Jesus Christ said, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matt. 19:17). What are the commandments? When Jesus defined the two Great Commandments in Matthew 22:36-40, He clearly connected them with the Ten Commandments (vv 37, 39) but He concluded by saying all the Law and prophets hang on the two Great Commandments (v 40). The phrases “Law and prophets” or “Law, prophets, and Psalms (writings)” specifies the entirety of the Old Testament. The entire Law, the keeping of which is a matter of salvation, is much more than the Ten Commandments. This booklet is intended to be a primer to learning and understanding the holy Law of God, which is required to keep it. It explains the various terms of the Law, how to think about and apply it after the manner of its fulfillment by Jesus Christ, and provides a topical listing of many of the statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies that make up the entirety of the Law of God.
LAWS OF GOD
Purpose, Application, & Topical List
by
Steven Greene
Website: https://sabbathreflections.org
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the
King James Version
or New King James Version.
Contents
Crimes—Assault, Fraud, Kidnapping
Judicial System—Teaching the Law
Judicial System—Priests & Judges
THE LAWS OF GOD
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
— John 14:15-21.
INTRODUCTION
The Law of God is one of the least understood topics of religionists. Catholics honestly claim to have sole authority on earth to interpret, establish, change, or abolish any of God’s laws. This includes the Ten Commandments when they proclaimed the first day of the week (Sunday) as the ‘Lord’s day’ for worship instead of the seventh day of the week established in the fourth commandment or the veneration of Mary and worship of idols that are clear contradictions of the first three. Protestants, on the other hand, teach that Jesus Christ ‘fulfilled’ The Law and it has been entirely ‘done away’. Then there are organizations who preach that salvation is by grace but, in reality, claim authority to judge the salvation of the laity according to their obedience to The Law as interpreted and enforced by the ministry. This is, in effect, teaching that grace is through works of The Law.
Regardless of religion or beliefs, people ignore most points of The Law except the Ten Commandments. The terms statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies are not generally known much less what part they have in The Law. Much of The Law is contained in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy but most of the content is ignored aside from the Ten Commandments.
The Law, in particular, requires diligently seeking understanding through study and prayer with a mind to worshipping God “in the spirit of Truth”[1] because salvation does depends upon it. Salvation is a gift because it is truly by the grace of God but disobedience to The Law is still sin that leads to death[2].
The Law of God is not limited to the time span of Old Testament Scripture. There are more than twenty New Testament scriptures that refer to the salvational necessity of keeping the whole of The Law as specified in the Law, Prophets, and Writings[3]. In fact, Jesus Christ made it clear that all those with the Holy Spirit shall “keep the commandments”[4], which He proclaimed are much more than a matter of strict obedience[5]—they are to be fulfilled in agape love[6].
CHAPTER 1
Why The Law of God?
The purpose of laws is to govern behavior in relationships. The reason that God’s Law is so vital is that mankind is incapable of establishing laws that are fair and equitable for everyone. For example, the inherent evils of lust, anger, hatred, and malice that drives people has resulted in wars, genocides, enslavement of peoples, prostitution of women and children, and widespread crime and injustice. God has been utterly rejected in matters of law so mankind does not acknowledge all are the children of one Creator. The Law of God is the only basis for lasting justice, peace, and prosperity. It was given by the Maker of all life for the singular purpose that they might love their Creator and each other.
Biblical Legal Terms
To understand what is meant by The Law of God requires a working knowledge of specific terms used in the Bible.
LAW
Strong’s H8451 torah (to-rah’). Meaning = teaching or instruction. While at times torah is used in scripture to refer to a specific statute, judgment, or testimony, in most cases it is used as a broad term that covers the entirety of God’s statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies, including what are commonly called the Ten Commandments.
Example of a reference to the entire Law: “So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law [torah] in a book, when they were finished.” (Deut. 31:24).
Example of reference to a statute: “Then he shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law [torah] for her who has borne a male or a female.” (Lev. 12:7).
COMMANDMENT
Strong’s H4687 mitswah (mits-vaw’). Meaning = commandment. The word is only used where God is demanding obedience to the entire Law.
Example: “Therefore you shall keep My commandments [mitswah], and perform them: I am the LORD.” (Lev. 22:31).
STATUTE
Strong’s H2706 choq (choke) or H2708 = chuqqah (chook-kaw’). Meaning = statute. This is a law commanded by God. It is often accompanied by a judgment. Statute is sometimes incorrectly translated ordinance (there is no Hebrew word for ordinance).
Example: “And he who strikes his father or his mother [the statute] shall surely be put to death [the judgment].” (Exo. 21:15).
PRECEPTS
Strong’s H6490 = piqquwd (pik-kood’), always plural or H6673 = tsav (tsav), always singular. Meaning = precepts or principles. Used exclusively in Psalms to more fully explain the statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies as more than a set of rules. Precepts intend a deeper understanding, knowledge, and wisdom that come from meditating on The Law of God and the righteousness and blessings that come with keeping them. Precepts envelope the true purpose and meaning of The Law of God. Precepts from the Hebrew piqquwd is only found in Psalms 19:8, 103:18, 111:7, 119 whereas the Hebrew tsav is used in Isaiah 28:10, 13 and Hosea 5:11. While the term precepts is only used a few times, there are many precepts throughout the Bible.
Examples:
“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” (Isa. 28:9-10).
“You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, Because I keep Your precepts.” (Ps. 119:98-100).
JUDGMENT
Strong’s H4941 = mishpat (mish-pawt’). Meaning = judgment, punishment, or penalty for breaking a statute. Judgment is sometimes incorrectly translated ordinance (there is no Hebrew word for ordinance).
Example: “And he who strikes his father or his mother [the statute] shall surely be put to death [the judgment].” (Exo. 21:15).
TESTIMONY
From Strong’s H5715 = eduwth (ay-dooth’), H5707 = ed (ayd), or H5713 = edah (ay-daw’). Meaning = testimony or witness as a warning. A warning from God of judgments (punishments) to come for continued disobedience. They are usually written with a literal or implied structure or pattern consisting of if (or because) you disobey Me … then I will punish you. Below are examples of both a literal and an implied testimony.
Example of a literal if … then structure: “But if you will not heed Me to [obey God and] hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will [punish you and] kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” (Jer. 17:27).
Example of an implied because … then structure: “Yet [because] they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’ … Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, [then] I will surely bring [evil] on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.” ” (Jer. 11:8, 11).
Other Biblical Terms
The following terms differentiate strangers or foreigners, hired servants, and bondservants or slaves. There are a number of statutes pertaining to these categories. In particular, these are translated differently across Bible versions. Because the KJV scriptures are used, an explanation of these terms is necessary to understand the statutes.
STRANGER (FOREIGNER)
Various words meaning foreigner, guest, resident alien, foreigner (who worships pagan gods), or foreigner (who profanes). Determining which word is used requires examination of the Hebrew. H8453, H5236, and H2114 are indicated in the scriptures. All unmarked references are H1616.
Strong’s H1616 = ger (gare). Meaning = foreigner or guest.
Example: EXODUS 12:19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger [H1616 = foreigner], or born in the land.
Strong’s H8453 = towshab (to-shawb’). Meaning = resident alien living among the Israelites.
Example: LEVITICUS 25:23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers [H1616] and sojourners [H8453 = resident alient] with me.
Strong’s H5236 = nekar (nay-kawr’). Meaning = foreigner (in the sense of one who worships pagan gods). One whose permanent residence is in another country.
Example: EXODUS 12:43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger [H5236 = foreigner] eat thereof:
Strong’s H2114 = zuwr (zoor). Meaning = foreigner (in the sense of one who profanes the holy things or people of the tabernacle or temple.
Example: EXODUS 29:33 And they [the Priests] shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger [H2114 = foreigner] shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
HIRED SERVANT
Strong’s H7916 = sakiyr (saw-keer’). Meaning = hired servant. One who serves a master for wages or a debt that they are too poor to repay. They are not bondservants or slaves.
Example: LEVITICUS 25:39-42 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant [H5650]: 40 But as an hired servant [H7916], and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: 41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. 42 For they are my servants bondservant [H5650], which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen bondservant [H5650].
a) Israelites could be hired servants but never bondservants or slaves because God freed them from slavery in Egypt so they are bondservants to Him. As such, no Israelite can own another Israelite. Israelites are hired servants when serving other Israelites. Only foreigners could be bondservants or slaves of the Israelites.
Example: DEUTERONOMY 24:14-15 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant [H7916] that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: 15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
LEVITICUS 19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob [him]: the wages of him that is hired [H7916] shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
BONDSERVANT (SLAVE)
Bondservant, bondmen, manservant, bondwoman, maidservant, or slave. One who is bought for a price and who serves the master that owns them. Israelites could only make bondservants or slaves of foreigners.
Strong’s H5650 = ebed (eh’-bed). Meaning = male bondservant.
Strong’s H0519 = amah (aw-maw’) or H8198 = shiphchah (shif-khaw’). Meaning = female bondservant.
Examples of a bondservant being purchased of foreigners:
EXODUS 12:44 But every man’s servant [H5650] that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
Example of a male bondservant:
LEVITICUS 25:44-46 Both thy bondmen [H5650], and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen [H5650] and bondmaids. 45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. 46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
Examples of a female bondservant:
EXODUS 20:10 … thy manservant [H5650], nor thy maidservant [H0519] …
a) Note the comparative usage of H5650 for the men and H0519 for the women.
DEUTERONOMY 28:68 And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen [H5650] and bondwomen [H8198], and no man shall buy you.
b) Note the comparative usage of H5650 for the men and H0519 for the women.
Examples of a bondservant as a slave:
DEUTERONOMY 6:21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen [H5650] in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
DEUTERONOMY 5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant [H5650] in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
a) The Israelites were slaves in Egypt.
