Levítico 19
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Levítico 19
Spurgeon - Leviticus 19:16, 17 (Morning and Evening) "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people … Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him. " - Leviticus 19:16, 17 - Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report be true or false, we are by this precept of God's Word forbidden to spread it. The reputations of the Lord's people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it shame to help the devil to dishonor the Church and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur. Many glory in pulling down their brethren, as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah's wise sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be this our family rule, and our personal bond-SPEAK EVIL OF NO MAN. The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin, and prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done by rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his back. This course is manly, brotherly, Christlike, and under God's blessing will be useful. Does the flesh shrink from it? Then we must lay the greater stress upon our conscience, and keep ourselves to the work, lest by suffering sin upon our friend we become ourselves partakers of it. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings of faithful ministers and brethren. Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with erring friends in his warning given to Peter, the prayer with which he preceded it, and the gentle way in which he bore with Peter's boastful denial that he needed such a caution. George Bush - Leviticus 19 Commentary Against Tale-bearing 16. Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people. Heb. לא תלך רכיל lo telek râkil. The original רכיל rakil properly signifies a trader, a pedlar, and is here applied to one who travels up and down dealing in slanders and detractions, as a merchant does in wares, possessing himself of the secrets of individuals and of families, and then blazing them abroad, usually with a false coloring as to motives, and a distortion of facts. In the Septuagint the Heb. is rendered, Prov. 11:13, and 20:19, by a word signifying ‘double-tongued;’ and in the New Testament the term seems to be διαβολος diabolos, false accuser, slanderer, calumniator. The Chal. renders the present passage ‘Thou shalt not divulge accusations, or detractions, among the people.’ In this sense the word is employed Dan. 6:24, in reference to ‘the men which had accused (διαβολαντας slandered) Daniel,’ and analogous to this the common name applied to the Devil in Greek is διαβολος diabolos, from his character of calumniator and ‘accuser of the brethren,’ denominated in the Syriac, Matt. 4:1, 5, 8, &c., a ‘divulger of accusations.’ Neither shalt thou stand against the blood, &c. That is, thou shalt neither be a false witness to the endangering of a man’s life, nor shalt thou stand by and see thy neighbor injured, crushed, ruined, and perhaps his life taken, without an effort to save him. This precept is joined with the preceding, because tale-bearing, by sowing discord and breeding broils in society often led to the shedding of blood. Thus Ezek. 22:9, ‘In thee are men that carry tales to shed blood.’ The case of Doeg, 1 Sam. 22:9, 18, is one singularly in point in the present instance,’ Then answered Doeg the Edomite, which was set over the servants of Saul, and said, I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Abimelech the son of Ahitub, &c. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and fell upon the priests, and slew in that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod.’ Leviticus 18; 19:9–18 Sexual Ethics and Economic Justice - Entire denominations are fracturing over the issue of homosexuality in the church, some defending traditional biblical interpretations that forbid homosexual practice, others going so far as to ordain practicing homosexuals. Today’s reading confronts us with sexual ethics. What is and is not forbidden? Clearly, this passage protects marriage and prohibits the practices of incest, homosexuality, adultery, and any sexual contact between humans and animals. These are associated with the cultural mores of the heathen nations, most specifically Egypt and Canaan (vv. 23–30). God insists that He is their God, and they must obey His authority. He intends they be a holy people, distinctive not only because of the way they worship but also for how they conduct their relationships. His prohibitions aren’t exclusive to regulating private, intimate relationships; He also insists on fair business practice and just economic policy. It’s important to notice that both are equally important to God. Obedience, both in the private and public sector, is an expression of fearing the Lord and acknowledging that He is witness to everything we do—in the bedroom as well as in the field. Provision is made to care for the poor and the immigrant. God’s people were to be lax when harvesting and gleaning; what they left behind after a first gleaning was to be left for the poor. All relationships were to depend on the principles of fairness and honesty. Employers were required to pay fair wages. Everyone was commanded to care for the less fortunate and the handicapped. The essence of the Law is summarized in verse 18: "Love your neighbor as yourself." To keep sexual expression within the confines of marriage, to take care of the marginalized—these were ways to honor the Lord and honor one another. Apply the Word - As Christians, we are right to defend the sacredness of marriage. But just as vehemently, we must also speak up against injustice such as global poverty, racial discrimination, and economic injustice. As reflected in our passage today, we see God’s great concern for both sets of issues, neither of which should be ignored. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. - Leviticus 19:18 In 1988, Robert Fulghum made the literary claim, “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten.” The main idea behind his essay was that since the governing principles of life—sharing, being nice, cleaning up after yourself, and maintaining a sense of wonder—are taught at the earliest stages of social development, the lessons should be obvious to us throughout our lives. Fulghum's observations made his book of essays an instant success and put it atop the best seller list for almost two years. So how could a book of such elementary rules come as new information to adults? Because selfish pursuits tend to distract us from the truth that we expect our young children to grasp. And selfish pursuits are the favorite pastime of humankind. When God delivered the law to Israel through Moses, it was one of the first acts of spelling out such a comprehensive list of laws for men. But even without the law, the human conscience has always informed men about what is right and wrong in God's eyes (Rom. 2:14-15). So commandments such as “Do not deceive one another” (v. 11) and “Do not defraud your neighbor” (v. 13) hardly came as a surprise to Israel. Still, having the commandments in writing gave a permanence and finality that any man, woman, or child could understand. Among the precepts found in this chapter is an interesting command against overly thorough harvesting. Not only were the people to give a tenth of their harvest as a tithe to the Lord (Lev. 27:30), but they were also to leave whatever part of their crop remained after the first pass. It was a gesture of generosity shown to the poor and vagrants passing through the land. You might remember that Ruth would later become the beneficiary of that particular bit of legislation (Ruth 2). In this way, a provision intended for the poor gave food to a woman from whom the kings of Israel, and the King of Kings, would descend. TODAY ALONG THE WAY Another command found in this passage is also one of the hardest to obey: the warning against carrying anger and the exhortation to rebuke a neighbor's sin. It sounds so simple, but it requires a mature control over our emotions. If a neighbor is in sin, even if he or she sins against you, you must avoid both the temptation to dwell on your anger and the desire to look the other way completely. Ask the Lord for the courage and the control to confront the person lovingly. Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. - Leviticus 18:5 One morning at breakfast, four-year-old Hannah complained about the food in front of her. Her dad admonished her not to gripe, especially when so many people in the world are starving or struggling to get enough to eat. Her mom later said, “She quietly soaked in the comments. Later that day she came to me with the entire contents of her piggy bank: $3.47. She said, 'I’d like to give this to the Salvation Army to help the poor people.’ We were humbled and thankful.” Several of the miscellaneous rules in today’s reading show God’s heart for justice and the poor (cf. Ps. 146:7, 8, 9). For example, harvesters were commanded not to reap their fields completely, but to leave enough for poor people to glean food. Employers were instructed to pay out daily wages to their hired men, since they relied on the money to provide immediate needs for their families. Before God, every person stands equal, and the same should hold true in human law: “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly” (Leviticus 19:15). Other rules listed here include provisions to protect those who may be weaker or less able to protect themselves. For example, people were not to discriminate against impaired individuals, including the deaf and blind. They were to show proper respect and care for the elderly. They were also to give fair treatment to non-Israelites who lived with them, which would have been quite unusual in that day and age (Leviticus 19:33, 34). Some of these commands are repetitions of rules stated previously, including the Ten Commandments and instructions for the sacrifices. Others reinforced moral or spiritual points, such as the dictate against witchcraft and the instructions that prevented the Israelites from following pagan cultic practices (Leviticus 19:27, 28). TODAY ALONG THE WAY In this reading we have seen provisions in the Law for the well-being of the poor. Can you come up with a modern application? Leviticus 19:1–8, 19–37 The Language of Sin and Holiness in Leviticus Author and journalist A. J. Jacobs, who describes himself as a nominal Jew, devoted an entire year to obeying every one of the 613 Old Testament laws. His book, The Year of Living Biblically, describes his quest to "follow the Bible as literally as possible … without picking and choosing." (ED: HOW SAD IS THIS ATTEMPT TO DO WHAT ONLY A PERSON WITH A SPIRIT ENABLED HEART CAN TRULY DO IN A WAY THAT PLEASES THE LORD - cf Ezekiel 36:26-27). Leviticus 19 gives us a glimpse at the challenge that A. J. Jacobs faced and the questions he must have asked along the way. Some of the Levitical commands seem logical, such as the ones governing sexual practice and condemning idol worship. Other commands, like those that forbid a field be sown with two kinds of seed or those that insist on certain hairstyles, seem utterly strange. What could God have meant in all this seemingly haphazard, "Thou shall," and "Thou shall not"? We turn to Leviticus 19 to introduce us, not only to the complexities of studying this book but also to its evident themes. Some things are clear. First, the book of Leviticus is a book where God, as the holy authority over His people, is at the center. The phrase, "And the Lord said to Moses," becomes its familiar refrain. These words spoken are God’s words. These commands are God’s. The authority is His and His alone, and His authority is grounded in His work of redemptive love and rescue. Clear categories that emerge in the book of Leviticus: the clean and the unclean, the holy and the profane. In essence, as much as the holiness of God takes center stage in Leviticus, alongside it is the chronic reminder of humanity’s sin. What Leviticus does is to provide prescriptions, given by God, for bridging the divide and bringing sinful men and women near to Him. Leviticus is not only law but grace—an expression of the gracious inclination of God to provide a means for atonement. Apply the Word - Jacobs makes no claims to be a "believer" after his year’s experiment. But he must have discovered the sheer impossibility of keeping even one of God’s commands. In the book of James, we’re reminded, "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it" (James 2:10). What desperate need we have for a Savior! THOUGHT: THIS BEGS THE QUESTION - ARE YOU "TRYING HARD" TO LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE OR ARE YOU "DYING DAILY" AND YIELDING TO THE SPIRIT, WHO ALONE CAN ENABLE YOU TO LIVE A SUPERNATURAL "LEVITICUS 19" LIFE? TODAY IN THE WORD Leviticus 19:10, 33-35; 26:27-45 Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt. - Exodus 23:9 Anyone who has ever traveled knows how vulnerable the experience of being an “alien,” or foreigner, can be. This is particularly true if you don't speak the native language. It's easy to feel misunderstood, or even wonder if you're being taken advantage of somehow. For most of us, such experiences are temporary. There were, however, a number of alien residents within Israel, and we see the Lord's concern for these foreigners throughout the Mosaic Law. Leviticus 19 is sometimes called the Community Code, because of its focus on farming and commercial practices, but it's also part of a larger section called the Holiness Code (Lev. 17-26). The placement of Leviticus 19 within the Holiness Code shows that every part of life in Israel somehow concerned holiness, even treatment of foreigners. In Leviticus 19:10, we find instructions to leave some grapes for the poor and the alien, revealing God's heart for those most vulnerable to deprivation and exploitation. It was often difficult for foreigners to make a living, because they didn't have inheritance rights or access to land. We will see a similar provision for foreigners in the story of Ruth (see Dt. 24:19, 20, 21, 22). The basis for Israel's treatment of foreigners was the remembrance of what it was like to be a foreigner in Egypt (Leviticus 19:33, 34). The passage from Leviticus 26 outlines the disaster that would befall the nation if it failed to keep God's ordinances. First, notice the horror of exile; instead of blessing the nations, Israel would be scattered among them to die (vv. 33, 38). This was the complete reversal of the covenant blessings and the consequence of failing to be the kind of witness the nation was intended to be. Second, notice the link between Israel's actions and God's reputation among the nations. We have already seen how the nations “watched” as God delivered Israel from Egypt. In a similar way, God's faithfulness to His covenant promises could be observed by all the nations. Thus even when Israel sinned, God would remember His covenant “in the sight of the nations” (v. 45). TODAY ALONG THE WAY It's surprising how much of the Pentateuch addresses the concerns of foreigners. Using a concordance, look up “alien,” “foreigner,” and “stranger.” What are some of the specific