Deuteronomy 24:19 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Deuteronomy 24:19
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
to dock off · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
harvest
קְצִֽירְךָ֨ke.tzi.re.Cha
H7105
severed · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
field
בְשָׂדֶ֜ךָve.sa.De.kha
H7704
a field (as flat) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
forgot
וְשָֽׁכַחְתָּ֧ve.sha.khach.Ta
H7911
to mislay · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
sheaf
עֹ֣מֶר'O.mer
H6016
properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute
field
בַּשָּׂדֶ֗הba.sa.Deh
H7704
a field (as flat) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Leviticus 23:22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt t…
Proverbs 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Leviticus 19:9-10 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of t…
Deuteronomy 14:29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within t…
Luke 14:13-14 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For…
Psalms 41:1-3 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
Psalms 112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 24:14–end
Here, I. Masters are commanded to be just to their poor servants, Deu 24:14, Deu 24:15. 1. They must not oppress them, by overloading them with work, by giving them undue and unreasonable rebukes, or by withholding from them proper maintenance. A servant, though a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel, must not be abused: "For thou wast a bondman in the land where thou wast a stranger (Deu 24:18), and thou knowest what a grievous thing it is to be oppressed by a task-master, and therefore, in tenderness to those that are servants and strangers, and in gratitude to that God who set thee at liberty and settled thee in a country of thy own, thou shalt not oppress a servant." Let not masters be…
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field--The grain, pulled up by the roots or cut down with a sickle, was laid in loose sheaves; the fruit of the olive was obtained by striking the branches with long poles; and the grape clusters, severed by a hook, were gathered in the hands of the vintager. Here is a beneficent provision for the poor. Every forgotten sheaf in the harvest-field was to lie; the olive tree was not to be beaten a second time; nor were grapes to be gathered, in order that, in collecting what remained, the hearts of the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow might be gladdened by the bounty of Providence.
Next: Deuteronomy Chapter 25
John Gill on Deuteronomy 24:19
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field,.... Whether barley harvest or wheat harvest, when either of them are ripe for cutting, mowing, or reaping, and are cutting down:
and hast forgot a sheaf in the field; Jarchi says the phrase "in the field" is to include standing corn, some of which is forgotten in cutting down, and so is subject to this law as well as a sheaf; and a sheaf claimed by this name is one that is forgotten both by the workman and the owner; if by the one and not by the other, it could not be so called. The canon runs thus (t),"a sheaf which the workmen forget, and not the owner, or the owner forgets, and not the workman, before which the poor stand, or is covered…
[Of old,] it was wicked and unlawful to gather the sheaves left after the harvest, or to glean the vines after the vintage or to gather up the olives that remain after the trees were picked, because these things were to be left for the poor. Now if this was commanded those who were under the law, what shall we say of those who are in Christ? To them the Lord says, "Unless your justice abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."
In relation to what the Scripture says that in the collection nobody picks up the forgotten bundle and that nobody picks up the abandoned olive or grape again, doing the gleaning of the abandoned things, because that has to be left for the poor, it is presented Maybe the interrogation, and what should be done if what the owners of the fields leave is not picked up by the poor, but by the bad ones? In the first place, it is necessary to consider that the work moved by an act of mercy abandons those things with the intention that it is for the poor what it abandons. Secondly, when these things are sent to the people, at the same time those who do not need it are recommended not to look for those abandoned things. And if they seek them, what should we think they do but take control of things from others, and, what is even more serious, of the things of the poor? With these precepts alludes to two categories of people: to the owners of the fields, so that they leave those things mercifully; to those who are not poor, so that they refrain from collecting them. Both things are said in the text: that is, who should leave them, and for whom they should be left.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Agriculture — Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession…
Foreigner — A Gentile. Such as resided among the Hebrews were required by the law to be treated with kindness (Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:33, 34; 23:22; Deut. 14:28; 16:10, 11; 24:19). They enjoyed in many things…
Poor — The Mosaic legislation regarding the poor is specially important. (1.) They had the right of gleaning the fields (Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19, 21). (2.) In the sabbatical year they were to have their…
Stranger — This word generally denotes a person from a foreign land residing in Palestine. Such persons enjoyed many privileges in common with the Jews, but still were separate from them. The relation of the…
Widows — To be treated with kindness (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12; 27:19, etc.). In the New Testament the same tender regard for them is inculcated (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Tim. 5:3-16) and…
Agriculture · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Gleaning · Laws concerning — Laws concerning
Harvest, The · Legal provision for the poor during — Legal provision for the poor during
Liberality · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Orphan · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor · DUTY TO — DUTY TO
Reward · A MOTIVE TO FAITHFULNESS
again
תָשׁוּב֙ta.Shuv
H7725
to turn back (hence · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
fetch
לְקַחְתּ֔וֹle.kach.To
H3947
to take (in the widest variety of applications) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
stranger
לַגֵּ֛רla.Ger
H1616
properly · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fatherless
לַיָּת֥וֹםlai.ya.Tom
H3490
a bereaved person · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
widow
וְלָאַלְמָנָ֖הve.la.'al.ma.Nah
H490
a widow · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
LORD
יְהוָ֣הYah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · proper noun, a title
God
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ'e.lo.Hei.kha
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
bless
יְבָרֶכְךָ֙ye.va.rekh.Kha
H1288
to kneel · verb, piel jussive, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
work
מַעֲשֵׂ֥הma.'a.Seh
H4639
an action (good or bad) · noun, common masculine singular construct
hands
יָדֶֽיךָya.Dei.kha
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders dual construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
John Calvin on Deuteronomy 24:19–end
Deuteronomy 24:19-22
19. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, then shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
19. Quum messueris messem in agro tuo, et oblitus fueris manipulum in agro, non reverteris ad eum tollendum: peregrino, pupillo, et viduae erit: ut benedicat tibi Jehova Deus tuus in omni opere manuum tuarum.
20. When then beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
20. Quum excusseris olivam tuam, non scrutaberi…
Directions to allow strangers, widows, and orphans to glean in time of harvest (as in Lev 19:9-10, and Lev 23:22). The reason is given in Deu 24:22, viz., the same as in Deu 24:18 and Deu 15:15.
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 24:17
True justice must be given (literally do not deprive of justice): The people of Israel were to vigorously resist discrimination against the weakest and most vulnerable people in society. Israel had been redeemed from such a status in Egypt, and their experience should help them realize how to treat others in similar circumstances (24:18).
Rashi on Deuteronomy 24:19
ושכחת עמר [WHEN THOU REAPEST THY HARVEST IN THY FIELD] AND HAST FORGOT A SHEAF … [THOU SHALT NOT RETURN TO TAKE IT] — a sheaf, but not a stack of corn (Sifrei Devarim 283:1). Hence they (the Rabbis) said, “A sheaf that contains two Seahs of grain which one has forgotten in the field, does not come under the term of שכחה (a forgotten sheaf)” (Mishnah Peah 6:6).
בשדה [AND HAST FORGOT …] IN THE FIELD — This apparently redundant word (it has just stated בשדך) is intended to include under this law forgotten “standing corn” (קמה) — that one has forgotten to cut down part of it (Sifrei Devarim 283:2).
לא תשוב לקחתו THOU SHALT NOT GO BACK TO TAKE IT — Hence they (the Rabbis) said: A sheaf that is…
Strangers In Israel · Laws respecting: To have the gleaning of the harvest — Laws respecting: To have the gleaning of the harvest
Widows · Should be: Allowed to share in our blessings — Should be: Allowed to share in our blessings
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
