three times a year every male must appear before God.
  16. Three items in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God. Exodus 23:17

    Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. Exodus 34:23

    Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee. Deuteronomy 16:16-17

  17. When you make blood sacrifices to God, don't include any leavened bread.
  18. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread. Exodus 23:18a

    Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven. Exodus 34:25a

  19. Don't let any of the fat of God's sacrifice remain until the next morning.
  20. Neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. Exodus 23:18b

    Neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. Exodus 34:25b

    If ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD ... It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. Leviticus 19:5-7

  21. Bring your first harvest to the house of the Lord.
  22. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Exodus 23:19a

  23. Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
  24. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. Exodus 23:19b, Exodus 34:26b, Deuteronomy 14:21

1 comment:

Stephen said...

"Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." Exodus 23:13

I find commandments like this one interesting, because they clearly imply that there are other gods, not just the "LORD God".