Latest Commentaries

The elders of Israel are called to come before the LORD for worship. Moses recounts the LORD’s ordinances to the people, who repeat their promise to obey.

Here are rules concerning lending money to the poor and statutes relating to a person’s relationship to the LORD.

Here are various offenses against persons and against God’s order. This passage deals with the consequences for someone living a life disloyal to the covenant. The LORD prohibits the abuse of society’s vulnerable-strangers, widows, and orphans.

These statutes concern property that is damaged in the care of someone entrusted with safekeeping it by the owner, or someone borrowing it from the owner.

These are judgements for damage done to someone’s grazing fields and vineyards. Such damage could adversely affect or ruin the livelihood of the owner.

These are the judgements for theft.

This passage is concerned with other things that could cause injury to a person and their livelihood. A violent ox, the loss of livestock by negligence, or one ox killing another.

Here are the judgements for four instances of violence done to a person where the victim does not die. The four instances are: violence between free people, violence done to servants, violence done to a pregnant woman which causes the loss of her baby, and bodily injury to a servant.

Violent acts perpetuated against another person require capital punishment. The persons in view here are free and not servants. There are four crimes described in these verses.

The first section of the Book of the Covenant concerns how male and female servants (or slaves) were to be treated.

So begins a section known as the Book of the Covenant. It contains 42 judgments.

Many scholars think that Exodus 20:22-26 comprises the first part of a larger section called "the Book of the Covenant" (Exodus 24:7), which starts here and extends through Exodus 23:33. It contains forty-two judgments (Exodus 21:1-23:12) and ends just like it begins — a prohibition against idolatry (Exodus 23:13).

The LORD manifested Himself in thunder, lightning, and smoke. The Israelites looked on in great dread, so much so that they asked Moses to speak to them instead of having the LORD speak to them. Moses replied that the LORD’s presence was a test to see if they would obey Him and not sin.

The 10th commandment is to not yearn or lust for that which belonged to others.

The 9th commandment is to protect a person from harm based on untrue accusations.

The 8th commandment protects the private property of each person.

The 7th commandment prohibits sexual intercourse between a married person and another person, married or unmarried.

The 6th commandment prohibits a person from the immoral taking of another person’s life.

The 5th commandment speaks of respecting one’s parents.

The 4th commandment is to keep the sabbath day holy. Keeping the sabbath was introduced earlier in the book of Exodus (16:23-29) and is established here. It is the only commandment that was given to the Israelites before it was established in the Ten Commandments. It is also mentioned more in the Mosaic Law than any other commandment.