Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 22
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Deuteronomy 22
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Deuteronomy 22
"Thou shalt not see thy brother`s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely bring them again unto thy brother. And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it home to thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him. And so shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his garment; and so shalt thou do with every lost thing of thy brother`s, which he hath lost, and thou hast found: thou mayest not hide thyself. Thou shalt not see thy brother`s ass or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." — Deuteronomy 22:1-4 (ASV)
Deuteronomy 22:1–4. LOST PROPERTY.
Go astray. —Literally, being driven away, as by wild beasts (Jeremiah 1:17), or by robbers. It is not simply straying. I will seek that which was lost and bring again that which was driven away (Ezekiel 34:16), and so in many other passages.
Thou shalt not ... hide thyself from them. —Compare Proverbs 24:12: If thou sayest, Behold we knew it not ... doth not He know it? And Isaiah 58:7: that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh.
In like manner ... with all lost thing of thy brother’s. —This is only a particular case of the second great commandment. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down ... and hide thyself. —In Exodus 23:4-5, this is put even more strongly. If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden ... thou shalt surely help with him.
"A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman`s garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God." — Deuteronomy 22:5 (ASV)
The woman shall not wear ... —One of the things of which we may well say with St. Paul, Doth not nature itself teach you?
"If a bird`s nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:" — Deuteronomy 22:6 (ASV)
If a bird’s nest. —On this precept there is a remarkable comment in the Talmud (Kiddushin, p. 39, b). Rabbi Akiba says, “You will not find a single duty prescribed in the Law with a promise of reward attached to it, which does not also have the resurrection of the dead connected to it. In the command to honor your father and mother, it is written (Deuteronomy 5:16), that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you. In the liberty of the nest it is written (Deuteronomy 22:7), that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days. Suppose a man’s father says to him, ‘Climb up the tower and bring me the young birds.’
He ascends the tower, lets the mother bird go, and takes the young. But on his way back, he falls and is killed. Where is the going well in his case, and where is the prolonging of his days? Yes, but it means that it may go well with you in the world where all goes well, and that your days may be prolonged in that world where all is abiding.”
"When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence." — Deuteronomy 22:8 (ASV)
When thou buildest a new house. —Obviously the Law refers to houses with flat roofs, upon which it was customary to walk (1 Samuel 9:25–26; 2 Samuel 11:2).
"Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which thou hast sown, and the increase of the vineyard. Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. Thou shalt not wear a mingled stuff, wool and linen together." — Deuteronomy 22:9-11 (ASV)
These precepts appear also in Leviticus 19:19, more briefly.
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