Exodus 23:11

But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
seventh	וְהַשְּׁבִיעִ֞ת ve.ha.she.vi.'It	H7637	seventh · conjunction + definite article + ordinal number, feminine singular absolute
rest	תִּשְׁמְטֶ֣נָּה tish.me.Te.nah	H8058	to fling down · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
lie	וּנְטַשְׁתָּ֗הּ u.ne.tash.Tah	H5203	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
poor	אֶבְיֹנֵ֣י 'ev.yo.Nei	H34	destitute · adjective, masculine plural construct
people	עַמֶּ֔ךָ 'a.Me.kha	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
eat	וְאָֽכְלוּ֙ ve.'a.khe.Lu	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
leave	וְיִתְרָ֕ם ve.yit.Ram	H3499	properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
beasts	חַיַּ֣ת chai.Yat	H2416	alive · noun, common feminine singular construct
field	הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה ha.sa.Deh	H7704	a field (as flat) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
eat	תֹּאכַ֖ל to.Khal	H398	to eat (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
deal	תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה ta.'a.Seh	H6213	to do or make · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
vineyard	לְכַרְמְךָ֖ le.khar.me.Kha	H3754	a garden or vineyard · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
oliveyard	לְזֵיתֶֽךָ le.zei.Te.kha	H2132	an olive (as yielding illuminating oil) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular

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 25:2-7 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto t…
Leviticus 25:11-12 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in i…
Leviticus 26:34-35 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and en…
Leviticus 25:20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:
Leviticus 25:22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 23:10-19

Here is, I. The institution of the sabbatical year, Exo 23:10, Exo 23:11. Every seventh year the land was to rest; they must not plough nor sow it at the beginning of the year, and then they could not expect any great harvest at the end of the year: but what the earth did produce of itself should be eaten from hand to mouth, and not laid up. Now this was designed, 1. To show what a plentiful land that was into which God was bringing them - that so numerous a people could have rich maintenance out of the produce of so small a country, without foreign trade, and yet could spare the increase of every seventh year. 2. To remind them of their dependence upon God their great landlord, and their ob…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 23:10

six years thou shalt sow thy land--intermitting the cultivation of the land every seventh year. But it appears that even then there was a spontaneous produce which the poor were permitted freely to gather for their use, and the beasts driven out fed on the remainder, the owners of fields not being allowed to reap or collect the fruits of the vineyard or oliveyard during the course of this sabbatical year. This was a regulation subservient to many excellent purposes; for, besides inculcating the general lesson of dependence on Providence, and of confidence in His faithfulness to His promise respecting the triple increase on the sixth year (Lev 25:20-21), it gave the Israelites a practical pro…

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Adam Clarke on Exodus 23:11

The seventh year thou shalt let it rest - As, every seventh day was a Sabbath day, so every seventh year was to be a Sabbath year. The reasons for this ordinance Calmet gives thus: - "1. To maintain as far as possible an equality of condition among the people, in setting the slaves at liberty, and in permitting all, as children of one family, to have the free and indiscriminate use of whatever the earth produced. "2. To inspire the people with sentiments of humanity, by making it their duty to give rest, and proper and sufficient nourishment, to the poor, the slave, and the stranger, and even to the cattle. "3. To accustom the people to submit to and depend on the Divine providence, and exp…

Dictionary and topics

Beast — This word is used of flocks or herds of grazing animals (Ex. 22:5; Num. 20:4, 8, 11; Ps. 78:48); of beasts of burden (Gen. 45:17); of eatable beasts (Prov. 9:2); and of swift beasts or dromedaries…
Beg — That the poor existed among the Hebrews we have abundant evidence (Ex. 23:11; Deut. 15:11), but there is no mention of beggars properly so called in the Old Testament. The poor were provided for by…
Festivals, Religious — There were daily (Lev. 23), weekly, monthly, and yearly festivals, and great stress was laid on the regular observance of them in every particular (Num. 28:1-8; Ex. 29:38-42; Lev. 6:8-23; Ex. 30:7-9;…
Garden — Gardens in the East, as the Hebrew word indicates, are enclosures on the outskirts of towns, planted with various trees and shrubs. From the allusions in the Bible we learn that they were surrounded…
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…
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…
Sabbatical year — Every seventh year, during which the land, according to the law of Moses, had to remain uncultivated (Lev. 25:2-7; comp. Ex. 23:10, 11, 12; Lev. 26:34, 35). Whatever grew of itself during that year…
Agriculture · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Agriculture Or Husbandry · Not to be engaged in during the Sabbatical year — Not to be engaged in during the Sabbatical year
Feast Of Sabbatical Year, The · Kept every seventh year — Kept every seventh year

Exodus 23:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 23:10-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 23:10

Adam Clarke on Exodus 23:11

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 23:11

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 23:10-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 23:10

Adam Clarke on Exodus 23:11

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Exodus 23:11

John Calvin on Exodus 23:10-11

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 23:1-13

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 23:10-12

Rashi on Exodus 23:11