Deuteronomy 24:12

24:5-13 It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cover it, or endeavour to shake off their convictions; but by repentance, and prayer, and humble confession, take the way to peace and pardon. Some orders are given about pledges for money lent. This teaches us to consult the comfort and subsistence of others, as much as our own advantage. Let the poor debtor sleep in his own raiment, and praise God for thy kindness to him. Poor debtors ought to feel more than commonly they do, the goodness of creditors who do not take all the advantage of the law against them, nor should this ever be looked upon as weakness.

And if the man be poor,.... Which may be thought to be the case of everyone that gives pledges for a debt he owes, or a sum of money he borrows; yet there might be a difference: some might be so very destitute of goods and raiment in their houses, that whatever they parted with was distressing to them, and they could not well do without it: thou shalt not sleep with his pledge; nor keep it a night; but deliver it to him, before he went to bed, and laid himself down to sleep.

10-13. When thou dost lend thy brother anything, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge—The course recommended was, in kind and considerate regard, to spare the borrower's feelings. In the case of a poor man who had pledged his cloak, it was to be restored before night, as the poor in Eastern countries have commonly no other covering for wrapping themselves in when they go to sleep than the garment they have worn during the day.

And if the man was in distress (עני), the lender was not to lie (sleep) upon his pledge, since the poor man had very often nothing but his upper garment, in which he slept, to give as a pledge. This was to be returned to him in the evening. (A repetition of Exodus 22:25-26 .) On the expression, "It shall be righteousness unto thee," see Deuteronomy 6:25 .

On the promise for doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord, see Deuteronomy 6:18 . - In Deuteronomy 12:26 , Deuteronomy 12:27 , the command to offer all the holy gifts at the place chosen by the Lord is enforced once more, as in Deuteronomy 12:6 , Deuteronomy 12:11 , Deuteronomy 12:17 , Deuteronomy 12:18 ; also to prepare the sacrifices at His altar. קדשׁים, the holy offerings prescribed in the law, as in Numbers 18:8 ; see at Leviticus 21:22 . The "votive offerings" are mentioned in connection with these, because vows proceeded from a spontaneous impulse. לך יהיוּ אשׁר, "which are to thee," are binding upon thee. In v. 27, "the flesh and the blood" are in opposition to "thy burnt-offerings:" "thy burnt-offerings, namely the flesh and blood of them," thou shalt prepare at the altar of Jehovah; i.e., the flesh and blood of the burnt-offerings were to be placed upon and against the altar (see at Leviticus 1:5-9 ). Of the slain-offerings, i.e., the shelamim, the blood was to be poured out against the altar ( Leviticus 3:2 , Leviticus 3:8 , Leviticus 3:13 ); "the flesh thou canst eat" (cf. Leviticus 7:11 .). There is no ground for seeking an antithesis in ישּׁפך, as Knobel does, to the זרק in the sacrificial ritual. The indefinite expression may be explained from the retrospective allusion to Deuteronomy 12:24 and the purely suggestive character of the whole passage, the thing itself being supposed to be sufficiently known from the previous laws.

The immediate connection of Deuteronomy 12:17 with Deuteronomy 12:14 is clear. On these grounds Deuteronomy 12:15-16 are generally taken as a later insertion. Note, too, the Pl. ye shall not eat in 16. The Pl. does not occur in the rest of this statement of the law and may well be due to the hand that has made this addition; as so many of these sporadic changes of address are found in editorial additions. The LXX confirms the Pl. here: the Sam. Sg. may be due to harmonising. Deuteronomy 12:17 . Direct continuation of Deuteronomy 12:13-14 , completing the list of offerings to be brought to the one altar. On the contents see on Deuteronomy 12:6; Deuteronomy 12:11 : the phraseology is however, characteristic of the Sg. passages. Thou mayest not ] Heb., lit. thou shalt not be able : in the sense thou must or darest not only in Sg. passages: here, Deuteronomy 16:5 , Deuteronomy 17:15 , Deuteronomy 22:3 , or with he , Deuteronomy 21:16 ; Deuteronomy 22:19 ; Deuteronomy 22:29 ; Deuteronomy 24:4 . within thy gates ] Thy homestead or town of residence: used almost exclusively with Sg. ( Deuteronomy 5:14 , Deuteronomy 12:17 f., 21, Deuteronomy 14:21 ; Deuteronomy 14:27-29 , Deuteronomy 15:22 , Deuteronomy 16:11 ; Deuteronomy 16:14 , Deuteronomy 17:8 , Deuteronomy 24:14 , Deuteronomy 26:12 , Deuteronomy 31:12 , cp. Deuteronomy 28:57 ). Only one Pl. passage has it, Deuteronomy 12:12 . Deuteronomy 12:18 . See on Deuteronomy 12:5; Deuteronomy 12:7; Deuteronomy 12:12 . Deuteronomy 12:19 .

10 . The rest is to be a general one: no work is to be done either by the Israelite himself, or any member of his household (including his servants), or by his cattle, or by the ‘sojourner’ settled in his cities. in it] LXX. Pesh. Vulg. express this; Sam. and the Nash papyrus read it. manservant … maidservant ] bondman … bondmaid : the meaning is (as always) male and female slaves. Cf. Exodus 21:2 ; Exodus 21:7 . stranger ] sojourner , or foreigner settled in Israel (see on Exodus 12:48 ): he also is to enjoy rest from his toil on the sabbath. Cf. the injunction not to oppress him ( Exodus 22:21 , with the note). For the enumeration, cf. Deuteronomy 12:12 ; Deuteronomy 12:18 ; Deuteronomy 16:11 ; Deuteronomy 16:14 . thy gates ] i.e. thy cities, a distinctively Deut. expression, occurring 26 times in Dt., and only 1 Kings 8:37 = 2 Chronicles 6:28 (Deut. compiler) besides; comp. esp. (with ‘within‘) Deuteronomy 12:12 ; Deuteronomy 12:18 ; Deuteronomy 14:21 ; Deuteronomy 14:27 ; Deuteronomy 14:29 ; Deuteronomy 16:11 ; Deuteronomy 16:14 ; Deuteronomy 24:14 ; Deuteronomy 31:12 . In Deuteronomy 5:14 a clause is added, emphasizing the humanitarian purpose of the observance; cf. Deuteronomy 12:7 ; Deuteronomy 12:12 ; Deuteronomy 14:29 .