Examples of the Israelites as bondservants or slaves:
EXODUS 14:31 And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant [H5650] Moses.
EXODUS 32:13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants [H5650], to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit [it] for ever.
Understanding the Legal Terms
When God gave the ancient Israelites the Law, He first presented them with the Ten Commandments listed in Exodus 20. It is easy to see that the first four deal with worship of God whereas the last six govern relationships between people. These are the basis of the two Great Commandments spoken of by Jesus Christ (more on these later).
From the ten basic commandments come the statutes. Those are laws that address specific behaviors and usually accompanied by judgments or punishments for breaking them. The statutes in the Bible cover a vast array of topics covering worship of God, government, citizenship, crimes, domestic relations, property and real estate, social security and welfare, legal contracts, legal procedures and judgments, tort, sanitation, animal husbandry, loans, and much more. Statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies in the Bible are all part of The Law of God.
DEUTERONOMY 30:10, 15-16 “if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. … 15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 “in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
Notice that God requires obedience to His judgments as well as the statutes. For example, the judgment for intentional murder requires the murderer be executed. Even though murder is against the civil law of most countries, the punishment for first degree murder many times is a long prison term. Changing the judgment of God that requires execution of a murderer is disobedience to His Law.
In addition to commandments, statutes, and judgments there are testimonies. A testimony is a warning from God to people for their disobedience. It is intended to give people time to repent and turn away from evil before God punishes them. The classic example is Jonah who was sent by God to warn the inhabitants of Nineveh of pending destruction if they did not repent of their wickedness. Because they repented, God withheld the destruction He had intended to bring upon them.
The final term is precepts. While the statutes are incredibly diverse, there will always be cases that fall outside of the original statutes because it is impossible to establish a statute for every conceivable wrongdoing, crime, or unlawful behavior. Instead, an understanding of the principles or intent of the statutes is required to apply The Law of God in cases that deviate from what is written. Psalm 119 is an in-depth treatise on why a deep understanding of the precepts the Law is crucial.
PSALMS 119:11-15 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. 12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.
Learning, studying, and meditating upon God’s statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies establishes righteous law-keeping.
Promises for Obeying the Law
If the nation of Israel kept His Law, God promised blessings of protection, peace, prosperity, and abundance to such an extent that they could not be contained and theirs would be the greatest nation on earth. The guarantee of those blessings was written down by Moses as part of the covenant between God and the ancient Israelites:
DEUTERONOMY 28:1-14 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: 3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. 4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7 “The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 9 “The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways. 10 “Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. 11 “And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12 “The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 “And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. 14 “So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
When God blesses a nation, it cannot be contained. When God rebuked the ancient Israelites for failing to tithe (tithing is a law/statute), He challenged them to prove Him (Mal. 3:10, 12):
MALACHI 3:10, 12 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. … 12 “And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land,” Says the LORD of hosts.
Many people despise God’s Law. They are so opposed to the idea that they reject it and refuse to acknowledge the promised blessings for all that obey it. His Law would make Israel the greatest and wisest of all nations:
DEUTERONOMY 4:5-8 “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6 “Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? 8 “And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?”
In fact, God established His Law with the ancient Israelites so it would be the desire of all nations who, upon hearing of it, would keep it for themselves. Anyone that suggests the Law of God is abolished is calling God a liar and rejecting His promises to bless those that keep it.
Which Laws Were Eliminated?
Oddly enough, one of the most plain-spoken scriptures is often claimed by opponents of the Law to support their position. In Matthew 5, Jesus unequivocably states:
MATTHEW 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets [all of God’s Law]. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill [bring to perfection through full understanding]. 18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled [accomplished]. 19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
To the unlearned, opponents of the Law will claim fulfill in verse 17 means to ‘bring to an end’; however, that is not the meaning of the word in the Greek as can be confirmed in any concordance or lexicon. Fulfill means to perfect, completely fill, satisfy, or finish. In context, perfection of the Law comes by understanding it in all its fulness. Its meaning is further confirmed by Jesus’ statement in the next verse. Since the heavens and the earth obviously still exist, the entire Law still exists.
The fact that Jesus Christ, whose name was Emmanuel meaning ‘God with us’, states that no law has been abolished, no other being has the authority to make claims to the contrary. So which laws have been eliminated? None of them. But, some continue to object, arguing that the Law was imperfect:
HEBREWS 7:11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
The Law was not imperfect; it was the people. The purpose of the priests (descendants of Aaron) was to bring the people into perfect obedience to the Law. Since they failed in their task, another priest was required. Upon this rests the entire reason that Jesus Christ suffered and died as a human—because no human was capable of fulfilling that role.
HEBREWS 7:12-28 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 17 For He testifies: “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” 18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. 20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The LORD has sworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ “), 22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. 23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
The law regarding the lineage of the priesthood was changed by an oath of God because sin could not be forgiven through the sacrifice of animals. Sins are only forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Notice that the oath appointing Jesus Christ as High Priest supercedes the Law that appointed the sons of Aaron as High Priests. No human priest was ever guaranteed to be a high priest by an oath from God. This means that the oath takes precedence. Since Jesus Christ is eternal, the oath is eternal.
None of the laws that applied to the temple service were eliminated. Symbols were changed but not eliminated. For example, Jesus Christ as High Priest still maintains the altar and all the temple services in the temple in heaven (Rev. 8:3-5; 9:13; et al). Likewise, the Passover symbols were changed but the Passover ceremony is still observed. Circumcision is no longer a physical cutting of the flesh, but a spiritual cutting of heart by the Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of animals was replaced by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, no scripture abolishes any of God’s laws. Only the priesthood and certain symbols changed.
CHAPTER 2
The Law in the Old Testament
The following is a topical listing of the biblical statutes, precepts, judgments, and testimonies. The vast majority are from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which are generally referred to as the Law of Moses. Scriptures from other books, including the New Testament, are included to expand particular sections but their inclusion does not infer a complete listing outside of the main sources in the Torah books. The King James Version was used for its universal recognition with minimal corrections made where required. Furthermore, no effort was made to include the statutes pertaining to the priestly sacrificial offerings (primarily Leviticus chapters 1-8) although they cannot be ignored.
When studying the Law of God, keep a couple of things in mind. First, it is a salvational matter—breaking any of them is sin. Second, obedience goes beyond the understanding letter. There is both a physical AND spiritual fulfillment and the main purpose is to establish relationships with God and mankind in agape love.
Agriculture
Animals shall not be muzzled when working
DEUTERONOMY 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
A remnant of the harvest shall be left for the poor, widows, orphans, and strangers
LEVITICUS 19:9-11 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. 11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
2) Corners is singular, not plural.
3) Verse 11 indicates that reaping the corners is considered theft, fraud, and lying.
DEUTERONOMY 24:19-22 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
People may freely eat the produce that grows in someone else’s field but shall not gather any to eat later
DEUTERONOMY 23:24 When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
DEUTERONOMY 23:25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.
MATTHEW 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
MARK 2:23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
LUKE 6:1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
The fruit of trees shall be left untouched for three years and the fourth year is for an offering
LEVITICUS 19:23-25 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. 24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. 25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
Diverse breeds shall not be bred
LEVITICUS 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: …
Diverse animals shall not plow together
DEUTERONOMY 22:10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.
Diverse seeds shall not be sowed in the same field
LEVITICUS 19:19 … thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: …
DEUTERONOMY 22:9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.
A female shall not be taken along with her eggs or young
DEUTERONOMY 22:6-7 If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: 7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.
The land Sabbath provides food for the landowner, the poor, and animals
EXODUS 23:10-11 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 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.
LEVITICUS 25:2-7 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. 3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; 4 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. 5 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. 6 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, 7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
LEVITICUS 25:19-22 And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. 20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: 21 Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. 22 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.
1) God blesses the produce of the sixth year to provide for the seventh year of the land-Sabbath as well as the eighth year when the fields are re-sown.
Animals
An animal that kills someone shall be killed
GENESIS 9:5 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.
EXODUS 21:28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit [acquitted].
1) The owner is innocent of murder but shall kill the animal and shall not use the meat for any purpose. This prevents him from deriving a benefit from the animal.
A known aggressive animal that kills someone shall be killed and the owner ransomed or killed
EXODUS 21:29-31 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. 30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him [by the judges]. 31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
1) An owner that was aware the animal had aggressive tendencies is guilty of murder. However, since he did not actually kill the victim, the death penalty can be waived if a ransom for his life is paid.
2) Is the ransom paid to the family of the deceased?
An animal that injures a bondservant shall be killed and the owner shall pay a fine to the bondservant’s owner
EXODUS 21:32 If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
An animal that kills an animal owned by someone else shall be sold, the dead animal cut in half, and the money and carcasses split between the two owners
EXODUS 21:35 And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.
A known aggressive animal that kills an animal owned by someone else shall be killed; the owner keeps the carcass but pays the victim the full price of the animal
EXODUS 21:36 Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.
1) The last part of this judgment must be combined with Exodus 21:35, which states that an animal that kills another animal must be killed.
Someone that kills an animal belonging to someone else shall compensate the victim’s loss
LEVITICUS 24:18 And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
LEVITICUS 24:21a And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: …
Someone that leaves a pit uncovered and an animal falls into it and dies shall compensate the victim’s loss but keeps the carcass
EXODUS 21:33-34 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; 34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
Clothing
Diverse materials shall not be used in one garment
LEVITICUS 19:19 … neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
DEUTERONOMY 22:11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.
Crimes—Assault, Fraud, Kidnapping
Assault
EXODUS 21:15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
EXODUS 21:18-19 And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed: 19 If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit [acquitted]: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
1) The man who inflicted the injuries must pay the medical expenses of the victim and compensate for his loss of earnings.
2) Tradition holds he can be detained in prison until the victim recovers so he is likewise deprived of potential earnings.
LEVITICUS 24:19-20 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; 20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
1) Neighbor implies men or women.