concerns that are addressed? Ask yourself who the foreigners are in your midst. At one level, this could include anyone outside the body of Christ, but it could also include those from another country. Perhaps there are international students at a nearby college that you could befriend. Or maybe your church could help foreigners learn English. TODAY IN THE WORD Leviticus 19:35-36; Proverbs 16:11-13 The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight. - Proverbs 11:1 During the 1860 presidential campaign, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune sent Abraham Lincoln a biographical sketch to review before it was published. Among other information, the article said that Lincoln had read the Greek writer Plutarch. Lincoln returned the sketch to the reporter, telling him that although he had not read any of Plutarch’s writings before, he had read some since, so that the statement could be printed as accurate. “A scrupulous teller of the truth,” the reporter said of the future president. There’s only one way to be honest, and that’s to be scrupulously honest. It’s hard to imagine what our culture would be like if this principle were applied across the board in the workplace. In the law, God gave Israel the best reason of all for practicing honesty in business: “I am the LORD your God.” The Proverbs even say that the scales and weights used in business in that day were of God’s making, elevating honesty to a spiritual issue. The reference to kings and their love of honesty (Leviticus 19:12, 13) applies to leaders who really care about the way their kingdoms are run. A leadership based on righteousness and honesty will honor God and will likely be rewarded with honor in return. John the Baptist was another “scrupulous teller of the truth” to the people who came out to hear him, and they were convicted by his message (Luke 3:7-14). Tax collectors were infamous for padding their accounts, and Roman soldiers were known to strong arm people for money. John called both groups to be honest in their work as a sign of true spiritual repentance (Luke 3:13, 14). Some people’s honesty, or lack thereof, may make the world’s headlines. But God cares deeply how we respond in everyday situations, whether it’s telling the truth or refusing to “borrow” supplies from the office. He takes note of our actions and rewards accordingly. TODAY ALONG THE WAY Another word for honesty is integrity, a quality in short supply today. Leviticus 19:17 'You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. KJV 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. NET Leviticus 19:17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him. BGT Leviticus 19:17 οὐ μισήσεις τὸν ἀδελφόν σου τῇ διανοίᾳ σου ἐλεγμῷ ἐλέγξεις τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ οὐ λήμψῃ δι᾽ αὐτὸν ἁμαρτίαν NLT Leviticus 19:17 "Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. ESV Leviticus 19:17 "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. NIV Leviticus 19:17 " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. hate (KJV): Ge 27:41 Pr 26:24-26 1Jn 2:9,11 3:12-15 rebuke (KJV): Ps 141:5 Pr 9:8 27:5,6 Mt 18:15-17 Lu 17:3 Ga 2:11-14 6:1 Eph 5:11 1Ti 5:20 2Ti 4:2 Tit 1:13 2:15 and not suffer sin upon him (KJV): or, that thou bear not sin for him, Ro 1:32 1Co 5:2 1Ti 5:22 2Jn 1:10,11 You shall not hate your fellow countryman (brother) in your heart Leon Hyatt - Hate crime is a controversial subject in American today. God made, not an act done out of hate, but hate itself to be a crime in Israel. Instead of hating another person who had done wrong, the Israelites were admonished to rebuke that person, with a view to turning him away from his sin. Correcting him could help him turn away from his sin, but hating him would make the sin press even harder upon him. Sin would even harden him in his sin or arouse guilt that would make his sin an even heavier burden for him to bear. This verse uses the word “brother,” which had been used in verses 13 and 16, and then parallels it with the word “fellowman,” which had been used in verse 15. It is best not to quibble over the difference in meaning among the words “neighbor,” “associate,” and “brother.” All of them should be understood to mean “anyone.” God wants us to be fair, honest, and helpful to everyone. We should not try to confine our being kind and thoughtful to any one group, large or small. Merrill on in your heart - The Hebrew noun means "inner man, mind, will, heart" [BDB, 523]. It is a rich term that can speak not only of the internal organ known as the heart but in its abstract represents the totality of man's inner or immaterial part, the rational part of man. The majority of its uses are of the latter nature and it is always used this way in its three occurrences in Leviticus (here, Lev 26:36, 41). The false concept that the OT dealt merely with outward actions cannot be sustained when one considers such verses as this one. This command is satisfied not merely by not doing something hurtful to one's neighbor (Lev. 19:16 and preceding verses), but as the following sentence points out, it involves doing that which is helpful to him. The use of the term "brother" in the sentence under consideration occurs between two sentences that use two different terms for neighbor. It appears that there is no attempt to differentiate between a neighbor and a blood relative (i.e., brother) but rather all appear to refer to those of the community. This is substantiated by the following verse (see below). This same concept is specifically dealt with in the NT in 1John 2:9, 11; 3:15; 4:20. (The Bible Knowledge Word Study - Gen-Deut) you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. George Bush - Leviticus 19 Commentary 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart. That is, thou shalt not conceal thy hatred against him for any wrong that he has done thee; but shall mildly yet faithfully rebuke him, endeavoring to convince him of the wrong, and to bring him both to acknowledge his sin before God, and to make the adequate reparation. The Jews explain the precept thus: ‘When any man sinneth against another, he must not inwardly hate him and keep silence; as it is said of the wicked, And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, 2 Sam. 13:22; but he is commanded to make it known unto him, and to say, Why hast thou done thus unto me?’ This is confirmed by the Gospel rule, Luke 17:3, ‘If thy brother sin against thee, rebuke him; and if he regent, forgive him.’ It is possible, however, that the word ‘hate,’ may here be intended to be used rather in the sense of virtual or constructive hatred, as when it is said that the parent who withholds the rod hates the child; by which it is evidently implied, that one who fails to evince the proper tokens of love, is considered as indulging the sentiments of hate. God in his word so regards and speaks of it. Thus, in the present instance, the man who saw his brother, i. e. his neighbor, yielding to or living in sin, and forbore faithfully to rebuke him on account of it, was to be considered as acting the part of an enemy instead of a friend; and the conduct of an enemy is naturally supposed to be prompted by hatred instead of love. Thou shall in any wise rebuke thy neighbor. Heb. חוכח תוכיח ’hokëa’h tokia’h, rebuking thou shalt rebuke; i. e. thou shalt by all means rebuke, or, thou shalt freely, plainly, soundly rebuke. The true force of the original is to convince, or rather to convict, of wrong by reasoning and argument. Gr. ελεγξεις τον πλησιον σου, thou shall convincingly or demonstratively reprove thy neighbor. And not suffer sin upon him. Heb. לא תשא עליו חאט lo tissâ âlauv hët, which may perhaps be correctly rendered, ‘Thou shalt not bear sin (or punishment) for him;’ i. e. thou shalt not, on his account, for his sake, by reason of neglecting to do your duty to him, contract guilt to your own soul. This is the usual and appropriate meaning of the phrase, as appears from Lev. 22:9, ‘They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it.’ Num. 18:32, ‘And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it;’ where the original is the same as in the present case. And in this sense both the Greek and the Chaldaic understand it. The import is, that a man who failed to reprove sin in another rendered himself obnoxious to the same punishment as the original offender. The phrase, however, may bear the sense given it in our version, which is equivalent to saying, ‘Thou shalt not suffer him to go on in sin by neglecting to inform of it; shalt not leave him under the guilt of sin unreproved.’ The saying of one of the Jewish rabbins was long current as a proverb among the nation, ‘That Jerusalem had not been destroyed, but because one neighbor did not reprove another.’ Leviticus 19:18 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. KJV Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. NET Leviticus 19:18 You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. BGT Leviticus 19:18 καὶ οὐκ ἐκδικᾶταί σου ἡ χείρ καὶ οὐ μηνιεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ λαοῦ σου καὶ ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος NLT Leviticus 19:18 "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. ESV Leviticus 19:18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. NIV Leviticus 19:18 " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. not avenge (KJV): Ex 23:4,5 De 32:25 2Sa 13:22,28 Pr 20:22 Mt 5:43,44 Ro 12:17,19 13:4 Ga 5:20 Eph 4:31 Col 3:8 1Pe 2:1 thou shalt (KJV): Mt 5:43 19:19 22:39,40 Mk 12:31-34 Lu 10:27-37 Ro 13:9 Ga 5:14 Jas 2:8 Related Passages: Matthew 22:39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ Mark 12:31; 33 “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 33 AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Luke 10:27 And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Romans 13:9 For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Galatians 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” James 2:8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well. ONE OF THE TWO GREATEST COMMANDMENTS You shall not take vengeance - "That is, thou shalt not take into thine own hands the business of redressing thy wrongs, nor shalt thou refuse to do a kindness from the remembrance of injuries past. Gr. ουκ εκδικαται σου ἡ χειρ, let not thine hand avenge." (Bush - Leviticus 19 Commentary ) Nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people - NET NOTE = "Heb "and you shall not retain [anger?]." This line seems to refer to the retaining or maintaining of some vengeful feelings toward someone. Compare the combination of the same terms for taking vengeance and maintaining wrath against enemies in Nahum 1:2 (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 305)." Leon Hyatt - Jehovah commanded the Israelites not to seek revenge against someone who had wronged them. They were not even to hold resentment in their hearts. Instead, they were to love the one who had wronged them. Love would make them seek to reconcile with the person who had wronged them, not to try to get back at that person. How much better off Israel would have been if they had obeyed this commandment! How much better off America and the world would be if we all would just obey it. Brian Bell - Note the sequence of 14-18: unkindness(14), injustice(15), gossip(16), & hatred(17)…But instead “Love your neighbors as yourself”. Amazing we find this gem dug up in this “load of law”! (in Leviticus!!!) “Getting along with people, especially our neighbors, isn’t a matter of obeying laws but of having love in our hearts!” “Love is the fulfilling of the law!” (Rom.13:10) This is to help us in human relationships & treat people the way God treats us. but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. - Jesus combined this command with that of Dt 6:4-5, referring to these as the greatest commandments (Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:28-31; Lk 10:27; cp Ro 13:9; Gal 5:14; James 2:8). Leon Hyatt - “Love your neighbor as yourself” assumes that we should and will love ourselves. Unfortunately, many do not love even themselves. They may think that they love themselves, but their actions bring harm to themselves. Real love means that we do what is best for the person we love. Loving ourselves means we live and act in ways that produce good for ourselves. Loving actions keep us physically alive, mentally wise, and spiritually alert. When we learn to truly love ourselves, then we are able to love others in the same way. This verse makes the words “the sons of your people” and “neighbor” parallel to each other. “Neighbor” is the word used in verse 13. In the strictest sense, “the sons of your people” meant another Israelite. But, if “neighbor” is understood to include everyone, then “the sons of our people” should include everyone. No one should be considered to be a foreigner or an outsider when it comes to loving him. “Your people” includes everyone. Jehovah has now used four words that should be understood to include everyone: “associate,” “neighbor,” “fellowman,” and “your people.” He was commanding ways of acting that we should practice toward every person we meet. Jesus said the latter part of this verse was the second greatest of all the commandments (Matt. 22;39; Mark 12:31). On another occasion, an expert teacher in the Jewish law made the same statement to Jesus (Luke 10:27). His statement indicates that Jesus was not the only person to recognize the importance of this verse. Jesus put His stamp of approval on the insight that loving our neighbor is the second greatest of the commandments, and we also should place the same importance on it. We can do so, not just by acknowledging its importance, but by practicing it Loving one's neighbor is tantamount to showing reverence to God. We can hardly claim that we are loving God if we are not also loving the people made in His image! Our "horizontal" interrelationships with men are merely a direct reflection of our "vertical" relationship with the Almighty! Let's face it, we are all guilty of hypocrisy from time to time in regard to this commandment. To be sure the only way to love selflessly (the Lxx uses agapao = loving unconditionally like Jesus loved us enough to die for us - Eph 5:25-note) with this quality (and quantity so to speak) of love is by daily dying to self (and that act even being enabled by the Spirit as self does not desire daily death!) and being filled with the Holy Spirit Who Alone can enable us to bear the Gal 5:22-note fruit of agape love! In short, if you try to love your neighbor in the power of the old man you will be frustrated and fail repeatedly (cp Jn 6:63, Gal 3:3, Mt 26:41, Jn 15:5) You must jettison self-reliance and seek to rely wholly on the the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18-note) Who in in you continually energizing (energeo in the energeo in Php 2:13-note "at work") you giving you the desire and the power (which counters the fleshly tendency to not love unconditionally) so that you walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord. (Php 2:13NLT-note). But be careful not to take a "Let go, let God" approach. That famous saying is only half correct, for we still have a responsibility to carry out the act of love (see Php 2:12-note). So this mysterious balance between God's provision and man's responsibility is better stated something like "Let God and let's go!" Merrill - The construction here is the Hebrew verb with the preposition. This construction is used only here, Lev. 19:34, and 2Chr 19:2 and may emphasize the need for direct action toward one's neighbor. It stands in direct contrast to bearing a grudge, taking vengeance, or even showing apathy toward someone in need. Christ's reference in Mt. 22:39 to this "golden rule" of the OT may show his regard for the importance of Levitical law in his mind (see also its use in Matt. 19:19; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Ro 13:9; and Gal. 5:14). (The Bible Knowledge Word Study - Gen-Deut) George Bush - Leviticus 19 Commentary Thou shalt not avenge, &c. Nor bear any grudge. Heb. לא תטר lo tittor, thou shalt not watch, mark, or insidiously observe, the sins of thy people; i. e. thou shalt not harbor resentment, and covertly watch an opportunity to ‘feed fat an ancient grudge.’ Gr. ου μηνιεις, thou shalt not bear inveterate anger. Chal. ‘Thou shalt not keep (harbor) enmity.’ So God is said, Nah. 1:2, ‘to take vengeance on his adversaries, and to keep (watch) for his enemies.’ But not so towards his people, Jer. 3:12, ‘For I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep (anger) for ever.’ Ps. 103:9, ‘He will not always chide; nor keep (his anger) for ever;’ in all which cases the original word is the same. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord thy God. We have here in the midst of the Jewish code the grand moral law of the gospel, and that which our Savior himself gives as comprising the sum of the second table of the Decalogue, or all the duties which we owe to our fellow-men. And this law is enforced by the solemn sanction contained in the words, ‘I am the Lord your God;’ q. d. I am he who searches and perfectly knows your hearts, and the dispositions which you cherish, and who will reward and punish you accordingly. Nothing shows more conclusively how false and groundless are the charges sometimes brought against the Mosaic code as not only stern, cruel, and barbarous, but as insisting solely on certain outward rites and duties without any respect to inward dispositions and motives. Love (0157)(aheb) means to love and can convey the idea of liking things (like bribes - Isa 1:23, wisdom - Pr 4:6, wine - Pr 21:17, peace and truth - Zech 8:19, food - Ge 27:4, 9, 14). The most important uses in the OT are as an expression of God's love of people (Dt 4:37, Hosea 3:1), man's love for God (Ex 20:6, Ps 116:1) and man's love for his fellow man (Ge 29:32, Ru 4:15-note, 1 Kings 11:1 = a forbidden love by backslidden King Solomon!!!) The first use of aheb in the OT is instructive as it is found in Ge 22:2 where Yahweh instructed his servant Abraham to "“Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.” Notice that at the outset, we see that an inherent quality of this love (in many contexts) is that it is costly. God wants us to love Him above EVERYTHING, even our own flesh and blood. Matthews writes that Ge 22:2 "is the final test of the man’s faith, the closing bookend to his discovery of God’s sufficiency to achieve the promises made at Haran." (New American Commentary) As an aside God frequently "tests" His people to reveal their trust and obedience (cp Ex 15:25, 16:4, Judges 2:22-note - in this last one they failed repeatedly). In Ge 25:28 there is a hint that Isaac's love was at least somewhat conditioned on the fact that Esau provided game for him to eat (cp Ge 27:4, 9, 14 of Isaac's love for the savory dish). In addition, Isaac's love for Esau is contrasted with Rebekah's love for Jacob (not to say of course that Isaac did not love Jacob but that he seemed to have a greater degree for Esau because he was as they say "a man's man!" Compare Jacob's greater love for Rachel than Leah - Ge 29:30, Jacob's greater love for Joseph - Ge 37:3,4) In Ex 21:5 we see one of the great examples of man to man love where a slave willingly stays with his master because he loves him -- now that is surely sacrificial love! In Dt 4:37 we see the first use of aheb to describe God's unconditional love for His chosen people Israel -- He loved them then, He continued to love them in their unfaithfulness (because that is the nature of true love) and He will bring them "from Egypt" (so to speak) at the end of this age when Messiah returns and all the believing remnant are saved (Ro 11:25-27-note)! In short, God's love transcends time and endures throughout eternity for His chosen people and for every Gentile that has been grafted into "the rich root of the olive tree," (Ro 11:17-note). In the Shema Israel is instructed ""You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." (Dt 6:5) Aheb is translated in NAS as beloved(1), dearly love(1), friend(5), friends(6), love(88), loved(53), lover(1), lovers(16), loves(42), loving(2), show your love(1), shows love(1). For example, Zechariah 13:6 a presumed Messianic passage has "“I was wounded in the house of my friends” where friends is the Hebrew aheb. The Septuagint (Lxx) most frequently translates aheb with agapao. TWOT on the verb aheb - The intensity of the meaning ranges from God’s infinite affection for his people to the carnal appetites of a lazy glutton.....ʾāhēb frequently describes love between human beings. The love of father for son is exemplified by Abraham and Isaac (Gen 22:2) and Israel and Joseph (Gen 37:3). A slave might “love” his master and wish to identure himself to him for the rest of his life (Ex 21:8). This is the word used in the rule “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). “Love” of the stranger is also incumbent on the faithful (Deut 10:19). Samson had apparently told Delilah that he “loved” her (Jud 14:16; 16:15). Ruth “loved” Naomi her mother-in-law (4:15), Elkanah “loved” his wife Hannah (I Sam 1:5), and Rebekah “loved” her son Jacob (Gen 25:28). Hiram’s “love” for David illustrates international friendship or irenic politics between the two (I Kgs 3:1). Notice that nowhere is the love of children toward parents mentioned. Rather, they are to honor, revere, and obey. People may love things concrete or abstract. Isaac “loved” savory meat (Gen 27:4); others are said to “love” oil (Prov 21:17), silver (Eccl 5:9), and gifts (Isa 1:23). The Psalmist “loved” God’s commandments (Ps 119:47). law (v. 97), testimonies (v. 119), and precepts (v. 159). Men can “love” evil (Ps 32:3 [H 5]), or death (Prov 8:36). vanity (Ps 4:2 [H 3]). cursing (Ps 109:17), or a false oath (Zech 8:17). Or they can “love” good (Amos 3:15). truth and peace (Zech 8:19), salvation (Ps 40:16 [H 17]), and wisdom (Prov 29:3). God has commanded man to “love” him (Deut 6:5). and the Psalms contain testimonies of obedience to that commandment (116:1; 145:20). Conversely, God “loves” men, especially his people Israel (Deut 4:37; Isa 43:4; Mal 1:2). The Lord also “loves” other things, such as the gates of Zion (Ps 87:2), righteousness and judgment (Ps 33:3). and the holy temple (Mal 2:11). In a few places the verb introduces an infinitive. Jeremiah (14:10) accused the people of loving to wander, while Isaiah charged them with loving to sleep (56:10). The verb itself is sometimes an infinitive, as in Josh 22:5 and Isa 56:6. At least once it is a gerund, “a time to love” (Eccl 3:8). The participles often translate as “friend.” From II Chr 20:7 comes the notion that Abraham is the “friend” of God. As noted above, the English word “lover,” translating the Piel participle, often carries a derogatory connotation implying prostitution (Hos 2:7; 9:12; Ezk 16:33, 36–37; Jer 22:20, 22; 30:14; Lam 1:19; Zech 13:6, etc.). (Recommended resource - Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) Thoralf Gilbrant has the following discussion of aheb "In the OT, the concept of love is expressed mainly by aheb. Several other Hebrew terms refer to related emotions, e.g. mercy or pity for the needy, favor, delight, pleasure, affections, etc. None, however, have the broad range of meaning of aheb. Like the English word "love," the Hebrew term is used with reference to things and actions, as well as persons. In addition to these, there are also abstract usages of aheb, e.g. love for wisdom, understanding, righteousness, etc. Unlike the English term, the Hebrew word has less to do with emotion and more to do with actions. One writer goes so far as to say every action of God is an outcome of his love (Lockyer, 32). In the OT, love is a spontaneous feeling that results in the performance of an action (cf. Exo. 33:19, Jer. 31:20). The Hebrew word aheb has both a secular usage and a religious one. It is used in a secular sense to refer to love between the sexes, parents and children, friends, servants and masters and society in general. The religious usage of aheb is seen in its reference to God, his Word, his house, Jerusalem, Mount Zion, wisdom, instruction, knowledge, etc. There is also a definite relationship between the concept of love and God's covenant with humanity. In the OT, aheb is directed primarily to persons, i.e., human love to human object, e.g., for son (Abraham for Isaac, Gen. 22:2; Isaac for Esau, Gen. 25:28; Israel for Joseph, Gen. 37:3 and Benjamin 44:20); mother-in-law (Ruth for Naomi, Ruth 4:15); man's love for woman; wife (Isaac for Rebekah, Gen. 24:67; Jacob for Rachel, Gen. 29:30; Elkanah for Hannah, (1 Sam. 1:5; Rehoboam for Maachah, 2 Chr. 11:21). Also, Shechem for Dinah (Gen. 34:3); Sampson for Delilah, (Judg. 16:4, 15); Absalom for Tamar (2 Sam. 13:1, 4, 15) and figuratively of adulterous Judah (Jer. 2:25; Isa. 57:8; Ezek. 16:37). In addition to love for relatives and between the sexes aheb is used of the love of slave for master (Exo. 21:5; Deut. 15:16); inferior for superior (Israel and Judah for David, 1 Sam. 18:16, 22); for neighbor (Lev. 19:18) particularly the "stranger" (Lev. 19:34; Deut. 10:18, 19); and for the love between friends (Saul for David, 1 Sam. 16:21; David and Jonathan 1 Sam. 18:1,3; 20:17; Job's friends, Job 19:19). This term is used less often to refer to a love for things (appetite). A few examples are love for food (Isaac for savory meat, Gen. 27:4, 9, 14); wine (Hos. 3:1; Prov. 21:17); husbandry (Uzziah for agriculture, 2 Chr. 26:10); cupidity (Hos. 9:1; Isa. 1:23; Ecc. 5:9); sleep (Prov. 20:13; fig. of sluggish watchmen, Isa. 56:10). In the abstract sense, aheb is used to describe love for wisdom, knowledge, righteousness, etc. (Prov. 4:6; 8:17, 21; 12:1; 22:11; 29:3; Amos 5:15; Mic. 6:8); also folly and evil (Mic. 3:2; 4:3; Pss. 11:5, 52:5,6; 109:17; Prov. 1:22; 8:36; 17:19; 18:21; Zech. 8:17; Amos 4:5; Jer. 14:10; Hos. 12:8) and especially of idolatry (Jer. 8:2; Hos. 4:18). Love for God is expressed in passages such as Exo. 20:6, Deut. 5:10, cf.7:9. Jesus called this the "greatest" or "first" commandment (Deut. 6:5 cf. Matt. 22:36-38; Mark 12:28-30). In addition to these references, there is love for God's name (Pss. 5:11; 69:36); his House (Ps. 26:8); his salvation (Ps. 40:16); for God's law (Ps. 119:97, 113, 163, 165); his testimonies (v. 119; commandments and precepts (Ps. 119:127, 159); love for Jerusalem (Isa. 66:10); and Mount Zion (Ps. 78:68). With reference to divine love, the OT speaks of God loving a specific individual only twice, viz. Solomon (2 Sam. 12:24; Neh. 13:26) and Cyrus (Isa. 48:14). God's everlasting love for Israel, however, is described in Jer. 31:3. Also in this chapter we find Jeremiah's prophecy of the new covenant (vv. 31-34). God loves righteousness (Pss. 11:7; 33:5) and those who follow righteousness (Prov. 15:9), but He also loves the backslider (Hos. 14:4). In Ps. 37:28, aheb is used of God's love for judgment, i.e. that which is right and just, rather than a sentence by which penalty is inflicted. Note especially the words that follow, "For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints...." God is faithful to the objects of his love. What an encouragement for saints today. Divine love is not affected by emotions or doubts that might threaten it. Yahweh is the true and faithful God who has bound himself by covenant to those who love him and keep his commandments (Deut. 7:9). Verses 12-16 of this same chapter link the love of God with his blessings as a reward for covenant faithfulness." (Source - Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary) Brown - Driver - Briggs discussion of Aheb: Qal Perfect אָהֵ֑ב Genesis 27:9 7t; אָשֵהבּ Genesis 27:14; אָהַב Genesis 37:3 3t.; אֲֵהבָךָDeuteronomy 15:16; 3 feminine singular אָֽהֲבָה Song of Solomon 1:7 +, etc.; Imperfect (הָֿ֑ב) יֶאֱהַבProverbs 3:12 +; 1 singular אֵהָ֑ב Proverbs 8:17 (compare Ew§ 192 d Ges§ 68. 1); וָָֽאֹהַ֖ב Malachi 1:2; וָאֹהֲבֵהוּ Hosea 11:1; אֹהֲבֵם Hosea 14:5; וָאֹהֲבֵם Psalm 119:167; 2 masculine plural תְּאֵהֲבוּProverbs 1:22 (compare Kö I p. 394 Ges§ 63 R 2); תֶּאֱהָ֑בוּ Zechariah 8:17; תָּאֱהָבוּן Psalm 4:3; Imperative אֱהַבֿ Hosea 3:1; אֱהָבֶהָ Proverbs 4:6; אֶהֱבוּ Psalm 31:24; Amos 5:15; אֱהָ֑בוּ Zechariah 8:19; Infinitive construct אֱהֹב Ecclesiastes 3:8; אַהֲבָה Deuteronomy 10:12 +; אֲהֲבַת Micah 6:8 + etc.; compare also below n.אהבה below; Participle אֹהֵב (אוֺהֵב) Deuteronomy 10:18 26t.; feminine construct אֲהֻבַת Hosea 3:1is probably active compare Ba NB 174ff; suffix אֹהֲבִי Isaiah 41:8 etc.; feminine אֹהֶ֫בֶת Genesis 25:28; אֹהַ֫בְתִּי Hosea 10:11 etc.; Passive participle אָהוּב Nehemiah 13:26; אֲהוּבָה Deuteronomy 21:15(twice in verse); Deuteronomy 21:16. — love (mostly with accusative, followed by לְ + object Leviticus 19:18,34; 2 Chronicles 19:2 (late), followed by בְּ Ecclesiastes 5:9; absolute Ecclesiastes 3:8 & see below), (affection both pure & impure, divine & human); — 1 human love to human object; absolute, opposed to hate שָׂנֵא Ecclesiastes 3:8; of love to son Genesis 22:2; Genesis 25:28; Genesis 37:3,4; Genesis 44:20 (JE) Proverbs 13:24; so also 2 Samuel 13:21 ᵐ5 Ew Th We, compare Dr, of David's loving Amnon; never to parent, but mother-in-law Ruth 4:15; of man's love to woman; wife Genesis 24:67; Genesis 29:20,30 (compare Genesis 29:18):32 (JE), also Deuteronomy 21:15 (twice in verse); Deuteronomy 21:16; Judges 14:16; 1 Samuel 1:5; 2 Chronicles 11:21; Esther 2:17; Hosea 3:1; Ecclesiastes 9:9; but also Genesis 34:3 (J) Judges 16:4,15; 2 Samuel 13:1,4,15 (where of carnal desire) 1 Kings 11:1 compare 1 Kings 11:2; Hosea 3:1; רֵעַ׳א loving a paramour, see Ba NB 176; woman's love to Prayer of Manasseh 1Samuel 18:20 ( Song of Solomon 1Samuel 18:28 ᵑ0, but read וְבִי כָליִֿשְׂרָאֵל אֹהֵב אֹתוֺᵐ5 We Dr) Song of Solomon 1:3,4,7; Song of Solomon 3:1,2,3,4 (5t. subject נַפְשִׁי); compare also figurative of adulterous Judah Jeremiah 2:25; Isaiah 57:8; Ezekiel 16:37; of love of slave to master Exodus 21:5 (JE) Deuteronomy 15:16; inferior to superior 1 Samuel 18:22 compare 1 Samuel 18:16; love to neighbour Leviticus 19:18 (וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֺ֑ךָ), partic to stranger Leviticus 19:34 (both P), Deuteronomy 10:18,19; love of friend to friend 1 Samuel 16:21; 1 Samuel 18:1,3; 1 Samuel 20:17 (twice in verse); Job 19:19; Proverbs 17:1 compare 2 Samuel 19:7 (twice in verse); 2 Chronicles 19:2; see also Proverbs 9:8; Proverbs 16:13; compare Proverbs 15:12; see especially Participle below 2 less often of appetite, object food, Genesis 27:7,9,14 (JE); drink Hosea 3:1; Proverbs 21:17; husbandry 2 Chronicles 26:10; compare figurative of Ephraim Hosea 10:11 followed by infinitive; length of life Psalm 34:13; of cupidity Hosea 9:1; 1 Samuel 1:23; Ecclesiastes 5:9 (twice in verse); of love of sleep Proverbs 20:13 compare figurative of sluggish watchmen (followed by infinitive) Isaiah 56:10; also with object abstract wisdom (personified), knowledge, righteousness, etc. Proverbs 4:6; Proverbs 8:17,21; Proverbs 12:1; Proverbs 22:11; Proverbs 29:3; Amos 5:15; Micah 6:8 (infinitive "" infinitives) Zechariah 8:19, compare Proverbs 19:8 קֹנֶה לֵב אֹהֵב נַפְשׁוֺ; object folly, evil, etc., Micah 3:2; Micah 4:3; Psalm 11:5; Psalm 52:5; Psalm 52:6; Psalm 109:17; Proverbs 1:22; Proverbs 8:36; Proverbs 17:19(twice in verse), compare Proverbs 18:21; Zechariah 8:17, compare כֵּן׳א Amos 4:5; Jeremiah 5:3, followed by Infinitive Hosea 12:8; Jeremiah 14:10, especially of idolatry Hosea 4:13 (where strike out הֵבוּ compare Kö1. p. 395) Jeremiah 8:2. 