Exodus 22:27 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Exodus 22:27
For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
a cover (garment) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
raiment
שִׂמְלָת֖וֹsim.la.To
H8071
a dress · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
skin
לְעֹר֑וֹle.'o.Ro
H5785
skin (as naked) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
sleep
יִשְׁכָּ֔בyish.Kav
H7901
to lie down (for rest · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
crieth
יִצְעַ֣קyitz.'Ak
H6817
to shriek · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
hear
וְשָׁמַעְתִּ֖יve.sha.ma'.Ti
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
gracious
חַנּ֥וּןcha.Nun
H2587
gracious · adjective, 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
Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness an…
2 Chronicles 30:9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they s…
Psalms 86:15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Exodus 22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
Psalms 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Psalms 72:12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
Psalms 136:10-11 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:
Exodus 2:23-24 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cr…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Exodus 22:25–end
Here is, I. A law against extortion in lending. 1. They must not receive use for money from any that borrowed for necessity (Exo 22:25), as in that case, Neh 5:5, Neh 5:7. And such provision the law made for the preservation of estates to their families by the year of jubilee that a people who had little concern in trade could not be supposed to borrow money but for necessity, and therefore it is generally forbidden among themselves; but to a stranger, whom yet they might not oppress, they were allowed to lend upon usury: this law, therefore, in the strictness of it, seems to have been peculiar to the Jewish state; but, in the equity of it, it obliges us to show mercy to those of whom we mig…
If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, &c.--From the nature of the case, this is the description of a poor man. No Orientals undress, but, merely throwing off their turbans and some of their heavy outer garments, they sleep in the clothes which they wear during the day. The bed of the poor is usually nothing else than a mat; and, in winter, they cover themselves with a cloak--a practice which forms the ground or reason of the humane and merciful law respecting the pawned coat.
Adam Clarke on Exodus 22:26
If thou - take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge - It seems strange that any pledge should be taken which must be so speedily restored; but it is very likely that the pledge was restored by night only, and that he who pledged it brought it back to his creditor next morning. The opinion of the rabbins is, that whatever a man needed for the support of life, he had the use of it when absolutely necessary, though it was pledged. Thus he had the use of his working tools by day, but he brought them to his creditor in the evening. His hyke, which serves an Arab as a plaid does a Highlander, (See Clarke's note on Exo 12:34), was probably the raiment here referred to: it is a sort of coarse blanket, a…
It appears also that one who does not give back his pledge to a poor man stands condemned with God, for the following threat is directed against such a one: "He who does not receive back his pledge will cry to me," says the Lord, "and I will hear him because I am compassionate."[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 of those who were under the law, what shall we say of those who are in Christ? To them the Lord says, "Unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven."
It appears also that one who does not give back his pledge to a poor man stands condemned with God, for the following threat is directed against such a one: "He who does not receive back his pledge will cry to me," says the Lord, "and I will hear him because I am compassionate."[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 of those who were under the law, what shall we say of those who are in Christ? To them the Lord says, "Unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." .
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
Bed — (Heb. mittah), for rest at night (Ex. 8:3; 1 Sam. 19:13, 15, 16, etc.); during sickness (Gen. 47:31; 48:2; 49:33, etc.); as a sofa for rest (1 Sam. 28:23; Amos 3:12). Another Hebrew word (er’es) so…
Cloak — An upper garment, “an exterior tunic, wide and long, reaching to the ankles, but without sleeves” (Isa. 59:17). The word so rendered is elsewhere rendered “robe” or “mantle.” It was worn by the high…
Debtor — Various regulations as to the relation between debtor and creditor are laid down in the Scriptures. (1.) The debtor was to deliver up as a pledge to the creditor what he could most easily dispense…
Dress — (1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah’s dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Loan — The Mosaic law required that when an Israelite needed to borrow, what he asked was to be freely lent to him, and no interest was to be charged, although interest might be taken of a foreigner (Ex.…
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…
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Beds · Of the poor covered with upper garment — Of the poor covered with upper garment
Creditor · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
John Gill on Exodus 22:27
For that is his covering only,.... All that he has to cover him, the only covering he has when he lies down to sleep; and therefore should be restored to him by the time of sunset, at which time he returns from his labour; and after some refreshment retires to his bed for rest, when his covering will be necessary:
it is his raiment for his skin; which is next to his skin, and covers his naked body, as it is when he lies down to sleep; and therefore if not returned, he must lie naked without any covering, which to deprive him of would be cruel: Jarchi interprets this covering of his shirt, but it rather means his bed clothes: the Septuagint version calls it the clothes of his shame, what cov…
Exodus 22:26, 27
26. If thou at all take thy neighbor's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
26. Si in pignus acceperis vestimentum proximi tui, antequam occubuerit sol restitues illud ei.
27. For that is his covering only; it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
27. Quia ipsum solum est operimentum ejus, illud vestimentum ejus est cuti suae in quo dormiat, et erit quum clamaverit ad me, tunc exaudiam: sum enim misericors.
Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 22:25-27
If a man should lend to one of the poor of his own people, he was not to oppress him by demanding interest; and if he gave his upper garment as a pledge, he was to give it him back towards sunset, because it was his only covering; as the poorer classes in the East use the upper garment, consisting of a large square piece of cloth, to sleep in. "It is his clothing for his skin:" i.e., it serves for a covering to his body. "Wherein shall he lie?" i.e., in what shall be wrap himself to sleep? (cf. Deu 24:6, Deu 24:10-13). - With Exo 22:28. God directs Himself at once to the hearts of the Israelites, and attacks the sins of selfishness and covetousness, against which the precepts in Exo 22:21-27…
Although interest could not be charged on a loan to another Israelite, collateral, or security, could be required. However, even the security had to be handled in a humane way. The requirements of the covenant mirrored the character of God.
Rashi on Exodus 22:27
אלהים לא תקלל THOU SHALT NOT EXECRATE GOD — Here you have the prohibition of blasphemy (the penalty being stated in Leviticus 24:16) and the prohibition of cursing a judge (who is also termed אלהים, cf. Exodus 22:7) (cf. (Mekhilta and Sanhedrin 66a).
· To return before sunset, garments taken in pledge
— To return before sunset, garments taken in pledge
Debt · SECURITY FOR — SECURITY FOR
Hyke Or Upper Garment · Used by the poor as a covering by night — Used by the poor as a covering by night
Lending · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor · DUTY TO — DUTY TO
Surety (Guarantee) · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