2) “Breach for breach, … tooth for tooth” is not to be taken literally but are measures of monetary compensation. Fines were commiserate with the injury and loss of ability.
DEUTERONOMY 25:11-12 When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets: 12 Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her.
DEUTERONOMY 27:24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Assault involving a pregnant woman
EXODUS 21:25 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief [injury] follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 And if any mischief [injury] follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
1) If the woman is not hurt, her husband can demand punishment against the man who caused the miscarriage. The fine is determined by the judges.
2) If the woman was hurt, then the fine shall be according to the severity of the injury.
3) Since judgments for most crimes already specify restitution (by replacement or reimbursement), it is likely that verses 23-25 mean the punishment should fit the crime and be equitable for the victim. Otherwise, it is exacting physical retribution by maiming which is vengeance.
Fraud
LEVITICUS 19:11b … neither deal falsely [cheat], …
LEVITICUS 19:35-36 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. 36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.
DEUTERONOMY 25:13-16 Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small. 14 Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small. 15 But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 16 For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Kidnapping requires the kidnapper be put to death
EXODUS 21:16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
1) Kidnapping is theft of people.
DEUTERONOMY 24:7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
Landmarks shall not be moved
DEUTERONOMY 19:14 ¶Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
DEUTERONOMY 27:17 Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Crimes—Perverting Justice
Bribes
EXODUS 23:8 And thou shalt take no gift [bribe]: for the gift [bribe] blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
DEUTERONOMY 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest [pervert] judgment; thou shalt not respect [be partial to] persons, neither take a gift [bribe]: for a gift [bribe] doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
DEUTERONOMY 27:25 Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
1) This is a bribe to falsely convict someone.
Partiality
EXODUS 23:3 Neither shalt thou countenance [be partial to] a poor man in his cause.
EXODUS 23:6 Thou shalt not wrest [pervert] the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
LEVITICUS 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect [be partial to] the person of the poor, nor honour [be partial to] the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
DEUTERONOMY 1:16-17 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. 17 Ye shall not respect [be partial to] persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
DEUTERONOMY 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest [pervert] judgment; thou shalt not respect [be partial to] persons, neither take a gift [bribe]: for a gift [bribe] doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
DEUTERONOMY 27:19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Perjury and false testimony
EXODUS 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness [perjury] against thy neighbour.
1) Perjury is lying (false testimony) in a legal setting.
EXODUS 23:1 Thou shalt not raise a false report [perjury]: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
EXODUS 23:2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline [follow] after many to wrest [pervert] judgment:
EXODUS 23:7 Keep thee far from a false matter [falsely charging someone]; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
LEVITICUS 19:11c … neither lie one to another.
LEVITICUS 19:16b … neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
1) In the sense of bearing false testimony.
DEUTERONOMY 5:20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
DEUTERONOMY 27:25 Cursed be he that taketh reward [bribe] to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
1) In the sense of falsely convicting someone.
Vengeance
LEVITICUS 19:18a Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, …
Crimes—Miscellaneous
Covetousness
EXODUS 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
DEUTERONOMY 5:21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Cursing or dishonoring a parent requires the child be put to death
EXODUS 21:17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
LEVITICUS 20:9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
DEUTERONOMY 21:18-21 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
DEUTERONOMY 27:16 Cursed be he that setteth light by [dishonors] his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
MARK 7:10-12 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: 11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. 12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;
Maltreatment of others
EXODUS 22:21 Thou shalt neither vex [maltreat] a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
EXODUS 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress [maltreat] a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
LEVITICUS 19:14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD.
1) In principle, a blind or deaf person could be someone who is unaware.
LEVITICUS 25:17 Ye shall not therefore oppress [maltreat] one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.
LEVITICUS 19:11b … neither deal falsely, … one to another.
DEUTERONOMY 27:18 Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way. And all the people shall say, Amen.
1) In principle, a blind person could be someone who is ignorant.
DEUTERONOMY 27:19 Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Not intervening when a life is in danger
LEVITICUS 19:16b … neither shalt thou stand [idly by] against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
1) In the sense of doing nothing when someone’s life is at risk.
Protect against accidental injury
DEUTERONOMY 22:8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
Slander and gossip
Gossip and slander are spiritual assault or murder.
LEVITICUS 19:16a Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer [scandal-monger] among thy people: …
PROVERBS 16:28 A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
PROVERBS 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
PROVERBS 18:6-8 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes. 7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. 8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
PROVERBS 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
PSALM 34:13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (deceit).
PSALM 41:7 All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.
PSALM 140:11 Let not an evil speaker [slanderer] be established in the earth: evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
MATTHEW 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
LUKE 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
ROMANS 1:29-32 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers [gossips], 30 Backbiters [slanderers], haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
ROMANS 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
2 CORINTHIANS 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates [strifes], envyings [jealousies], wraths [indignations], strifes [contentions], backbitings [scandal-mondering], whisperings [slanders], swellings [puffings up], tumults [commotions]:
EPHESIANS 4:29, 31 Let no corrupt [putrid, worthless, rotten] communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. … 31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking [slander], be put away from you, with all malice:
1 TIMOTHY 3:11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
1 TIMOTHY 5:12-13 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. 13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers [excessively talkative] also and busybodies [meddlesome], speaking things which they ought not.
TITUS 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers [slanderers], not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
TITUS 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
JAMES 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
JAMES 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
1 PETER 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile [deceit], and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings [slanderers],
1 PETER 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile [deceit]:
Crimes—Murder
Murder
EXODUS 20:13 Thou shalt not kill [murder].
LEVITICUS 19:16b … neither shalt thou stand [idly by] against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
1) In the sense of doing nothing when someone’s life is at risk.
DEUTERONOMY 5:17 Thou shalt not kill [murder].
DEUTERONOMY 27:24 Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbour secretly. And all the people shall say, Amen.
DEUTERONOMY 27:25 Cursed be he that taketh reward [bribe] to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen.
1) Murder for hire.
Killing versus murder
EXODUS 21:12-14 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. 13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. 14 But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
1) A person that kills in self-defense is innocent of murder.
2) In the case of murder, the death sentence is to be executed even if he grabs the horns of the altar (1 Kings 2:28:34).
NUMBERS 35:16-29 And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17 And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. 20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; 21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. 22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, 23 Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: 24 Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: 25 And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; 27 And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: 28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. 29 So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Killing a thief is not murder
EXODUS 22:2-3 If a thief be found breaking up [in],
and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed [guilt]
for [upon] him; for he should make full restitution;
if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
1) Verse 3 is mistranslated. The word for blood is H1818 = dam (dawm) meaning blood or bloodguilt. If the victim strikes the thief but he doesn’t die (“the sun be risen upon him”), then the thief bears his own guilt of theft (his blood is upon him) and he shall “make full restitution” or “sold for his theft.”
Cities of refuge shall be established to prevent the death of the innocent
DEUTERONOMY 19:1-9 When the LORD thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the LORD thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses; 2 Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it. 3 Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither. 4 And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past; 5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live: 6 Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past. 7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee. 8 And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers; 9 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three: 10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
JOSHUA 20:2-6 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses: 3 That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them. 5 And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime. 6 And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.
The penalty for murder is death
GENESIS 9:5-6 And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. 6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
1) “By man” means mankind shall carry out the judgment.
LEVITICUS 24:17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
1) “Any man” is translated from nephesh and adam, literally “any soul of man”, which includes women as well.
LEVITICUS 24:21b … and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.
DEUTERONOMY 19:11 But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities: 12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
1) The death sentence is to be carried out by the victim’s avenger.
A murderer’s life cannot be ransomed or redeemed
NUMBERS 35:31-33 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction
[ransom] for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death:
but he shall be surely put to death. 32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for
him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell
in the land, until the death of the priest. 33 So ye shall not pollute the land
wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be
cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed
it.
LEVITICUS 27:29 None devoted [condemned],
which shall be devoted [condemned] of men [for death],
shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.
Priests shall lead the investigation of all murders
DEUTERONOMY 21:1-9 If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: 2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: 3 And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; 4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley: 5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried: 6 And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: 7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
1) The leaders of the nearest city must answer to the priests in the investigation.
Two or more witnesses are required to condemn a murderer to death
NUMBERS 35:30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
Crimes—Religious
God’s name shall not be taken in vain or falsely swear by it
EXODUS 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
LEVITICUS 19:12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
DEUTERONOMY 5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Cursing God requires the death of the one who cursed God
LEVITICUS 24:15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin. 16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.
The name of other gods shall not be mentioned
EXODUS 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
Do not tempt God
DEUTERONOMY 6:16 Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
Priests shall not consume alcohol before they go into the tabernacle
LEVITICUS 10:9-10 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: 10 And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
False prophets shall be killed
DEUTERONOMY 18:20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
Idol worship
EXODUS 20:4-6 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
EXODUS 20:23 Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.
EXODUS 34:17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.
LEVITICUS 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.
LEVITICUS 26:1 Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.
DEUTERONOMY 4:16-19 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, 18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: 19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
DEUTERONOMY 5:8-10 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
DEUTERONOMY 16:21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove [Asherah] of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
1) Groves were used in pagan rites.
DEUTERONOMY 16:22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
DEUTERONOMY 27:15 Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and say, Amen.
Worship of false gods requires the death penalty
EXODUS 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
EXODUS 22:20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
EXODUS 34:14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
LEVITICUS 17:7 And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.
DEUTERONOMY 5:7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
DEUTERONOMY 6:14-15 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
DEUTERONOMY 8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
DEUTERONOMY 13:1-3, 5-11 If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. … 5 And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. 6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; 7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; 8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: 9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
1) Anyone who knows of a crime shall report it.
2) The witnesses shall cast the first stone.
DEUTERONOMY 13:12-17 If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, 13 Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; 14 Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; 15 Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword. 16 And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the LORD thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again. 17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;
1) A city that worships others gods is to be destroyed and completely burned.