3 love to God Exodus 20:6 (JE) elsewhere Hexateuch only Deuteronomy 5:10; Deuteronomy 6:5; Deuteronomy 7:9 9t. Deuteronomy + Joshua 22:5; Joshua 23:11; also Judges 5:31; 1 Kings 3:3; Nehemiah 1:5; Daniel 9:4; especially in (late) Psalm 31:24; Psalm 116:1; Psalm 145:20, but usually followed by name, law, etc. of ׳י Psalm 5:12; Psalm 26:8; Psalm 40:17; Psalm 69:37; Psalm 70:5; Psalm 97:10; Psalm 119:47 11t. Psalm 119; compare Isaiah 56:6; compare also of love to Jerusalem Isaiah 66:10; Psalm 122:6. 4 especially Participle אֹהֵב = ( a) lover, Lamentations 1:2 (figurative of Jerusalem); ( b) friend Hiram of David 1 Kings 5:15, compare Jeremiah 20:4,6; Esther 5:10,14; Esther 6:13; Psalm 38:12 ("" רֵעַ) so Psalm 88:19, Proverbs 14:20; also Proverbs 18:24; Proverbs 27:6; Abraham of God Isaiah 41:8; 2 Chronicles 20:7. 5 of divine love ( a) to individual men Deuteronomy 4:37; 2 Samuel 12:24; Proverbs 3:12; Proverbs 15:9; Psalm 146:8; Nehemiah 13:26; ( b) to people Israel, etc. Deuteronomy 7:8,13; Deuteronomy 23:6; Hosea 3:1; Hosea 9:15; Hosea 11:1; Hosea 14:5; 1 Kings 10:9; 2 Chronicles 2:10; 2 Chronicles 9:8; Isaiah 43:4; Isaiah 48:14; Jeremiah 31:3; Malachi 1:2 (3t. in verse); Psalm 47:5; to Jerusalem Psalm 78:68; Psalm 87:2; ( c) to righteousness, etc. Psalm 11:7; Psalm 33:5; Psalm 37:28; Psalm 45:8; Psalm 99:4; Isaiah 61:8; Malachi 2:11. Niph`al Participle plural הַנֶּאֱהָבִים 2 Samuel 1:23 lovely, loveable of Saul & Jonath. ("" הַנְּעִימִם). Pi`el Participle plural suffix (בָֿ֑י) מְאַהֲבַי Hosea 2:7 3t.; (בָֿ֑יִח) מְאַהֲבַיִח Jeremiah 22:20 6t.; מְאַהֲבֶיהָ Hosea 2:9 4t. 1 friends Zechariah 13:6; 2 lovers in figure of adulterous Israel Hosea 2:7; Hosea 2:9; Hosea 2:12; Hosea 2:14; Hosea 2:15; Ezekiel 23:5,9; Judah Jeremiah 22:20,22; Jeremiah 30:14; Lamentations 1:19; Ezekiel 16:33,36,37; Ezekiel 23:22. Aheb - used 202 times in the Old Testament: The most frequent uses of aheb in order are Psalms (39), Proverbs (23), Deuteronomy (22), Hosea (14 - the highest "concentration" given the smaller number of verses than the other books), Genesis (13) and Jeremiah (10). Genesis 22:2 He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you." Genesis 24:67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death. Genesis 25:28 Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Genesis 27:4 and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die." 9 "Go now to the flock and bring me two choice young goats from there, that I may prepare them as a savory dish for your father, such as he loves. 14 So he went and got them, and brought them to his mother; and his mother made savory food such as his father loved. Genesis 29:18 Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." 30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and indeed he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years. 32 Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me." Genesis 34:3 He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. 4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms. Genesis 44:20 "We said to my lord, 'We have an old father and a little child of his old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.' Exodus 20:6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Exodus 21:5 "But if the slave plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,' Leviticus 19:18 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. 34 'The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 4:37 "Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, Deuteronomy 5:10 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. Deuteronomy 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Deuteronomy 7:8 but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 "Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 13 "He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. Deuteronomy 10:12 ¶ "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 15 "Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 18 "He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19 "So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 11:1 ¶ "You shall therefore love the LORD your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments. 13 ¶ "It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, 22 "For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him, Deuteronomy 13:3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 15:16 "It shall come about if he says to you, 'I will not go out from you,' because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; Deuteronomy 19:9 if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always-- then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. Deuteronomy 21:15 ¶ "If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn. Deuteronomy 23:5 "Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God loves you. Deuteronomy 30:6 "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 20 by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." Joshua 22:5 "Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." Joshua 23:11 "So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. Judges 5:31 ¶ "Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might." And the land was undisturbed for forty years. Judges 14:16 Samson's wife wept before him and said, "You only hate me, and you do not love me; you have propounded a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me." And he said to her, "Behold, I have not told it to my father or mother; so should I tell you?" Judges 16:4 ¶ After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 15 ¶ Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is." Ruth 4:15 "May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him." 1 Samuel 1:5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the LORD had closed her womb. 1 Samuel 16:21 Then David came to Saul and attended him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 1 Samuel 18:1 ¶ Now it came about when he had finished speaking to Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as himself. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, and he went out and came in before them. 20 ¶ Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. When they told Saul, the thing was agreeable to him. 22 Then Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David secretly, saying, 'Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; now therefore, become the king's son-in-law.'" 28 When Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him, 1 Samuel 20:17 Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because he loved him as he loved his own life. 2 Samuel 1:23 "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. 2 Samuel 12:24 ¶ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the LORD loved him 2 Samuel 13:1 ¶ Now it was after this that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name was Tamar, and Amnon the son of David loved her. 4 He said to him, "O son of the king, why are you so depressed morning after morning? Will you not tell me?" Then Amnon said to him, "I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom." 15 ¶ Then Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, "Get up, go away!" 2 Samuel 19:6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown today that princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. 1 Kings 3:3 ¶ Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 1 Kings 5:1 ¶ Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David. 1 Kings 10:9 "Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness." 1 Kings 11:1 ¶ Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon held fast to these in love. 2 Chronicles 2:11 ¶ Then Huram, king of Tyre, answered in a letter sent to Solomon: "Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them." 2 Chronicles 9:8 "Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the LORD your God; because your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness." 2 Chronicles 11:21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 2 Chronicles 19:2 Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD and so bring wrath on yourself from the LORD? 2 Chronicles 20:7 "Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 2 Chronicles 26:10 He built towers in the wilderness and hewed many cisterns, for he had much livestock, both in the lowland and in the plain. He also had plowmen and vinedressers in the hill country and the fertile fields, for he loved the soil. Nehemiah 1:5 I said, "I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, Nehemiah 13:26 "Did not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin. Esther 2:17 The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 5:10 Haman controlled himself, however, went to his house and sent for his friends and his wife Zeresh. 14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows fifty cubits high made and in the morning ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it; then go joyfully with the king to the banquet." And the advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made. Esther 6:13 Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish origin, you will not overcome him, but will surely fall before him." Job 19:19 "All my associates abhor me, And those I love have turned against me. Psalm 4:2 O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach? How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception? Selah. Psalm 5:11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. Psalm 11:5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. 7 For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face. Psalm 26:8 O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells. Psalm 31:23 O love the LORD, all you His godly ones! The LORD preserves the faithful And fully recompenses the proud doer. Psalm 33:5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD. Psalm 34:12 Who is the man who desires life And loves length of days that he may see good? Psalm 37:28 For the LORD loves justice And does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. Psalm 38:11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand afar off. Psalm 40:16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, "The LORD be magnified!" Psalm 45:7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. Psalm 47:4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah. Psalm 52:3 You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah. 4 You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. Psalm 69:36 The descendants of His servants will inherit it, And those who love His name will dwell in it. Psalm 70:4 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified." Psalm 78:68 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. Psalm 87:2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. Psalm 88:18 You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are in darkness. Psalm 97:10 Hate evil, you who love the LORD, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 99:4 The strength of the King loves justice; You have established equity; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Psalm 109:17 He also loved cursing, so it came to him; And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him. Psalm 116:1 I love the LORD, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Psalm 119:47 I shall delight in Your commandments, Which I love. 48 And I shall lift up my hands to Your commandments, Which I love; And I will meditate on Your statutes. Zayin. 97 O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 113 I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your law. 119 You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies. 127 Therefore I love Your commandments Above gold, yes, above fine gold. 132 Turn to me and be gracious to me, After Your manner with those who love Your name. 140 Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it. 159 Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness. 163 I hate and despise falsehood, But I love Your law. 165 Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble. 167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly. Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. Psalm 145:20 The LORD keeps all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. Psalm 146:8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous; Proverbs 1:22 "How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge? Proverbs 3:12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. Proverbs 4:6 "Do not forsake her, and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. Proverbs 8:17 "I love those who love me; And those who diligently seek me will find me. 21 To endow those who love me with wealth, That I may fill their treasuries. 36 "But he who sins against me injures himself; All those who hate me love death." Proverbs 9:8 Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. Proverbs 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, But he who hates reproof is stupid. Proverbs 13:24 He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently. Proverbs 14:20 The poor is hated even by his neighbor, But those who love the rich are many. Proverbs 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves one who pursues righteousness. 12 A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise. Proverbs 16:13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings, And he who speaks right is loved. Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity. 19 He who loves transgression loves strife; He who raises his door seeks destruction. Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. 24 A man of too many friends comes to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 19:8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. Proverbs 20:13 Do not love sleep, or you will become poor; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food. Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich. Proverbs 22:11 He who loves purity of heart And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend. Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. Proverbs 29:3 A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, But he who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth. Ecclesiastes 3:8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 5:10 ¶ He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity. Ecclesiastes 9:9 ¶ Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Song of Solomon 1:3 "Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you. 4 "Draw me after you and let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers." "We will rejoice in you and be glad; We will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you." 7 "Tell me, O you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock, Where do you make it lie down at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself Beside the flocks of your companions?" Song of Solomon 3:1 "On my bed night after night I sought him Whom my soul loves; I sought him but did not find him. 2 'I must arise now and go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I must seek him whom my soul loves.' I sought him but did not find him. 3 "The watchmen who make the rounds in the city found me, And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?' 4 "Scarcely had I left them When I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go Until I had brought him to my mother's house, And into the room of her who conceived me." Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widow's plea come before them. Isaiah 41:8 "But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, Isaiah 43:4 "Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Isaiah 48:14 "Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure on Babylon, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans. Isaiah 56:6 "Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; 10 His watchmen are blind, All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber; Isaiah 57:8 "Behind the door and the doorpost You have set up your sign; Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself, And have gone up and made your bed wide. And you have made an agreement for yourself with them, You have loved their bed, You have looked on their manhood. Isaiah 61:8 For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; And I will faithfully give them their recompense And make an everlasting covenant with them. Isaiah 66:10 "Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her; Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her, Jeremiah 2:25 "Keep your feet from being unshod And your throat from thirst; But you said, 'It is hopeless! No! For I have loved strangers, And after them I will walk.' Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it? Jeremiah 8:2 "They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground. Jeremiah 14:10 Thus says the LORD to this people, "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account." Jeremiah 20:4 "For thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I am going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and while your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away as exiles to Babylon and will slay them with the sword. 6 'And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have falsely prophesied.'" Jeremiah 22:20 "Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed. 22 "The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness. Jeremiah 30:14 'All your lovers have forgotten you, They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the punishment of a cruel one, Because your iniquity is great And your sins are numerous. Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. Lamentations 1:2 She weeps bitterly in the night And her tears are on her cheeks; She has none to comfort her Among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; They have become her enemies. 19 "I called to my lovers, but they deceived me; My priests and my elders perished in the city While they sought food to restore their strength themselves. Ezekiel 16:33 "Men give gifts to all harlots, but you give your gifts to all your lovers to bribe them to come to you from every direction for your harlotries. 36 Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your harlotries with your lovers and with all your detestable idols, and because of the blood of your sons which you gave to idols, 37 therefore, behold, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, even all those whom you loved and all those whom you hated. So I will gather them against you from every direction and expose your nakedness to them that they may see all your nakedness. Ezekiel 23:5 ¶ "Oholah played the harlot while she was Mine; and she lusted after her lovers, after the Assyrians, her neighbors, 9 "Therefore, I gave her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 22 ¶ "Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold I will arouse your lovers against you, from whom you were alienated, and I will bring them against you from every side: Daniel 9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, Hosea 2:5 "For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, 'I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.' 7 "She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, 'I will go back to my first husband, For it was better for me then than now!' 10 "And then I will uncover her lewdness In the sight of her lovers, And no one will rescue her out of My hand. 12 "I will destroy her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, 'These are my wages Which my lovers have given me.' And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field will devour them. 13 "I will punish her for the days of the Baals When she used to offer sacrifices to them And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry, And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me," declares the LORD. Hosea 3:1 ¶ Then the LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes." Hosea 4:18 Their liquor gone, They play the harlot continually; Their rulers dearly love shame. Hosea 9:1 ¶ Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots' earnings on every threshing floor. 10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved. 15 All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love them no more; All their princes are rebels. Hosea 10:11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself. Hosea 11:1 ¶ When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. Hosea 12:7 A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, He loves to oppress. Hosea 14:4 I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from them. Amos 4:5 "Offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened, And proclaim freewill offerings, make them known. For so you love to do, you sons of Israel," Declares the Lord GOD. Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good, And establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the LORD God of hosts May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. Micah 3:2 "You who hate good and love evil, Who tear off their skin from them And their flesh from their bones, Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? Zechariah 8:17 'Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,' declares the LORD." 19 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.' Zechariah 13:6 "And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will say, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.' Malachi 1:2 ¶ "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you say, "How have You loved us?" "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the LORD. "Yet I have loved Jacob; Malachi 2:11 "Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. Leviticus 19:19 'You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together. ICB - Obey my laws. You must not mate two different kinds of cattle. You must not sow your field with two different kinds of seed. You must not wear clothing made from two different kinds of material mixed together. KJV Leviticus 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. NET Leviticus 19:19 You must keep my statutes. You must not allow two different kinds of your animals to breed, you must not sow your field with two different kinds of seed, and you must not wear a garment made of two different kinds of fabric. BGT Leviticus 19:19 τὸν νόμον μου φυλάξεσθε τὰ κτήνη σου οὐ κατοχεύσεις ἑτεροζύγῳ καὶ τὸν ἀμπελῶνά σου οὐ κατασπερεῖς διάφορον καὶ ἱμάτιον ἐκ δύο ὑφασμένον κίβδηλον οὐκ ἐπιβαλεῖς σεαυτῷ NLT Leviticus 19:19 "You must obey all my decrees."Do not mate two different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two different kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of thread. ESV Leviticus 19:19 "You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material. NIV Leviticus 19:19 " 'Keep my decrees. " 'Do not mate different kinds of animals. " 'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. " 'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. Ge 36:24 2Sa 13:29 18:9 1Ki 1:33 Ezr 2:66 mixed - Dt 22:9-11 Mt 9:16,17 Ro 11:6 2Co 6:14-17 Gal 3:9-11) From loving one's neighbor, God shifts to breeding of cattle, sowing fields and fashion restrictions! 'You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together. Leon Hyatt - You must keep My statutes. The word translated “statutes” is the word found in Leviticus 6:18 (see comments on that verse in MESSAGE 5 under the heading [It is] a statute [for] an age through your generations). It means a written instruction. The instructions in this commandment seem strange to us. They may have seemed equally strange to the Israelites. Perhaps their strangeness is the reason Jehovah began them with the command to keep his statutes. His written instructions were to be strictly followed, even if the Israelites found them to be strange. God has a good reason for every commandment He gives. This commandment forbad the Israelites to try to combine unnatural mixtures of animals, crops and threads. Jehovah made different animals and plants with distinctly different natures. Each is good in its own way and place, but many are so different that they will not mix congenially. The Israelites were commanded not to try to combine animals or plants that did not mix naturally. But why should Jehovah make such a point about not mixing uncongenial animals and plants? Like so many other teachings in Leviticus, it likely was given to teach a moral and spiritual lesson. Symbolically it taught that some actions are morally evil, and some are morally good. Good deeds and evil deeds should never be mixed together in the same life. Likewise, some beliefs are spiritually true and helpful, but some are false and destructive. They should never be mixed together in the same religion or belief system. Understood in that light, the commandment is easy to understand. However, its specific wording is difficult to discern because it contains rare Hebrew words. It is even more difficult to translate into English because those words do not have exact English equivalents. Therefore, each clause requires special attention. You must not cause your livestock of two distinct kinds to spread [themselves] out. The word translated “of two distinct kinds” is found in the Scriptures only here and in Deuteronomy 22:9, where the same commandment is repeated. It is a noun based on a root meaning “to shut up”, “to confine,” or “to restrict.” It is related to another noun that means “confinement,” so that a prison was called a “house of confinement.” The word in this verse seems to mean “a restriction.” It refers to boundaries that could not or should not be crossed. However, in this verse it is used with a dual ending, which means that it refers to two different kinds of restrictions or boundaries. It refers, therefore, to objects that are “enclosed” or “shut up,” each to its own nature and ways. It refers to two objects whose natures are so different that it is unnatural to try to mix them. This word is an entirely different word from the word translated “kind” in Genesis 1:11,12,21,24,25; 6:20; 7:14, though the idea is much the same. The Israelites were forbidden to attempt such mixtures, because it was contrary to the natures God put in them. The first example of such a forbidden mixture in this verse is animals from different species. Leon Hyatt - You must keep My statutes. You must not cause your livestock of two distinct kinds to spread [themselves] out. The word translated “to spread out” is the word found in Leviticus 12:23. It means to position them for copulation. The Israelites were not to try to interbreeding animals of completely different natures. In this verse, the word occurs is in the causative state (Hiphil) and means “to cause to spread out.” This wording is appropriate because animals with different natures will not attempt to copulate with each other. It can happen only when perverse men seek to force it on them. The reference is to men trying to crossbreed animals with two entirely different natures. The word translated “livestock” is the word used in Leviticus 1:2. It means “a domestic animal” or “livestock”. That word was appropriate because only animals that could be handled by men could be used for such experimentation. Commentators have pondered over how this law applied to the existence in Israel of mules, since a mule is a mixture of a horse and a donkey (2 Sam. 13:29; 18:9; 1 Kings 1:33,38,44; 10:25; 18:5; 2 Kings 5:17; 1 Chr. 12:40; 2 Chr. 9:24; Ezra 2:66; Neh. 7:68; Ps. 32:9; Is. 66:20; Eze. 27:14; Zech. 14:15). The answer is that this law did not apply to mules, because horses and donkeys are of the same species and nature, even though they are from quite distinct branches of the same species. The law applied to animals from completely different species and with completely different natures that will not naturally breed together and that cannot reproduce together. On a deeper level, this law taught that followers of Jehovah and followers of other gods should not try to mix together in the same family, the same partnership, or the same social circles. Leon Hyatt - You must not plant your field with two distinct kinds [of seeds]. The same principle applied to planting crops. Crops that grow in entirely different ways and that strangle each other out were not to be planted in the same field. In Deuteronomy 22:9, the example is given of planting grain seeds in a vineyard. Wheat and other grains will not grow compatibly with grape vines. The natures of the two plants are so different that each will destroy the other. This law is practical and logical. The lesson is that sin and righteous cannot thrive together in the same life, as faith in Jehovah cannot coexist with pagan beliefs. Leon Hyatt - and a piece of clothing [made] of two distinct kinds [of thread] with stamped in ways must not come on you. This principle also applied to weaving together two different kinds of thread that have such different characteristics that they will not blend together into one piece of cloth. The word translated “with stamped in ways” occurs only here and in Deuteronomy 22:11, which repeats and expands on this commandment. Its strict meaning seems to be “a stamped thing.” It is related to a noun that means “stamping” like the stamping of horses’ hooves (Jer. 47:3). This word seems to refer to