DEUTERONOMY 17:2-5 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: 5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
1) The person who reported the crime shall cast the first stone.
Pagan practices
LEVITICUS 19:27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
LEVITICUS 19:28 Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.
DEUTERONOMY 14:1 Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
DEUTERONOMY 18:9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
Child sacrifice requires the death of the murderer
LEVITICUS 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
LEVITICUS 20:2-5 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: 5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
DEUTERONOMY 18:10a There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire,
Witches, sorcerers, necromancers, charmers; divination, soothsaying
EXODUS 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
1) The penalty is death.
LEVITICUS 19:26b … neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
LEVITICUS 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
LEVITICUS 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
1) The penalty is to be “cut off from among his people.”
LEVITICUS 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
1) The penalty is death.
1) Definitions:
a) Divination = divination, witchcraft.
b) Observer of Times = enchanter, soothsayer, sorcerer; one who practices magic.
c) Enchanter = enchanter of magic spells.
d) Witch = sorcerer, witch; one who practices magic.
e) Charmer = charmer; one who practices spells.
f) (Consulter With) Familiar Spirits = necromancer.
g) Wizard = wizard, conjurer.
h) Necromancer = necromancer; worshipper of the dead.
Crimes—Theft
Theft
EXODUS 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
DEUTERONOMY 5:19 Neither shalt thou steal.
A thief could be sold into servitude
EXODUS 22:2-3 If a thief be found breaking up [in],
and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed [guilt]
for [upon] him; for he should make full restitution;
if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
1) Verse 3 is mistranslated. The word for blood is H1818 = dam (dawm) meaning blood or bloodguilt. If the victim strikes the thief but he doesn’t die (“the sun be risen upon him”), then the thief bears his own guilt of theft (his blood is upon him) and he shall “make full restitution” or “sold for his theft.”
Theft wherein the property is recovered
EXODUS 22:4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
Theft wherein the property is damaged or not recovered
EXODUS 22:1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
EXODUS 22:3 … for he (a thief) should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
1) If the thief cannot pay compensation, he shall be sold as a bondservant. This prevented the thief from claiming poverty to escape restitution.
Theft includes gleaning one’s harvest (gathering the leftover after the harvest) that is for the poor, widows, orphans, and strangers
LEVITICUS 19:9-11 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. 11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
Embezzlement (theft of property entrusted to someone else’s care)
EXODUS 22:7-13 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double. 8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods. 13 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. 10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. 12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
1) The penalty for embezzlement is the same as in the case of outright theft.
2) If the person was innocent but the property was lost or damaged due to unintended or unforeseen circumstances, no penalty was exacted.
Restitution for theft requires adding 20% to the original value in addition to the penalty
LEVITICUS 6:1-5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; 3 Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
NUMBERS 5:6-8 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty; 7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.
Festivals
The festivals are statutes
DEUTERONOMY 16:12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
Three festival seasons
EXODUS 23:14-17 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15 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:) 16 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. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.
1) “End of the year” refers to the end of the agricultural year.
EXODUS 34:23-24 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.
DEUTERONOMY 16:16-17 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: 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
Passover
LEVITICUS 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.
NUMBERS 9:2-14 Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. 3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. 4 And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. 5 And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. 6 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: 7 And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel? 8 And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you. 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD. 11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. 13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. 14 And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.
1) The penalty for not observing the Passover is to be “cut off from among his people.”
DEUTERONOMY 16:1-3 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. 2 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. 3 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.
DEUTERONOMY 16:5-7 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: 6 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. 7 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.
Unleavened Bread
EXODUS 13:3-10 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4 This day came ye out in the month Abib. 5 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. 7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. 8 And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. 9 And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. 10 Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.
EXODUS 23:15 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:) EXODUS 34:18 ¶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: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.
LEVITICUS 23:6-8 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
DEUTERONOMY 16:3-4 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. 4 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.
DEUTERONOMY 16:8 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.
That Night of the Lord
EXODUS 12:42 It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.
Wavesheaf offering
LEVITICUS 23:10-14 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. 13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. 14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Feast of Weeks/Pentecost
EXODUS 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: …
EXODUS 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
LEVITICUS 23:15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: 16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. 17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. 18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. 19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
DEUTERONOMY 16:9-11 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn. 10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
Feast of Trumpets
LEVITICUS 23:24-25 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Atonement
LEVITICUS 16:29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
LEVITICUS 16:31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
LEVITICUS 16:34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
LEVITICUS 23:27-32 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
1) The penalty for not observing the Day of Atonement is to be “cut off from among his people.”
Jubilee
LEVITICUS 25:8-16 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. 9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. 10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. 11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. 12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. 13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession. 14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour’s hand, ye shall not oppress one another: 15 According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee: 16 According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.
1) The Jubilee began on Tishri 10.
Servants whose ear was pierced had their term of service extended for life were not released during the Jubilee:
DEUTERONOMY 15:16-17 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; 17 Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
Lands were either redeemed by the original owner (or his kin) or the lands were released to the original owner (or his kin) during the Jubilee:
LEVITICUS 25:24-28 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. 26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; 27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. 28 But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
Houses were either redeemed by the original owner (or his kin) or were released to the original owner (or his kin) during the Jubilee unless they were within a walled city or belonged to the Levites:
LEVITICUS 25:29-34 And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it. 30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile. 31 But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile. 32 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time. 33 And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the children of Israel. 34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
Servants and their families were either redeemed by the servant or his kin or they were released in the Jubilee:
LEVITICUS 25:47-55 And if a sojourner or stranger [H8453 = resident alien] wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner [H8453 = resident alien] by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: 48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: 49 Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. 50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him. 51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for. 52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption. 53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight. 54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him. 55 For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Feast of Tabernacles
EXODUS 23:16 … and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
LEVITICUS 23:34-36, 39-43 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. 35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. … 39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. 40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. 41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: 43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in ought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
DEUTERONOMY 16:13-15 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: 14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
Cooking on the Sabbath and holydays
EXODUS 16:22-30 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
1) The statute is against gathering the food, not preparing it.
EXODUS 12:16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
1) Cooking is not allowed on Atonement.
Buying and selling on the Sabbath and holydays
NEHEMIAH 10:29-31 They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; 30 And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons: 31 And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.
NEHEMIAH 13:15-21 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. 16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. 20 So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. 21 Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.
MATTHEW 21:12-13 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
MARK 11:15-17 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
LUKE 19:45-46 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.
JOHN 2:13-16 And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.
Firstborn
All firstborn males of both man and animals belong to God
EXODUS 13:2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
EXODUS 13:12-15 That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD’S. 13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. 14 And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: 15 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the LORD slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem.
EXODUS 34:19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male.
1) The law of the firstborn applies only to males.
NUMBERS 3:13 Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.
NUMBERS 18:15a Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: …
LEVITICUS 27:26 Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD’S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD’S.
1) Firstborn animals cannot be dedicated to God for another purpose because they are already sanctified (belong) to Him.
Firstborn sons shall be redeemed
EXODUS 34:20b … All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty.
NUMBERS 8:14-17 Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. 15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.16 For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me. 17 For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself.
1) Levites substituted for the firstborn sons of the Israelites.
Firstborn sons shall not be denied their inheritance
DEUTERONOMY 21:15-17 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: 16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: 17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
Firstborn animals shall remain with their mother for seven days
EXODUS 22:29-30 … the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. 30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
Firstborn animals shall not be used for work nor shorn
DEUTERONOMY 15:19 All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
Firstborn animals belong to God and had to be sacrificed
DEUTERONOMY 15:20-22 Thou shalt eat it before the LORD thy God year by year in the place which the LORD shall choose, thou and thy household. 21 And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God. 22 Thou shalt eat it within thy gates: the unclean and the clean person shall eat it alike, as the roebuck, and as the hart.
1) Firstborn animals with a blemish were not sanctified to God.
Firstborn clean animals shall never be redeemed because they belong to the Levites
NUMBERS 18:17 But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Firstborn unclean animals shall always be redeemed or sold if the owner declines to redeem it
LEVITICUS 27:27 And if it be of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to thine estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it be not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation.
1) The redemption price for unclean animals was the value of the animal plus 20%.
NUMBERS 18:15 Every thing that openeth the matrix in all flesh, which they bring unto the LORD, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.
Firstborn asses shall always be redeemed or killed
EXODUS 13:13 And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem.
EXODUS 34:20a But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. …
1) The redemption price for an ass was a lamb.
2) Does this pertain to other unclean animals?
Health Laws
Clean and unclean foods
LEVITICUS 11: 2-23, 29-30, 41-47 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. 3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. 4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. 7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. 8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you. 9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. 10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: 11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. 12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you. 13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; 15 Every raven after his kind; 16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, 18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, 19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. 20 All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you. 21 Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth; 22 Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. 23 But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you. … 29 These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, 30 And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole. … 41 And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten. 42 Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination. 43 Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby. 44 For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 45 For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. 46 This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth: 47 To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
LEVITICUS 20:25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
DEUTERONOMY 14:4-20 These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. 6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. 7 Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. 8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. 9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: 10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you. 11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat. 12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, 13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, 14 And every raven after his kind, 15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, 16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, 17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, 18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. 19 And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. 20 But of all clean fowls ye may eat.
Clean food
DEUTERONOMY 12:15, 20-22 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart. … 20 When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. 21 If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after. 22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean [person] and the clean [person] shall eat of them alike.
DEUTERONOMY 32:13-14 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; 14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.
1) Honey, olive oil, butter, milk, lamb, goat, wheat, grapes, wine.
DEUTERONOMY 14:4-5 These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, 5 The hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois.
1) Deer, gazelle, roebuck, goat, ibex, antelope, mountain sheep.
DEUTERONOMY 14:26a And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, …
1) Ox, sheep, wine, strong drink.
Blood shall not be eaten
GENESIS 9:4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
LEVITICUS 3:17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
LEVITICUS 7:26-27 Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. 27 Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
1) The penalty for eating blood is to be “cut off from his people.”
LEVITICUS 17:10-14 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. 12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood. 13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. 14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
1) The penalty for eating blood is to be “cut off.”
2) Strangers are included in this statute.
3) Blood was covered with dust possibly to prevent other animals from eating it.
LEVITICUS 19:26a Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: …
DEUTERONOMY 12:16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
DEUTERONOMY 12:23-24 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
DEUTERONOMY 15:23 Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.
Fat shall not be eaten
LEVITICUS 7:22-26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. 24 And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. 25 For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.
1) The penalty for eating fat is to be “cut off from his people.”
Animals that die a natural death or are killed by other animals shall not be eaten or touched
EXODUS 22:31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
LEVITICUS 5:2-3 Or if a soul touch any unclean thing, whether it be a carcase of an unclean beast, or a carcase of unclean cattle, or the carcase of unclean creeping things, and if it be hidden from him; he also shall be unclean, and guilty. 3 Or if he touch the uncleanness of man, whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty.
LEVITICUS 11: 24-28, 31-40 And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. 25 And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. 26 The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean. 27 And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even. 28 And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you. … 31 These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even. 32 And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed. 33 And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it. 34 Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. 35 And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you. 36 Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean. 37 And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean. 38 But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you. 39 And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. 40 And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
LEVITICUS 17:15-16 And every soul that eateth that which died of itself, or that which was torn with beasts, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger, he shall both wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even: then shall he be clean. 16 But if he wash them not, nor bathe his flesh; then he shall bear his iniquity.
DEUTERONOMY 14:7-8, 21a Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. 8 And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. … 21a Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God. …
Meat shall not be cooked in the mother’s milk
EXODUS 23:19 … Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
EXODUS 34:26… Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
DEUTERONOMY 14:21b … Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.
People with diseases shall be quarantined
LEVITICUS 13-15
NUMBERS 5:2-3 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: 3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
DEUTERONOMY 24:8-9 Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do. 9 Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.
A woman is unclean after giving birth—40 days for a son and 80 days for a daughter
LEVITICUS 12:2-5 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. 3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. 5 But if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her separation: and she shall continue in the blood of her purifying threescore and six days.
Males shall be circumcised on the eighth day
LEVITICUS 12:2-3 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: … 3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
A man who has a night release shall leave the camp until evening
DEUTERONOMY 23:10-11 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: 11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
Human waste is forbidden within the camp and shall be covered
DEUTERONOMY 23:12-14 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: 13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: 14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
Judicial System—Teaching the Law
Teach the law to the people
EXODUS 18:20 And thou (Moses) shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
DEUTERONOMY 4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
DEUTERONOMY 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
DEUTERONOMY 4:10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
DEUTERONOMY 31:10-13 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
The Law is to be read every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles.
JOSHUA 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
JOSHUA 8:34-35 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.
MALACHI 2:4-7 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. 5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. 7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Priests are a messenger of God’s Law.
JOSHUA 1:7-8 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
JOSHUA 8:34-35 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.
Teach the Law to children
DEUTERONOMY 6:6-9 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
DEUTERONOMY 11:18-20 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
DEUTERONOMY 32:46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
Judicial System—Priests & Judges
No one shall change God’s Law
DEUTERONOMY 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
Priests shall lead the investigations of all murders
DEUTERONOMY 21:1-9 If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: 2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: 3 And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; 4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley: 5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried: 6 And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: 7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. 8 Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
a) The leaders of the nearest city shall be subject to interrogation by the priests.
Leaders shall continuously meditate on the law
JOSHUA 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Judges shall be appointed in all cities and towns
DEUTERONOMY 16:18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
Judges shall fear God, be men of truth, and hate covetousness:
EXODUS 18:21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
Judges shall uphold justice for the righteous and mete out judgment against the wicked:
DEUTERONOMY 16:18, 20 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment. … 20 That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
DEUTERONOMY 25:1 If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
Investigation into the truth of the death of someone as well as protection of the accused is crucial to prevent the shedding of innocent blood
DEUTERONOMY 19:9-10 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three [refuge] cities more for thee, beside these three: 10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
Judicial System—The Law
The Law makes a nation great and wise
DEUTERONOMY 4:6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
The Law applies to all (Israelites & Strangers)
LEVITICUS 18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:
LEVITICUS 24:22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.
NUMBERS 15:15-16 One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. 16 One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.
The Law discourages others from committing crimes
DEUTERONOMY 4:10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
DEUTERONOMY 13:11 And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
DEUTERONOMY 17:13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
DEUTERONOMY 19:20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
Witnesses
It is a sin to refuse to testify:
LEVITICUS 5:1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
a) The “voice of swearing” is an adjuration in the name of God:
Two or more witnesses are required to establish a matter:
DEUTERONOMY 17:6-7 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
a) Two or more witnesses are required in death penalty cases.
b) The witnesses shall be the first to engage in the death penalty.
DEUTERONOMY 19:15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
a) Two or more witnesses are required in cases other than death penalty cases.
b) A witness must give his statement in person (“at the mouth of” a witness).
False witnesses shall be subjected to the judgment the victim would have received if found guilty:
DEUTERONOMY 19:16-19 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; 17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; 18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; 19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.
Judicial System—Judgment
Difficult cases shall be brought to the Levites
DEUTERONOMY 17:8-12 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; 9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: 10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: 11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. 12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
1) Cases too hard for the local authorities shall be brought before a judge of the priesthood:
2) The judge shall make diligent inquiry into the matter.
3) The sentence is final and shall be carried out.
4) The penalty for anyone who rejects the verdict of the priest is death.
Punishment must fit the crime
EXODUS 21:23-25 And if any mischief [injury]
follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 Eye for eye, tooth for
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 Burning for burning, wound for wound,
stripe for stripe.
DEUTERONOMY 19:21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
1) Since judgments for most crimes already specify restitution (by replacement or reimbursement), it seems more likely this means the punishment should fit the crime and be equitable for the victim. Otherwise, it is exacting physical retribution by maiming which is vengeance. This understanding is upheld in the verses that follow wherein they do not require physical retribution in the case of injuries to a servant.
EXODUS 21:26-27 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. 27 And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
1) Offenses that did not require the death penalty usually required restitution by monetary compensation or replacement.
Judgment cannot be applied to the sons of a condemned man or his father
DEUTERONOMY 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
1) The death penalty cannot be applied to the sons of the condemned man or his father
Restitution for property includes adding 20% original value
LEVITICUS 6:1-5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; 3 Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.
NUMBERS 5:6-8 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty; 7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. 8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.
Valuation of people
LEVITICUS 27:3-8 And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if it be from sixty years old and above; if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.
1) Males:
a) 60 years old and older = 15 shekels.
b) 20 up to 60 years old = 50 shekels.
c) 5 up to 20 years old = 20 shekels.
d) 1 month up to 5 years old = 5 shekels.
2) Females:
a) 60 years old and older = 10 shekels.
b) 20 up to 60 years old = 30 shekels.
c) 5 up to 20 years old = 10 shekels.
d) 1 month up to 5 years old = 3 shekels.
3) If the person cannot pay, then the priest shall set a value.
Valuation of animals
LEVITICUS 27:9-13 And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. 10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. 11 And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice unto the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest: 12 And the priest shall value it, whether it be good or bad: as thou valuest it, who art the priest, so shall it be. 13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation.
Whipping
DEUTERONOMY 25:2-3 And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. 3 Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
1) The number of stripes is according to the crime or transgression.
2) The maximum stripes is 40. More than 40 perverts justice into vengeance.
Meaning of ‘Cut off’
Death:
1) “cut off from the earth” (Exod. 9:15)
2) “utterly be cut off” (Num. 15:31)
Exile or Ostracism:
1) “cut off from Israel” (Exod. 12:15, Num. 19:13),
2) “cut off from among his people” (various Scriptures),
3) “cut off from My presence” (Lev. 22:3).
Allowed forms of execution
STONING: The main legitimate method of execution and used when the penalty required “their blood shall be upon them.”
ARROW OR SPEAR: The other form of execution allowed but apparently rarely used:
EXODUS 19:13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
HEBREWS 12:20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart [arrow]:
NUMBERS 25:7-8 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin [spear] in his hand; 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
Disallowed forms of execution
BURNING: People were never burned alive. They were first killed by stoning, arrow, or spear and then their dead bodies burned:
JOSHUA 7:24-25 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
HANGING: People were not killed by hanging. They were first killed by stoning, arrow, or spear and then their dead bodies hanged from a tree:
DEUTERONOMY 21:22-23 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: 23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
JOSHUA 10:26-27 And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. 27 And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
a) Bodies shall not be left hanging after sundown.
Leaders
Kings shall be of Israelite descent
DEUTERONOMY 17:14-15 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Kings shall make a copy of the law and study and obey it
DEUTERONOMY 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
1) Kings were not above the law.
Kings shall not multiply horses to himself to avoid any relationship with the Egyptians
DEUTERONOMY 17:16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Kings shall not multiply wives to himself
DEUTERONOMY 17:17a Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: …
Kings shall not multiply wealth to himself
DEUTERONOMY 17:17b … neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Leaders shall be respected
EXODUS 22:28 Thou shalt not revile the gods [judges],
nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Do not speak evil of leaders
2 PETER 2:10-12 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
JUDE 1:4, 8, 10-13 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. … 8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. … 10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Land
All land belongs to God and is not to be permanently sold
LEVITICUS 25:23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
Land shall remain within a family
NUMBERS 27:3-11 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. 5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. 6 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. 8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. 9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. 10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. 11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses.
NUMBERS 36:2-9 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. 3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. 5 ¶And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. 6 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. 7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. 9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.