characteristics “stamped” into the thread that cannot be changed. Threads stamped with two different natures were not to be woven together to make cloth. In King James Version, this word is translated “of linen and woolen.” The word definitely does not have that meaning. The King James Version translation does not come from the meaning of the word but from the example given in Deuteronomy 22:11. In Deuteronomy 22:11, Moses gave an example of two different kinds of thread that cannot be woven together successfully. The example is mixing wool thread with linen thread. Wool is course and soft, while linen is slick and hard. The two are so different they will not bind together to make a usable piece of cloth. Material made from that mixture of threads will not last. Some have thought that this command creates a problem with the clothing of the high priest, on which a design made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet cochineal yarn was embroidered (Ex. 28:5-8,15). Their concern is unnecessary. The mixture in the clothing of the high priest was of different colors, not different types of yarn. All the yarn was linen yarn, but it was linen dyed with different colors. Even if different types of thread had been used in making the high priest’s clothing, it still would not have been contrary to this commandment unless the natures of the threads were such that they were incompatible for weaving together into one piece of cloth. The spiritual lesson taught by this prohibition is that truth and error will not mix. They will destroy each other. Pagan values just cannot be successfully combined with values revealed by Jehovah God. The principle that certain animals and plants possessed such diverse natures that they were not to be mixed together was stressed to the Israelites to teach them that the same principle holds in the spiritual realm. Some deeds possess a nature that absolutely will not mix with deeds of another nature. Attempting to mix them together brings disaster. Evil will not mix with goodness. Wrong will not mix with right. Injustice will not mix with justice. Unrighteousness will not mix with righteousness. The Israelites were not to attempt to mix evil deeds into the holy life to which Jehovah had called them. Also they were not to mix truth with error or honesty with lies. Attempting to do so would destroy them. The same principle holds for Christians today Open Bible - Fulfillment of these commands would represent a willingness to submit to God’s boundaries in the moral and ethical fields. Wenham agrees observing that "In creation God separated between light and darkness, waters and waters. This ban on all mixtures, especially mixed breeding, shows man following in God’s steps. He must keep separate what God created separate. As God separated Israel from among the nations to be his own possession, so they must maintain their holy identity by not intermarrying with the nations (Dt. 7:3–6). Thus in the major and minor decisions of life, Israel was constantly reminded that she was different; that she was holy, set apart for God’s service. (NICOT) George Bush - Leviticus 19 Commentary Ye shall keep my statutes. These words are here inserted lest the ensuing ordinance should be deemed of little moment and so be neglected. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind. This might perhaps have been forbidden in order to impress the Israelites with a greater abhorrence of the crime of bestiality, or at least to afford them among the brute creation no example of those unnatural commixtures which were prohibited in the foregoing chapter, v. 22, 23. Yet it would seem that it was not forbidden them to use animals produced from such mixtures, as we find mules very frequently mentioned in the sacred history, which it is well known are gendered in this manner. See Note on Gen. 36:24. As to seeds, it would in many cases, be very improper to sow different kinds in the same spot of ground, as many species of vegetables are disposed to mix and thus produce a very degenerate crop. Thus if oats and wheat were sown together, the latter would be injured, the former ruined. The turnip and carrot would not succeed conjointly, when either of them separately would prosper and yield a good crop; and if this be all that is intended, the precept here given is agreeable to the soundest agricultural maxims. As to garments, the prohibition might have been merely intended to keep them aloof from the superstitious customs of the heathen, or to intimate how careful they should be not to mingle themselves with the Gentiles, nor to weave any profane usages into God’s ordinances Question.org has a discussion addressing the question "Does obeying the Law bring salvation" - It is difficult for a person who hasn’t been reared in legalism to understand Paul’s meaning when he speaks of the law “arousing sinful passions” and causing sin to “spring to life” (Romans 7:5-9). However, when someone has no other basis for forgiveness than keeping the law, they begin to view the law itself as the source of salvation. This, in turn, introduces such an emphasis on rules that rebellion is the natural result. A Jewish survivor of German concentration camps, Israel Shahak, described the extent to which Orthodox Judaism strives to avoid violations of the law: “The following example illustrates even better the level of absurdity reached by this system. One of the prototypes of work forbidden on the Sabbath is harvesting. This is stretched, by analogy, to a ban on breaking a branch off a tree. Hence, riding a horse (or any other animal) is forbidden, as a hedge against the temptation to break a branch off a tree for flogging the beast. It is useless to argue that you have a ready-made whip, or that you intend to ride where there are no trees. What is forbidden remains forbidden for ever. It can, however, be stretched and made stricter: in modern times, riding a bicycle on the Sabbath has been forbidden, because it is analogous to riding a horse.” (See continuation of Shahak's comments below) Dependency upon the law for righteousness and security before God results in rules so complicated and impossible to fulfill that they make life impossible. This results not only in hostility towards the law, but a desire to find ways to circumvent it.2 Fully aware of the law’s function and effect, Paul realized it was not the law, but faith that brings salvation. (Romans 4:9-16). But what is the basis of this saving faith? Assurance of salvation can’t be based on the law, as the law only magnifies consciousness of sin. Any attempt to achieve assurance on the basis of the law will produce greater guilt. (This is why children of legalistic Christians, Muslims, or Jews often become self-righteous bigots who project their own sinfulness on everyone else or rebels who reject all morality and tradition.) Faith in the law as a means of forgiveness for sin leads only to a cycle of desperate legalism leading either to self-righteous arrogance or despairing rebellion. The Jewish Bible offers a basis for faith outside of the law. It points to a Messiah who will bear the sins of His people (Genesis 22:1-8; Exodus 12:3-7; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53:1-12). The church was founded on the confidence that Jesus was the Lamb of God ( John 1:29 ) 3, bearer of a gospel that offers forgiveness of sin (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 15:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; 1 John 2:2; Revelation 5:12). Unlike faith in the Law alone, faith in Jesus as the Messiah confirms the authority of the Law while offering deliverance from its condemnation, offering both Jews and Gentiles forgiveness and peace with God. Shahak continues: “My final example illustrates how the same methods are used also in purely theoretical cases, having no conceivable application in reality. During the existence of the Temple, the High Priest was only allowed to marry a virgin. Although during virtually the whole of the Talmudic period there was no longer a Temple or a High Priest, the Talmud devotes one of its more involved (and bizarre) discussions to the precise definition of the term ‘virgin’ fit to marry a High Priest. What about a woman whose hymen had been broken by accident? Does it make any difference whether the accident occurred before or after the age of three? By the impact of metal or of wood? Was she climbing a tree? And if so, was she climbing up or down? Did it happen naturally or unnaturally? All this and much else besides is discussed in lengthy detail. And every scholar in classical Judaism had to master hundreds of such problems. Great scholars were measured by their ability to develop these problems still further, for as shown by the examples there is always scope for further developmentif only in one directionand such development did actually continue after the final redaction of the Talmud.” (Israel Shahak, Jewish History, Jewish Religion (pp. 40-41)) Israel Shahak offers examples of the kinds of subterfuges that orthodox Jews have used to “keep the law” in a way that allowed them a degree of normalcy in daily life: “Milking on the Sabbath. This has been forbidden in post-talmudic times, through the process of increasing religious severity mentioned above. The ban could easily be kept in the diaspora, since Jews who had cows of their own were usually rich enough to have non-Jewish servants, who could be ordered (using one of the subterfuges described below) to do the milking. The early Jewish colonists in Palestine employed Arabs for this and other purposes, but with the forcible imposition of the Zionist policy of exclusive Jewish labour there was need for a dispensation. (This was particularly important before the introduction of mechanised milking in the late 1950s.) Here too there was a difference between Zionist and non-Zionist rabbis. According to the former, the forbidden milking becomes permitted provided the milk is not white but dyed blue. This blue Saturday milk is then used exclusively for making cheese, and the dye is washed off into the whey. Non-Zionist rabbis have devised a much subtler scheme (which I personally witnessed operating in a religious kibbutz in 1952). They discovered an old provision which allows the udders of a cow to be emptied on the Sabbath, purely for relieving the suffering caused to the animal by bloated udders, and on the strict condition that the milk runs to waste on the ground. Now, this is what is actually done: on Saturday morning, a pious kibbutznik goes to the cowshed and places pails under the cows. (There is no ban on such work in the whole of the talmudic literature.) He then goes to the synagogue to pray. Then comes his colleague, whose ‘honest intention’ is to relieve the animals’ pain and let their milk run to the floor. But if, by chance, a pail happens to be standing there, is he under any obligation to remove it? Of course not. He simply ‘ignores’ the pails, fulfills his mission of mercy and goes to the synagogue. Finally a third pious colleague goes into the cowshed and discovers, to his great surprise, the pails full of milk. So he puts them in cold storage and follows his comrades to the synagogue. Now all is well, and there is no need to waste money on blue dye. “Similar dispensations were issued by zionist rabbis in respect of the ban (based on Leviticus 19:19) against sowing two different species of crop in the same field. Modern agronomy has however shown that in some cases (especially in growing fodder) mixed sowing is the most profitable. The rabbis invented a dispensation according to which one man sows the field lengthwise with one kind of seed, and later that day his comrade, who ‘does not know’ about the former, sows another kind of seed crosswise. However, this method was felt to be too wasteful of labour, and a better one was devised: one man makes a heap of one kind of seed in a public place and carefully covers it with a sack or piece of board. The second kind of seed is then put on top of the cover. Later, another man comes and exclaims, in front of witnesses, ‘I need this sack (or board)’ and removes it, so that the seeds mix ‘naturally.’ Finally, a third man comes along and is told, ‘Take this and sow the field,’ which he proceeds to do.” (Can Assurance of Salvation Be Found in Obeying the Old Testament Law- - Questions.org) Leviticus 19:20 'Now if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. KJV 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; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. NET Leviticus 19:20 "'When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman, although she is a slave woman designated for another man and she has not yet been ransomed, or freedom has not been granted to her, there will be an obligation to pay compensation. They must not be put to death, because she was not free. BGT Leviticus 19:20 καὶ ἐάν τις κοιμηθῇ μετὰ γυναικὸς κοίτην σπέρματος καὶ αὐτὴ οἰκέτις διαπεφυλαγμένη ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ αὐτὴ λύτροις οὐ λελύτρωται ἢ ἐλευθερία οὐκ ἐδόθη αὐτῇ ἐπισκοπὴ ἔσται αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἀποθανοῦνται ὅτι οὐκ ἀπηλευθερώθη NLT Leviticus 19:20 "If a man has sex with a slave girl whose freedom has never been purchased but who is committed to become another man's wife, he must pay full compensation to her master. But since she is not a free woman, neither the man nor the woman will be put to death. ESV Leviticus 19:20 "If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because she was not free; NIV Leviticus 19:20 " 'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. Ex 21:20,21 Dt 22:23,24) VIOLATION OF A BETROTHED SLAVE GIRLe. Now if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free Leon Hyatt - This expression means to have sexual intercourse. This law forbad sexual intercourse in the specific case of a man’s having sex with a female slave who was engaged to be married to another man. To us, it is strange that Jehovah did not forbid sex with a female slave under any circumstances. In fact, it is equally strange to us that He did not command that slavery be abolished entirely in Israel. Sadly, concepts about slavery were sorely different in that day from what they are today. Slavery, like bigamy (see comments on Lev. 18:18 in MESSAGE 22), was a social custom so widely accepted in that day that the Israelites were not prepared to accept its total abolishment, even at God’s command. Likewise, it was so totally accepted then that a man’s slave was his property and that he could do with his human property anything he chose that they would not have been able to comprehend a command that a man could never under any circumstances have sex with his female slave. Examples of how difficult it would have been for them to understand such ideas are that Abraham had sex with his wife’s slave Hagar (Gen. 16:1-6) in order to conceive a child for his wife Sarah, and Jacob had sex with his wives’ slaves Bilhah (Gen. 30:1-8) and Zilpah (Gen. 30:9- 12) for the same purpose. God had to deal with the Israelites as they were, and commanded the best laws that it were possible at the time. He regulated the practices of bigamy and slavery and made them as tolerable as possible for