Land is redeemed either by the original owner (or his kin) or the land is released to the owner (or his kin) during the Jubilee
LEVITICUS 25:24-28 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land. 25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. 26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; 27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. 28 But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
Marriage & Sexual Relations
Marriage
A man is exempt from war and government duties for the first year of marriage:
DEUTERONOMY 24:5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
a) The first year is one in which the couple is to enjoy together.
Marriage to Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites is forbidden:
DEUTERONOMY 7:1, 3-4 "When the LORD your God shall bring you into the land where you go to possess it and has cast out many nations before you—the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you— … 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
Marriage to a woman captured in war requires she be allowed to grieve her family for one month:
DEUTERONOMY 21:10-14 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, 11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; 12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. 14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
a) If the marriage fails, she shall not be sold.
A living brother shall marry his brother’s widow so that she may bear children to her husband’s name:
DEUTERONOMY 25:5-6 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger [H2114 = profaner]: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
a) A living brother shall take her to be his wife.
b) A living brother shall produce children in his dead brother’s name.
c) The first son of the widow inherits the dead man’s estate.
d) If no living brother will perform his duty to his brother’s widow:
DEUTERONOMY 25:7-10 And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
i) The brother shall appear before the city elders who try to reason with him.
ii) If he still refuses to take her to wife, does the widow inherit all property of the dead brother (Num. 27:7-11)?
A husband that falsely accuses the woman of not being a virgin shall pay a fine to her family:
DEUTERONOMY 22:13-19 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, 14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: 15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate: 16 And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; 17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; 19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
a) A fine of 100 shekels of silver is twice the dowry of 50 shekels for virgins (Exo 22:17; Deu 22:29) because the woman is no longer a virgin.
b) The first 50 shekels may have been reimbursement of the original dowry and the second 50 shekels was a fine for taking the woman’s virginity.
Divorce
A man cannot remarry if his ex-wife was married to and subsequently divorced from another man:
DEUTERONOMY 24:1-4 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. 2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife. 3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; 4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Adultery
EXODUS 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
DEUTERONOMY 5:18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
Adultery with a married woman:
LEVITICUS 18:20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour’s wife, to defile thyself with her.
a) Neighbor’s wife does not include a bondwoman.
LEVITICUS 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
a) The penalty is death for both the man and woman.
DEUTERONOMY 22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.
a) A betrothal is legally binding.
Adultery with an unmarried woman:
1) If the woman is betrothed and it was consensual:
DEUTERONOMY 22:20-21 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: 21 Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.
a) The woman is required to be a virgin at the time of her betrothal and marriage.
b) The penalty is death for both the man and woman.
DEUTERONOMY 22:23-24 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24 Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
a) The penalty is death for both the man and woman.
2) If the woman is not betrothed:
EXODUS 22:16-17 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
a) The man used persuasive, but deceitful, means to entice the woman into consenting.
b) They shall be married unless the woman’s father refuses.
c) Whether or not the man married the woman, he shall pay a fine of 50 shekels of silver, which is the dowry of virgins (Exo 22:17; Deu 22:29) because the woman is no longer a virgin.
d) If the woman was betrothed, both would be subject to death (Deu 22:23-24).
3) If the woman is a bondwoman that has been betrothed but not yet redeemed to marry:
LEVITICUS 19:20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged [examined by inquest]; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free.
a) The man shall pay a fine of 50 shekels of silver, which is the dowry of virgins (Exo 22:17; Deu 22:29) because the woman is no longer a virgin.
b) The word for scourged means examination or inquest.
RAPE
If the woman does not consent, it is rape:
DEUTERONOMY 22:25-27 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: 26 But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter: 27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
a) The penalty is death for the man.
If the woman is not betrothed:
DEUTERONOMY 22:28-29 If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29 Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
a) They shall be married.
b) The man shall pay a fine of 50 shekels of silver which is the dowry of virgins (Exo 22:17; Deu 22:29) because the woman is no longer a virgin.
Forbidden sexual relations
Sexual relations or marriage with either legal or blood (consanguineous) relatives are forbidden:
LEVITICUS 18:6 None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness I am the LORD.
Mother:
LEVITICUS 18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
DEUTERONOMY 27:20 Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife; because he uncovereth his father’s skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Father’s wife, even if she is not the real mother (stepmother):
LEVITICUS 18:8 The nakedness of thy father’s wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father’s nakedness.
LEVITICUS 20:11 And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
a) The penalty is death for both the man and woman.
DEUTERONOMY 22:30 A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor discover his father’s skirt.
DEUTERONOMY 27:23 Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Sister even if she is not a blood relative:
LEVITICUS 18:9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
LEVITICUS 18:11 The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
LEVITICUS 20:17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
a) If they both consented, both shall be “cut off in the sight of their people.”
b) If the sister did not consent; only the brother shall be cut off.
DEUTERONOMY 27:22 Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Wife’s mother:
LEVITICUS 20:14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
a) The penalty is death for the man and both women.
Wife’s sister:
LEVITICUS 18:18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
Sister-in-law except in the case of levirate duties (Deut. 25:5):
LEVITICUS 18:16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother’s wife: it is thy brother’s nakedness.
LEVITICUS 20:21 And if a man shall take his brother’s wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother’s nakedness; they shall be childless.
a) The penalty for both the man and woman is to die childless.
Daughter-in-law:
LEVITICUS 18:15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son’s wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
LEVITICUS 20:12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
a) The penalty is death for both the man and woman.
Step-daughter and step-granddaughter:
LEVITICUS 18:17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
Granddaughters:
LEVITICUS 18:10 The nakedness of thy son’s daughter, or of thy daughter’s daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
Sister of father or mother even if she is not a blood relative:
LEVITICUS 18:12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.
LEVITICUS 18:13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister: for she is thy mother’s near kinswoman.
LEVITICUS 18:14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
LEVITICUS 20:19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother’s sister, nor of thy father’s sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.
LEVITICUS 20:20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle’s wife, he hath uncovered his uncle’s nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
a) The penalty for both the man and woman is to die childless.
A menstruating woman:
LEVITICUS 18:19 Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she is put apart for her uncleanness.
LEVITICUS 20:18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
a) The penalty is to be “cut off from among their people.”
Sodomy with animals:
EXODUS 2219 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
LEVITICUS 18:23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto it is confusion.
LEVITICUS 20:15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death and ye shall slay the beast.
LEVITICUS 20:16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
a) The penalty is death.
DEUTERONOMY 2721 Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Homosexuality:
LEVITICUS 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind it is abomination.
LEVITICUS 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
a) The penalty is death for both men.
Prostitution:
LEVITICUS 19:29 Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.
DEUTERONOMY 23:17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
1) Sodomite = male temple prostitute:
2) Money used to hire prostitutes shall not be given to the temple:
DEUTERONOMY 23:18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
a) Dog = male prostitute:
Miscellaneous
The Amalekites shall be destroyed
DEUTERONOMY 25:17-19 Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; 18 How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
Money, Loans, Usury
Daily wages shall be paid before nightfall
LEVITICUS 19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
DEUTERONOMY 24:14-15 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates: 15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
Loans shall be made to help the poor
DEUTERONOMY 13:7-8 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.
1) The loan should cover his need not make him rich.
LEVITICUS 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner [H8453 = resident alien]; that he may live with thee.
Loans to the poor shall not be withheld
DEUTERONOMY 15:7-8 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, [in that] which he wanteth. 9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee. 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. 11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
1) Loans shall be given even if the year of release is near.
2) Loans shall not be given grudgingly.
3) There will always be poor people.
Loans shall not include usury except those made to strangers
DEUTERONOMY 23:19-20 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
1) This seems to be a broader application than Exodus 22:25 and Leviticus 25:35-37.
Loans to the poor shall not include usury whether they are widows, orphans, temporary residents (sojourners) or strangers
EXODUS 22:25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
LEVITICUS 25:35-37 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner [H8453 = resident alien]; that he may live with thee. 36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. 37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
Collateral shall not consist of anything that is necessary for living nor shall it be withheld
EXODUS 22:25-27 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
DEUTERONOMY 24:6 No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.
DEUTERONOMY 24:12-13 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge: 13 In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
DEUTERONOMY 24:17-18 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge: 18 But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
Collateral shall not be forcibly taken by the lender
DEUTERONOMY 24:10-11 When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
Debt shall be released (forgiven) every seven years
DEUTERONOMY 15:1-4 At the end of every seven years thou shalt make a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth ought unto his neighbour shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release. 3 Of a foreigner thou mayest exact it again: but that which is thine with thy brother thine hand shall release; 4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:
1) Does not apply to foreigners.
2) Except when there are no poor who need to borrow.
Oaths & Vows
All vows shall be kept
LEVITICUS 5:4 Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these.
1) Failing to keep a vow even if it was not intentional is a sin.
NUMBERS 30:2 If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
DEUTERONOMY 23:21-23 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. 22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. 23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
1) Making a vow is never compulsory.
Vows in the name of God are enforced by God
JOSHUA 2:1, 8-9, 12-14, 17-21 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there. … 8 ¶And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. … 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. … 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit [freed] of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
JOSHUA 6:17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
Vows of women can be moderated by the father or husband
NUMBERS 30:3-15 If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth; 4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand. 5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 6 And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; 7 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her. 9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. 10 And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; 11 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand. 12 But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her. 13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them. 15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.
Priests & Sacrifices
Priests shall be holy
LEVITICUS 21:6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
LEVITICUS 21:8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the LORD, which sanctify you, am holy.
LEVITICUS 21:12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.
LEVITICUS 22:15-16 And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD; 16 Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
Priests shall not touch a dead body except for immediate family
LEVITICUS 21:1-4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron, and say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people: 2 But for his kin, that is near unto him, that is, for his mother, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, 3 And for his sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled. 4 But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself.
LEVITICUS 21:10-11 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes; 11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother;
Priests shall not serve in the temple is he has a blemish
LEVITICUS 21:16-23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17 Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. 18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, 19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, 20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken; 21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. 22 He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. 23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.
1) A priest with a blemish may eat of the showbread.
Priests shall not serve in the temple or eat of the showbread if he is unclean
LEVITICUS 22:2-9 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD. 3 Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD. 4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him; 5 Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath; 6 The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water. 7 And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food. 8 That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD. 9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.
1) The penalty for an unclean priest entering the temple is to be “cut off from my presence.” This could include death because of the example of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10:1-2).
Priests shall not engage in pagan practices
LEVITICUS 21:5 They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
Priests shall only marry a virgin of the Israelites
LEVITICUS 21:13-15 And he shall take a wife in her virginity. 14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. 15 Neither shall he profane his seed among his people: for I the LORD do sanctify him.
Priests shall not marry a whore, unclean, or divorced
LEVITICUS 21:7 They shall not take a wife that is a whore, or profane; neither shall they take a woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
A daughter of a priest shall be killed if she is a whore
LEVITICUS 21:9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.
Strangers and hired servants shall not eat of the temple sacrifices
LEVITICUS 22:10 There shall no stranger [H8453 = resident alien] eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.
The family of a priest may eat of the sacrifices
LEVITICUS 22:11 But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.
A priest’s daughter that is married to a stranger shall not eat the sacrifices unless she is widowed or divorced, childless, and living with her father
LEVITICUS 22:12-13 If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger [H2114 = profaner], she may not eat of an offering of the holy things. 13 But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof.
A non-priest that accidentally eats the sacrifices belonging to the priesthood shall give full restitution plus 20%
LEVITICUS 22:14 And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing.
Blemished animals shall not accepted as a sacrifice
LEVITICUS 22:18-25 Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering; 19 Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. 20 But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. 21 And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. 22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. 23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 24 Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. 25 Neither from a stranger’s [H5236 = foreigner’s or traveler’s] hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.
Animals shall not be sacrificed unless they are at least eight days old
LEVITICUS 22:26 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
The mother and her baby shall not be killed in the same day
LEVITICUS 22:28 And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day.
A sacrifice must be eaten the same day
LEVITICUS 22:29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the LORD.
Property Damage
Property damage requires restitution
EXODUS 22:5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
Property damage by fire requires restitution
EXODUS 22:6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
Damage to property entrusted to the care of someone else
EXODUS 22:10-13 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. 12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
1) If the person was innocent of embezzlement and the property was lost or damaged under unforeseen circumstances, no penalty is administered.
Damage to borrowed property requires restitution
EXODUS 22:14 And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
1) This case assumes the owner is not present and, therefore, not being used by the man.
2) Restitution is required even if the damage was accidental.
Damage to rented property does not require restitution
EXODUS 22:15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
1) The owner hired it out so he is responsible for his own property.
Relationships
Help your enemies
EXODUS 23:4-5 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
Help your neighbor
DEUTERONOMY 22:1-3 Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. 2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. 3 In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother’s, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself.
DEUTERONOMY 22:4 Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
Honor your parents
EXODUS 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
LEVITICUS 19:3a Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, …
DEUTERONOMY 5:16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Love your neighbor
LEVITICUS 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
1) This requires confronting a neighbor with any problems.
LEVITICUS 19:18b … but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Respect the elderly
LEVITICUS 19:32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
Respect the leaders
EXODUS 22:28 Thou shalt not revile the gods [judges], nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Strangers shall not be oppressed
EXODUS 22:21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
EXODUS 23:9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
LEVITICUS 19:33-34 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. 34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
DEUTERONOMY 10:18-19 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Widows and orphans shall not be afflicted
EXODUS 22:22-24 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
DEUTERONOMY 10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Remember the Law
The law shall be studied in the morning and at night
DEUTERONOMY 6:6-7 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Fringes with a blue ribbon shall be worn on the four corners of a cloak
NUMBERS 15:38-40 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
DEUTERONOMY 22:12 Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
The law shall be bound on the hand and between the eyes
DEUTERONOMY 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
The law shall be written on the doorposts of the house
DEUTERONOMY 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Sabbath
Sabbath-keeping is commanded
EXODUS 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
1) The Sabbath is holy.
EXODUS 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
1) Everyone shall observe the Sabbath, including hired servants, bondservants, and animals.
LEVITICUS 19:3b …and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God.
LEVITICUS 19:30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
LEVITICUS 26:2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
DEUTERONOMY 5:12-15 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
Sabbath violations:
EXODUS 31:13-17 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
1) The penalty for working on the Sabbath is death.
EXODUS 34:21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
1) The Sabbath is to be observed even during the times of plowing and harvesting:
EXODUS 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
1) The Sabbath is holy.
2) The penalty for working on the Sabbath is death.
NUMBERS 15:32-36 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
EXODUS 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
Servants, Bondservants, Slaves
A poor Israelite could be a bondservant (slave)
LEVITICUS 25:39-42 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant [slave]: 40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: 41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. 42 For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.
1) Hired servants shall be released in the Jubilee year.
2) Hired servants were not to be treated as bondservants (slaves).
3) Bondservants could only be bought of foreigners except in the case of theft (Exodus 22:2-3).
A hired servant could not be treated as a slave
LEVITICUS 25:43, 44b Thou shalt not rule over him [a hired servant] with rigour; but shalt fear thy God. … but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
A hired servant had to released after six years
EXODUS 21:2-4 If thou buy an Hebrew [hired] servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
1) “Free for nothing” means the hired servant does not have to pay the owner to be released nor does the master have to pay the hired servant.
2) If the bondservant was married prior to being sold, his wife and children shall be released with him.
3) If the owner gave the bondservant a wife from among his bondservants, they are bonded to the owner and he is not obligated to release them.
DEUTERONOMY 15:12-15, 18 And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. 13 And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: 14 Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. 15 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day. … 18 It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in serving thee six years: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.
1) Hired servants shall be given generous gifts when released.
2) Hired servants shall not be released grudgingly.
A hired servant may refuse to be released
EXODUS 21:5-6 And if the [hired] servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
1) Hired servants whose ear was pierced had their term of service extended for life are not freed during the Jubilee year (v17).
DEUTERONOMY 15:16-17 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee; 17 Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.
A bondservant that sustains a permanent injury shall be freed
EXODUS 21:26-27 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. 27 And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
An owner that kills his bondservant shall be punished
EXODUS 21:20-21 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he continue [recovers in] a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
1) The owner is not punished if the bondservant recovers.
Women could be sold for the purpose of marriage
EXODUS 21:7-11 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. 8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. 9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. 10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. 11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
Only a non-Isralite could be made a slave
LEVITICUS 25:44-46a Both thy bondmen [male slaves], and thy bondmaids [female slaves], which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen [male slaves] and bondmaids [female slaves]. 45 Moreover of the children of the strangers [H8453 = resident aliens] that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. 46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen [male slaves] for ever: …
1) A bondservant of non-Israelites remained in servitude for life and were even transferred to the owner’s inheritors.
2) An Israelite could be made a slave only in the case of theft (Exodus 22:2-3).
A foreign slave that escapes shall be given refuge
DEUTERONOMY 23:15-16 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the [slave] which is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 He shall dwell with thee [in Israel], even among you [in Israel], in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
1) This is a bondservant that has escaped from another country (v16).
Tithes
Tithes belong to God and are holy
LEVITICUS 27:30, 32 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD. … 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
Tithes are mandatory
EXODUS 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. …
EXODUS 34:26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. …
DEUTERONOMY 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Tithes are 10% of the increase
DEUTERONOMY 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Tithes are on all grains, fruits, herds, and flocks
LEVITICUS 27:30-33 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD. 31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. 33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
1) Animals shall be selected at random.
Tithes shall be of the choicest and best things
NUMBERS 18:12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.
NUMBERS 18:30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.
Tithes and offerings shall not to be withheld
EXODUS 22:29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: …
Tithes support and provide for the Levites
NUMBERS 18:20-24 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. 21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. 22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. 23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. 24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
DEUTERONOMY 12:19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
DEUTERONOMY 14:27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.
Tithes support and provide for the Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows
DEUTERONOMY 14:28-29 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: 29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.
1) Tithes are mandatory (v28 – shalt).
DEUTERONOMY 26:12-15 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; 13 Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them: 14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. 15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
1) God commands His people to remind Him of His promises to bless those who faithfully tithe.
Tithes allowed for personal use shall be used only in the place where God chooses
DEUTERONOMY 12:5-7, 11, 17-18 But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: 6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: 7 And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee. … 11 Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: … 17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand: 18 But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.
DEUTERONOMY 14:23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
Tithes allowed for personal use can be converted to money if the journey is too far
DEUTERONOMY 14:24-26 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
Tithes may be redeemed by adding 20% to the value
LEVITICUS 27:31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.
1) Anyone or anything that has been devoted to God cannot be redeemed:
LEVITICUS 27:28 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.
1) There is a difference between sanctified and devoted. Something sanctified is clean/set apart for holy use and can be redeemed by the owner whereas devoted is in the sense of permanently transferred. The word devoted used only in Leviticus 27:21, 28-29; Numbers 18:14; Psalms 119:38.
a) Sanctified = set apart.
b) Devoted = dedicated.
The Levites shall give a tithe of the tithes they receive to support and provide for the Aaronic priests
NUMBERS 18:25-32 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. 27 And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress. 28 Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’S heave offering to Aaron the priest. 29 Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. 30 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress. 31 And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation. 32 And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have heaved from it the best of it: neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest ye die.
War
God fights our battles
DEUTERONOMY 20:1-4 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, 3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; 4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
Exemptions from fighting
DEUTERONOMY 20:5-9 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. 6 And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. 7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. 8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart. 9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.
1) Exemptions:
a) Those with a new house,
b) Those with With a new vineyard,
c) Those who are betrothed,
d) Those who are fearful.