those times. He demanded that the Israelites respect the rights of slaves and treat them fairly. God led the Israelites along as they were able to receive His moral teachings, an approach that he still follows today. A man coming out of a pagan background in other lands today may have several wives. When He accepts Jesus, He must gradually be taught to put away his secondary wives. He should not be told he must put away his secondary wives before he can accept Jesus. He first needs to have his heart changed, and then the Lord can teach him to change his family relationships. God dealt with Israel in the same way as he gradually lifted their moral standards. If these statements seem too shocking to accept, remember that it was only about 150 years ago, 1,850 years after Jesus was on the earth that Americans learned to accept slavery as an evil to be abolished. Just as Americans were not ready to write into our constitution when our nation was founded that freedom means liberation of all slaves, Israel would not have been ready to understand abolishing slavery in Moses’. While Moses was in the mountain right after Israel allegedly had accepted the covenant, He gave to Moses a list of laws that Israel was to observe. Among them were laws governing how Israelites were to treat their Israelite slaves (Ex. 21:2-11). Since the Israelites were not ready to understand abolishing slavery, Jehovah regulated it to control its most serious abuses. Then he gradually taught Israel and the world higher standards. That principle applies to the law in this verse. The commandment did not make sex with a female slave a crime, but it did make sex with a female slave engaged to another man a crime. In the times of Moses, women were considered to be the property of their husbands. The crime that is forbidden in this law was more an abuse of another man’s property than a sexual offense. Nevertheless, God did teach by this law that a man was not free to treat his female slaves in any way he wished. The standards God set in Israelite law were vastly superior to those of the nations around them, in which a man was accountable to no one as to how he treated his slaves because they were his property. However, both bigamy and slavery were far short of the original ideas that God had for mankind at the creation, and He did not put His approval on those evils at any time. Jesus stated that same principle when he said Jehovah taught Moses to regulate divorce “because of the hardness of your hearts,” though from the beginning divorce had never been a part of God’s plan for people (Matt. 19:7-9). We still have not learned to accept divorce as an evil to be avoided at all cost. God is tolerant with Christians on that point today, but His ideal that marriage is a union between one man and one woman for life has not changed. Some have argued on the basis of verses such as this one that God did not look with disfavor on premarital sex relations. They have argued that God disapproved of premarital sex only when the girl was promised to another man. Such a position is based on a failure to study all of the laws that Jehovah revealed to Israel concerning sex practices. The law recorded in Exodus 22:16-17 provided punishment for a man who had sex with a virgin. The penalty was less than the penalty for adultery on the part of married persons, which was death (see comments on Lev. 20:10 in MESSAGE 24), but the act definitely was forbidden. Jehovah clearly taught that premarital sex was not in keeping with the high ideals He set for marriage in the beginning and that it was out of character for people who were committed to following Him. and she has not been redeemed. This statement is the first reference in Leviticus to redeeming a person, animal, or object, though the practice had been mentioned in Exodus 13:13-15; 34:20. It is explained in Leviticus 25:24-46,48-49 and in Leviticus 27:13-31 (see comments on those verses in MESSAGES 37 and 38). Redeeming meant to pay a price to release a person, animal, or object from an obligation. A person might redeem himself, or be redeemed by another person. Redeeming was the special responsibility of a person’s nearest of kin. In this verse, “has not been redeemed” means no one had bought the female slave to set her free. or freedom has not been given to her. A slave could also be set free by his or her owner. Jehovah had given laws regulating such occasions in Exodus 21:5-11. In this case, the female slave also had not been set free by her owner. a punishment must be given. If a man broke this commandment and had sex with a female slave who had been promised to another man, punishment was required. No specific punishment was stated for this offense. The case was to be presented to a judge and a punishment prescribed according to the conditions of the case. The law taught that a man was not free to use an engaged woman for sex just because she was a slave. They may not be put to death because she was not free. Jehovah did state that the death penalty was not to be prescribed for this crime. The reason was that the woman was not a free woman. If she had been a free woman, the required penalty would have been death for both the man and the woman (see comments on Lev. 20:10 in MESSAGE 24). We find it sad that a lower penalty was required if the woman was a slave than if she was free. However, we should remember that the death penalty is not required today for adultery in any case. Are our standards higher or lower than those God commanded for Israel? NET Note - That is, the woman had previously been assigned for marriage to another man but the marriage deal had not yet been consummated. In the meantime, the woman has lost her virginity and has, therefore, lost part of her value to the master in the sale to the man for whom she had been designated. Compensation was, therefore, required. Punishment (01244)(biqqoreth) is a "due punishment, a reprimand along with other obligations for an offense or sin acted out." (Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew) Note that in addition to recompense, the guilty man must also bring a guilt offering (Lev 19:21). Wenham - In OT times sexual intercourse with a betrothed girl by someone who was not her fiancé was regarded as tantamount to adultery. Consequently both parties were liable to the death penalty. This law states an exception to the general principle of capital punishment; in such cases they must not be put to death (v. 20). The reason given for this exemption is because she was not free. Because she is a slave the death penalty applies neither to the girl nor to her seducer. (NICOT) George Bush - Leviticus 19 Commentary Whosoever lieth carnally with a woman that is a bond-maid. The exact rendering of the Hebrew is, ‘And a man when he lieth with a woman (with) the lying of seed,’ to which our version comes sufficiently near. In order fully to understand the drift of the precept, it must be borne in mind, that Gentile servants were often found among the Hebrews, and these, if proselyted, were baptized, and that either with a reservation of their servitude, or with a full and free discharge. But it appears that there were some in a kind of intermediate or half-way condition, partly free and partly servile, viz., when part only of their redemption-money had been paid, a balance yet remaining. Now as no Israelite might marry such a woman while perfectly a slave; so, although he might espouse her when partly free, and the espousals be valid, yet they could not be of full force till her enfranchisement was complete. Of a bondwoman in these circumstances the Hebrew doctors understand Moses in this passage to speak, as Maimonides says expressly, ‘The bond-woman betrothed spoken of in the law, is one that is half a bond-woman and half a free-woman, and betrothed to an Hebrew servant.’ Gr. αυτη οικετις ῆ διαπεφυλαγμενη ανθρωπῳ, she shall be reserved a household-servant for a man. Not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her. Rather, not fully, not entirely redeemed, but only in part; and therefore her freedom not absolutely granted to her. She shall be scourged. Heb. בקרת תהיה bikkoreth tihyeh, there shall be a scourging. The original בקרת bikkoreth from the root בקר bâkar, to search, to inquire into, to examine diligently, to take note of any person or thing, and thence in the derivative inquisition, animadversion, punishment, the frequent effect of a rigid examination, of a close and prying scrutiny. Gr. εσται επισκοπη, there shall be visitation. If she had been perfectly free both parties would have been put to death by virtue of the law, Deut. 22:23, 25. But not being fully free, and consequently not fully the wife of her betrothed, it was not counted adultery; and therefore punished only with scourging. From the literal rendering, ‘there shall be scourging,’ it would doubtless seem that both parties were to share in it alike; but the Hebrew canons and the current of rabbinical authority favor rather the rendering of the English text—‘She shall be scourged.’ Maimonides says, ‘The lying with this bond-woman differeth from all other unlawful connexions; for lo, she is to be beaten, and he is bound to bring a trespass-offering.’ So in the Talmud (Cheret. c. 2.) it is said, ‘In all unlawful connexions, whether it be man or woman, they are alike in stripes and in sacrifice: but in the case of the bond-woman, the man is not like to the woman in stripes, nor the woman to the man in sacrifice.’ Leviticus 19:21 'He shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD to the doorway of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. ICB - The man must bring a male sheep as his penalty offering. He must bring it to the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. KJV Leviticus 19:21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. NET Leviticus 19:21 He must bring his guilt offering to the LORD at the entrance of the Meeting Tent, a guilt offering ram, BGT Leviticus 19:21 καὶ προσάξει τῆς πλημμελείας αὐτοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ παρὰ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου κριὸν πλημμελείας NLT Leviticus 19:21 The man, however, must bring a ram as a guilt offering and present it to the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle. ESV Leviticus 19:21 but he shall bring his compensation to the LORD, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. NIV Leviticus 19:21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for a guilt offering to the LORD. Lev 5:1-6:7 He shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD to the doorway of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering Leon Hyatt - When the man paid his penalty, he was to present an offense-offering at The Tabernacle. An offense-offering was a fire-offering that showed repentance for a sin but that also required the payment of restitution for the wrong done (see comments on Lev. 6:1-7 in MESSAGE 4). The requirement for an offense-offering reveals two truths: (1) The offender needed to repent and receive forgiveness from God. His offense was against God, as well as the woman’s fiancé. (2) He needed to make restitution to the man for his offense. The offense was against God and man, and the man needed to be reconciled to both. An offense-offering was always to consist of a ram (see Lev. 5:15 and Lev. 6:6-7). The amount of the restitution payment probably was to be set by the judge who decided the case. Leviticus 19:22 'The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him. ICB - The priest will offer the male sheep as a penalty offering before the Lord. It will be for the man's sin. The priest will perform the acts to remove the sins of the man so he will belong to the Lord. Then the man will be forgiven for his sin. KJV Leviticus 19:22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. NET Leviticus 19:22 and the priest is to make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin that he has committed, and he will be forgiven of his sin that he has committed. BGT Leviticus 19:22 καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐν τῷ κριῷ τῆς πλημμελείας ἔναντι κυρίου περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἧς ἥμαρτεν καὶ ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἣν ἥμαρτεν NLT Leviticus 19:22 The priest will then purify him before the LORD with the ram of the guilt offering, and the man's sin will be forgiven. ESV Leviticus 19:22 And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin that he has committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has committed. NIV Leviticus 19:22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven. and the sin: Lev 4:20,26 'The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him. Leon Hyatt - If the man truly repented when he presented his offense-offering, he was covered or protected from the effects of his sin and his sin was forgiven. The ceremonies performed by the priest in connection with the offense-offering symbolized the offender’s covering and forgiveness (see Lev. 1:4 and Lev. 6:6-7). Forgiven (05545)(salach) means to free from or release from something and so to pardon, to forgive, to spare. God's offer of pardon and forgiveness to sinners. Salach is never used of people forgiving each other but used of God forgiving. Jehovah Himself announces, in response to Moses' prayers for Israel, that He has forgiven Israel at two of their darkest moments, the golden calf incident and the murmuring at Kadesh Barnea (Ex 34:9; Nu 14:19-20). Vine adds that "The basic meaning (of salach) undergoes no change throughout the Old Testament. God is always the subject of “forgiveness.” No other Old Testament verb means “to forgive,” although several verbs include “forgiveness” in the range of meanings given a particular context (e.g., naca and awon in Ex. 32:32; kapar in Ezek. 16:63)… Most occurrences of calach are in the sacrificial laws of Leviticus and Numbers. In the typology of the Old Testament, sacrifices foreshadowed the accomplished work of Jesus Christ, and the Old Testament believer was assured of “forgiveness” based on sacrifice (see Nu 15:25, 28)… he mediators of the atonement were the priests who offered the sacrifice. The sacrifice was ordained by God to promise ultimate “forgiveness” in God’s sacrifice of His own Son. Moreover, sacrifice was appropriately connected to atonement, as there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Lev. 4:20; cf. Heb. 9:22). Out of His grace, God alone “forgives” sin. The Israelites experienced God’s “forgiveness” in the wilderness and in the Promised Land. As long as the temple stood, sacrificial atonement continued and the Israelites were assured of God’s “forgiveness.” When the temple was destroyed and sacrifices ceased, God sent the prophetic word that He graciously would restore Israel out of exile and “forgive” its sins (Jer. 31:34). The Septuagint (Lxx) translates salach with the Greek verb aphiemi (see word study) in all 9 uses of salach in the book of Leviticus. The verb aphiemi (from apo = prefix implies separation + hiemi = put in motion, send; See also study on noun aphesis) conveys the basic idea of an action which causes separation and means to send from one's self, to forsake, to hurl away, to put away, let alone, disregard, put off. It depicts an action which causes separation that results in total detachment, total separation, from a previous location or condition. In secular Greek aphiemi initially conveyed the sense of to throw and in one secular writing we read "let the pot drop" (aphiemi). From this early literal use the word came to mean leave or let go. Aphiemi basically means to send away and was used to indicate the legal repayment or cancellation of a debt or the granting of a pardon. It is used in Scripture to refer to God’s forgiveness of sin. Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ actually took the sins of the world upon His own head, as it were, and carried them an infinite distance away from where they could never return. That is the extent of the forgiveness of our trespasses. Salach - 46x in NAS - Salach is translated as - forgive(19), forgiven(13), pardon(12), pardoned(2), pardons(1). Ex 34:9; Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 19:22; Num 14:19f; 15:25f, 28; 30:5, 8, 12; Dt 29:20; 1Sa 15:25; 1 Kgs 8:30, 34, 36, 39, 50; 2 Kgs 5:18; 24:4; 2 Chr 6:21, 25, 27, 30, 39; 7:14; Ps 25:11; 103:3; Isa 55:7; Jer 5:1, 7; 31:34; 33:8; 36:3; 50:20; Lam 3:42; Dan 9:19; Amos 7:2 The first use is notable, where Moses intercedes for the rebellious nation of Israel… Ex 34:9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in Thy sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate; and do Thou pardon (Lxx = aphaireo = take away, remove) our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Thine own possession.” Other representative uses (if you have time, consider studying all 46 uses above for a fuller understand of pardon and forgiveness in the OT)… Ps 25:11 For Thy name’s sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Ps 103:3 Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases; Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. Walter Kaiser has an excellent summary on salach…One of the greatest evangelical notes in the OT is struck by this word: forgiveness and pardon from the very God of forgiveness. It also raises the greatest problem as well: What was the nature of this forgiveness? Hebrews seems to state just as categorically that OT forgiveness was ineffective and impossible (Heb 9:9; Heb 10:4). The resolution is clear. In the first place, Jehovah himself announces, in response to Moses’ prayers for Israel, that he has forgiven Israel at two of their darkest moments, the golden calf incident and the murmuring at Kadesh Barnea (Ex 34:9; Num 14:19–20). In the second place, on the basis of Mosaic legislation, real atonement and forgiveness were available for all sins except those of the defiant and unrepentant sinner (Num 15:30–31) who “despised the word of the Lord.” The claim is made repeatedly (Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35, 5:10, 13, 16, 18, 26; 19:22) that when atonement was made, the sinner’s sins were forgiven. For all such sins as lying, theft, perjury, fraud (Lev 6:1–7), or those “against any of the Commandments of the Lord” (Lev 4:2), it was possible to obtain divine pardon. Rather than being excluded, these sins were specifically included in God’s provision for the ot believer along with “sins of ignorance” (Nu 15:25, 26, 28). As if to emphasize the point, it is stated repeatedly that on the Day of Atonement, “all the iniquities” and sins of Israel were atoned (Lev 16:21, 30, 32, 34). But the individual Israelites had to properly “humble themselves” in true confession (Lev 16:29, 31). This is the kind of forgiveness which Solomon prayed would be available to all as he led a prayer of dedication for the temple (1Kgs 8:30, 34, 39, 50, and its parallel in 2Chr 6). Amos requested it for Judah (Amos 7:2) as did Daniel (Da 9:19). However, at times Israel was not pardoned (Dt 29:19; La 3:42). So exciting was the openness of this offer of forgiveness that Isaiah (Isa 55:7) featured it as the heart of his invitation to salvation. So ready was their Lord to forgive, that Isaiah’s listeners must forget all notions based on the reluctance of men to forgive each other. The experience of forgiveness in the OT was personally efficacious, although objectively the basis and grounds of that forgiveness awaited the death of Christ. Other terms used for forgiveness stressed the ideas of wiping out or blotting out the memory of the sin (māâ), covering or concealing the record of the sin (kāsâ), lifting up and removal of sin (nāśā), passing by of sin (ābar), and pardoning on the basis of a substitute (kāpar in the Piel q.v.). Three texts in Jeremiah, 31:34; 33:8; 50:20, celebrate a future forgiveness of our Lord in connection with the New Covenant and ultimately his second coming. (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). Leviticus 19:23 'When you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. KJV Leviticus 19:23 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. NET Leviticus 19:23 "'When you enter the land and plant any fruit tree, you must consider its fruit to be forbidden. Three years it will be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. BGT Leviticus 19:23 ὅταν δὲ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν δίδωσιν ὑμῖν καὶ καταφυτεύσετε πᾶν ξύλον βρώσιμον καὶ περικαθαριεῖτε τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν αὐτοῦ ὁ καρπὸς αὐτοῦ τρία ἔτη ἔσται ὑμῖν ἀπερικάθαρτος οὐ βρωθήσεται NLT Leviticus 19:23 "When you enter the land and plant fruit trees, leave the fruit unharvested for the first three years and consider it forbidden. Do not eat it. ESV Leviticus 19:23 "When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, then you shall regard its fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. NIV Leviticus 19:23 " 'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. when: Lev 14:34) forbidden or uncircumcised (KJV): Lev 12:3 Lev 22:27 Ex 6:12,30 Ex 22:29,30 Jer 6:10 Jer 9:25,26 Acts 7:51) LAWS GOVERNING ORCHARDS When you enter the land - Earlier God adds the description that the land is that "which I give you for possession." (Lev 14:34) And plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten Forbidden (06190) (orlah) literally means foreskin. Merrill - The Hebrew adjective orlah means "uncircumcised" and a figurative use of this term is used to denote that which is forbidden. The literal term mwl ("circumcised") has been dealt with in Lev 12:3. Here the term is one of contempt in light of the divine requirement for all the LORD'S male followers to be circumcised. As a term of contempt it is especially used of the Philistines (e.g., Jdg. 14:3; 15:18; 1Sa 14:6; 17:26, 36; 31:4; 2Sa 1:20; 1Chr 10:4). In the Prophets it is associated with those lacking spiritual life (Isa. 52:1; Jer. 6:10). In context in Lev. 19:23, the reason that the fruit of the land would be forbidden for three years after a tree was planted is not given, but proper adherence to this com-mand would provide an increased harvest in the end.(The Bible Knowledge Word Study - Gen-Deut) Orlah - 15x in NAS - Gen 17:11, 14, 23ff; 34:14; Ex 4:25; Lev 12:3; 19:23; Josh 5:3; 1 Sam 18:25, 27; 2 Sam 3:14; Jer 4:4; 9:25. Translated - forbidden(1), foreskin(7), foreskins(4), Gibeath-haaraloth*(1), uncircumcised(2). Leon Hyatt - When the Israelites would be settled in their land and would plant trees that would produce fruit to eat, they were to recognize that all the fruit of their trees was a gift from God. They were to show their appreciation for the produce of their trees by giving their first full fruit crop from each tree to Jehovah to support His work and His servants. A tree could not be expected to bear a full crop until its fourth year, so the Israelites were not to eat the fruit of their fruit trees during the first three years. They were to consider their trees during the first three years to be uncircumcised, that is, not yet dedicated to God. As long as the fruit was not dedicated to Jehovah, they were not to eat it. The fourth year, the crop was to be given to Jehovah to praise Him for the gift of fruit to eat. In the fifth and following years the crops would belong to the Israelite owner. NET Bible Note says the literal Hebrew is similar to the KJV translation…"you shall circumcise its fruit [as] its foreskin," taking the fruit to be that which is to be removed and, therefore, forbidden. Since the fruit is uncircumcised it is forbidden (see J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 306, and esp. B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 131–32). Ryrie explains - When they came to Canaan, they were not to eat fruit from the fruit trees for the first four years. (The first three years, it was considered unclean; the fourth, it was dedicated to the Lord.) The Septuagint translation would tend to substantiate Ryrie's explanation… Leviticus 19:23 And whenever ye shall enter into the land which the Lord your God gives you, and shall plant any fruit-tree, then shall ye purge away its uncleanness (Gk - akatharsia = literally worthless material, waste, figuratively impurity, the opposite of that which is holy); its fruit shall be three years uncleansed (Gk = aperikathartos = unpurified, impure, used only here in the Bible) to you, it shall not be eaten.
Levítico 19
Spurgeon - Leviticus 19:36 (Morning and Evening) - “Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have.” — Leviticus 19:36 Weights, and scales, and measures were to be all according to the standard of justice. Surely no Christian man will need to be reminded of this in his business, for if righteousness were banished from all the world beside, it should find a shelter in believing hearts. There are, however, other balances which weigh moral and spiritual things, and these often need examining. We will call in the officer to-night. The balances in which we weigh our own and other men’s characters, are they quite accurate? Do we not turn our own ounces of goodness into pounds, and other persons’ bushels of excellence into pecks? See to weights and measures here, Christian. The scales in which we measure our trials and troubles, are they according to standard? Paul, who had more to suffer than we have, called his afflictions light, and yet we often consider ours to be heavy—surely something must be amiss with the weights! We must see to this matter, lest we get reported to the court above for unjust dealing. Those weights with which we measure our doctrinal belief, are they quite fair? The doctrines of grace should have the same weight with us as the precepts of the word, no more and no less; but it is to be feared that with many one scale or the other is unfairly weighted. It is a grand matter to give just measure in truth. Christian, be careful here. Those measures in which we estimate our obligations and responsibilities look rather small. When a rich man gives no more to the cause of God than the poor contribute, is that a just ephah and a just hin? When ministers are half starved, is that honest dealing? When the poor are despised, while ungodly rich men are held in admiration, is that a just balance? Reader, we might lengthen the list, but we prefer to leave it as your evening’s work to find out and destroy all unrighteous balances, weights, and measures. Leviticus 19:37 You shall thus observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them; I am the LORD.'" KJV Leviticus 19:37 Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD. NET Leviticus 19:37 You must be sure to obey all my statutes and regulations. I am the LORD.'" BGT Leviticus 19:37 καὶ φυλάξεσθε πάντα τὸν νόμον μου καὶ πάντα τὰ προστάγματά μου καὶ ποιήσετε αὐτά ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν NLT Leviticus 19:37 "You must be careful to keep all of my decrees and regulations by putting them into practice. I am the LORD." ESV Leviticus 19:37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD." NIV Leviticus 19:37 " 'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD.' " Lev 18:4,5 De 4:1,2,5,6 5:1 6:1,2 8:1 Ps 119:4,34 1Jn 3:22,23 You shall thus observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them; I am the LORD Leon Hyatt - All the laws set forth in this message were based on the authority of Jehovah their God, who had brought them out of Egypt. He had the right to ask them to obey because of what He had done for them. He also expected them to obey because He had verbally revealed their civil laws to them. They were to respect and obey those laws because they respected the commands and authority of their God. The words translated “statutes” and “judgments” are the same two words used in Lev 18:4,5 Leon Hyatt applies the teaching of Leviticus 19 - In New Testament times, Jehovah’s people are not a nation in the same sense that Israel was. We are a called-out people from all nations, ethnic groups, and languages. The way of life outlined for us by Jehovah is not enforced by governmental authority, though governments should base their laws on the principles taught by Jehovah. However, Christians still need an authority to correct them when they go astray. That responsibility belongs to the church. According to the New Testament, churches should exercise some authority in influencing their members to obey the life taught by the Lord. That authority is not one of force but one of moral persuasion and isolation. When directed toward believers, persuasion and isolation have great power and influence. Churches that fail to exert that influence are unfair to their members and unfaithful to God. When members fail to obey God’s laws and churches fail to enforce them, Jehovah makes a judgment and sends a punishment, often both on the offender and on the church. His punishment comes to the disobedient can come in many ways. We are wise if we recognize His hand of punishment and correct our ways. The principles outlined in this message are valid for people of New Testament times, as well as for the people of ancient Israel. Not all of the laws are appropriate in their exact wording, because they were made to fit the circumstances of that day. However, the moral and spiritual principles involved in all of these laws can and should be applied to our lives today. Even the laws concerning ceremonial observances in verses 5-8; 23- 25 have lessons for believers today. The moral and spiritual principles involved in those laws need to be understood and followed by all of us. How those principles apply to Christians has been discussed in connection with most of the laws given in this MESSAGE. Actually the New Testament challenges Christians to follow higher moral standards than Jehovah expected of the Israelites. God’s moral principles are the same in all ages, but Christians have greater understanding of those standards through revelations that came through Jesus. We should follow them more closely than the ancient Israelites did. Some question whether Christians today are expected to obey literally the command in verse 26a not to eat blood. The New Testament indicates that we are obligated to obey that command, because we are expected to respect life, especially human life, as much or more than the Israelites were (see Lev. 7:26-27. That obligation for Christians is stated most clearly and directly in Acts 15:28-29.