Peace must be offered before attacking
DEUTERONOMY 20:10-12 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. 11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. 12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
Non-Canaanite cities required killing only the males
DEUTERONOMY 20:13-15 And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: 14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. 15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
1) Only the men were to be killed.
2) The women, children, animals, and spoil belonged to the Israelites.
3) “These nations” are those listed in Deuteronomy 20:17.
Canaanite cities required killing all inhabitants
DEUTERONOMY 20:16-18 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: 17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: 18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
1) Everyone was to be killed.
Only trees that didn’t produce fruit could be cut down when besieging a city
DEUTERONOMY 20:19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege: 20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
The army shall not commit the atrocities typical of so many others, including everything from pillaging to rape
DEUTERONOMY 23:9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
Marriage to a woman captured in war requires she be allowed to grieve her family for one month
DEUTERONOMY 21:10-14 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, 11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; 12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. 14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
1) If the marriage fails, she shall not be sold.
Worship
God shall be first in our lives
DEUTERONOMY 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
DEUTERONOMY 6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
DEUTERONOMY 10:12-13 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
DEUTERONOMY 10:20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
DEUTERONOMY 11:1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
DEUTERONOMY 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
DEUTERONOMY 11:22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
DEUTERONOMY 13:4 Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
DEUTERONOMY 13:18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD thy God.
DEUTERONOMY 15:5 Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.
DEUTERONOMY 26:16-19 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments; 19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.
DEUTERONOMY 30:19-20 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 “that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
JOSHUA 22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
People are to be holy just as God is holy
LEVITICUS 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
DEUTERONOMY 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
Pray and bless God after meals for the good land
DEUTERONOMY 8:10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
People excluded from entering the congregation of the Lord
Any man with injured testicles or who was wounded in his testicles or had his penis cut off:
DEUTERONOMY 23:1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
A bastard:
DEUTERONOMY 23:2 A bastard [one of non-Israelite parent or parents] shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
Children of Edomite and Egyptian proselytes until after 3 generations:
DEUTERONOMY 23:7-8 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. 8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
Ammonites and Moabites until after 10 generations:
DEUTERONOMY 23:3-6 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: 4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. 5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. 6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
a) The Israelites are also not to help them (v6) because of verse 4.
APPENDIX A
Primer on Applying the Laws
While none of God’s laws have been abolished, many believe there are laws that do not apply to certain people. For example, many generally disregard the "ceremonial" or Temple laws reasoning that they only apply to the priests. Others claim that laws pertaining to agriculture and animals only apply to farmers and ranchers. Is that the case? Jesus Christ came to FULLY TEACH us ALL the laws so what is His expectation of us? Let us examine how some laws might still apply even though we may not be temple priests or ranchers.
MUZZLING AN OX THAT TREADS OUT THE GRAIN:
DEUTERONOMY 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.
Does this apply only if you own an ox and use it to tread grain? If the ox is fed either before or after the grain is threshed does the law still prohibit muzzling it? It this law about animal abuse? It would be difficult to argue that the ox is being abused or harmed if it is fed and watered before treading the grain, so is it a sin to muzzle it? Obviously, there is more to this so it is important to learn how to think of the law.
1 CORINTHIANS 9:1-14 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do we have no right to eat and drink? 5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock? 8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about? 10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? 14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.Paul says those who labor by preaching the gospel have the right (vv 4, 5, 12) to receive the physical things necessary for life (he does not say wages!). He likens this to the army that supports the soldier, farmer or shepherd who reaps the produce of his work, and the priests and Levites who reaped from the sacrificial offerings. Then, when one might think he would try to prove his point by referring to scriptures mandating tithes and offerings to the priests, he refers to the scripture in Deuteronomy 25:4 that prohibits muzzling an ox! Paul says it is not about the ox but about people (vv 9-10).
Paul understands the statute not just about the welfare of an animal but the spiritual intent provides for the needs of people.
CIRCUMCISION
One of the lively discussions that confronted the apostles in the early days was the statute of circumcision and Paul successfully argued against the Gentiles having to perform it. Does that mean the statute has been abolished?
ROMANS 2:25-29 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law [those who are not circumcised naturally obey the law], judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh [circumcision is more than something done outside a man’s body]; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and [true] circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter [obedience is more than keeping the law in the letter]; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Paul is not saying the statute of circumcision has been abolished but that it is a spiritual circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit, not a physical one. Paul says this statute is spiritual because the spiritual covenant applies to spiritual Jews which includes physical gentiles. Like the statutes regarding the priesthood, the symbols changed but it remains a statute. What is the purpose of circumcision?
GENESIS 17:11 “and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
KINDLING A FIRE ON THE SABBATH
EXODUS 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
What about in the dead of winter? Does this people with fireplaces to be without heat? Perhaps a case could be made for cutting the wood they need before the Sabbath but that does not quite answer the question. What about Jews today who do not drive a car since the engine burns gasoline or leave the stove on all day to keep food warm rather than turn on a burner? (Many modern ovens even have a ‘Sabbath’ setting!) Is not getting dressed on the Sabbath more work than turning a knob on the stove? Does "kindle" means to ignite or burn. All of these are rather inane arguments (except, perhaps, chopping all your wood and preparing of your food as much as practical prior to the Sabbath).
PSALM 57:4 4 My soul is among lions; I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
What about a brother or sister who becomes visibly and verbally angry at someone during the Sabbath? That would be a complete distraction from the peace and worship of God. That ‘kindles a fire’ on the Sabbath which is so much worse than turning on a stove or oven. This statute is not to make the Sabbath uncomfortably cold in the winter or to make cooking difficult but has a spiritual intent. All unnecessary work must be avoided on the Sabbath, but it is much more important to avoid kindling fires of dissention and conflict. The spiritual intent of this statute has less to do with turning on a stove and more with avoiding fires of spiritual destruction.
CLOTHES
DEUTERONOMY 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Does this mean that women cannot wear pants? What about men who wear kilts in Scotland? Where in the Bible does it say that only a man can wear something that wraps around both his legs? This scripture is not about dresses versus pants, it is about gender identity and gender-appropriate clothing. There should be a distinct difference between men’s and women’s clothing that are appropriate for each gender.
DIVERSITY
Plants:
DEUTERONOMY 22:9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers [Heb. kil’ayim = heterogeneity] seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled [ceremonially or morally unclean].
a) Heteroneity = dissimilar or diverse elements such as oil and water.
“Mixing dissimilar seeds was an ancient Zabian idolatrous practice in their magical rites. However, it is also harmful to flowers and grains because cross-pollination always produces an inferior seed, unlike either of the two grains that produced it. This contributes to poor size, flavor, and nutrition while contributing to disease of the soil.”—Jamieson, Fausset, & Brown Commentary.
While there are aspects of idolatry and ruination of plant quality, notice the last part of the verse. It says it defiles the plants by making them ceremonially or morally unclean. How can that be?
Animals:
DEUTERONOMY 22:10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
Some try to explain this in physical terms. One argument was that the manure of an ox and donkey were different and could adversely affect the crops. The truth is this verse applies to both man and animal. In the case of farming, they are two different animals possessing different strengths, sizes, and speed. It would not make much sense to try to pull a plow with them together because it would be imbalanced. These two animals will not work well together.
People:
DEUTERONOMY 22:11 “You shall not wear a garment of different sorts [wool and linen spun together], such as wool and linen mixed together.
This statute covers all kinds of garments woven with diverse materials. Wool and linen are mentioned because the wool would cause the priests to sweat (Ezek. 44:17-18). The priests had also become involved in Baal worship that included wearing cloths woven with diverse materials (Zeph. 1:4, 8).
Diversity explained:
What is behind these statutes on diversity? Is God concerned with incompatible animals or clothing? Or is God concerned with people and helping them to make wise decisions in their lives. Does a law about garments have any real importance? Whether scripture is talking about dissimilar seeds, oxen and donkeys, or wool and linen these are all examples of diverse things that oppose each other. If we apply them to people of different cultures and beliefs, we can see they are spiritual principles in the same way that muzzling an ox is a spiritual principle about labor of people and not as much about the ox.
Paul recognized that there were people who would be incompatible together for cultural or religious differences and referred to these scriptures to explain it:
2 CORINTHIANS 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
a) Paul was referring to Deuteronomy 22:10.
Paul says righteousness is to lawlessness and light is to darkness in the same way wool is to linen and crops sown with dissimilar seeds. It is about incompatible diversities (heterogeneity).
Fulfilling the Law
The statutes of inheritance might not seem to apply to those who are not the firstborn in a family; however, spiritually all will be the firstborn children of God. The statutes on slavery do not apply to those who do not own or are not a slave, but they are still applicable because they apply to people hired for a job.
Even laws pertaining to the priesthood can apply. For example, the statute requiring the priests to wash prior to donning their white linen garments and entering the tabernacle can apply today. They are a reminder to have a clean (holy) heart and mind before God. All are to cleanse their minds and draw close to God through prayer before coming to worship the Most High on the Sabbath.
God’s statutes cover a vast array of topics but Jesus said all the Law hang on the two great commandments—to love God and to love mankind and every law has a physical application but must be brought to a spiritual fullness! Let me say that again. All the Law is derived from the two great agape commandments. None of the Law has been eliminated and all the Law still applies because it is to be fulfilled spiritually through agape love. The statutes are much more than strict rules with physical applications. All the Law has spiritual components because they pertain to relationships with God and mankind. One of the most important points Jesus Christ made in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 was to look beyond the letter of the Law by fulfilling the spiritual intent of it!
Some make a mistake with God’s statutes by trying to distinguish them as either laws or principles. The argument is that laws are fixed whereas principles are optional. However, this is reversed because God’s laws have a spiritual fulfillment. God’s Laws are flexible and can be applied to various situations whereas the principles are clearly defined as the fulfillment of agape love.
