Exodus 23:5

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden,.... Fallen down, and such a burden upon him that he cannot rise up again, but lies under it, and the owner of it is not able of

If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou meet thine enemy's ox ... going astray.

This translation depends upon this supposition, that the Hebrew verb azab, which is thrice used in this verse, signifies not only to leave, but also to help, or erect, or lift up, or strengthen, or restore; which signification of the verb may be proved, 1. From that use of it, 4:2. 2. From the parallel place, , where instead of this verb azab is hakim, which is properly to erect or lift up. But if the verb did signify only to leave, it may be thus rendered according to the Hebrew words, then, or therefore, or surely (for all these ways the Hebrew particle vau is used) thou shalt forbear to leave it, to wit, the ass groaning under his burden, or the lifting up of the ass and burden, to him alone; but if thou wilt be leaving, I will appoint thee a better object for it, thou shalt surely leave or lay aside what thou hast against him, i.e. whatsoever controversy thou hast with him, that shall not hinder thee from succouring him or his in any distress. The Hebrew preposition in, doth oft signify against, as 94:16 . And it is a concise or short way of speaking, which is very common in the Hebrew language, against him, for what thou hast against him. Or thus, and wouldest forbear to leave, to wit, thy business which thou art going about, for him, i.e. for the sake of him who is thy enemy, as the Hebrew preposition tamed is oft used, as , &c.; thou shalt repress those malicious desires, and thou shalt surely leave it to be, or to tarry, or to help with him to lift up the ass. So there is only an ellipsis of the verb, which is most common in the Hebrew tongue.

Exodus 23:5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.Ver. 5. Thou shalt surely help with him.] So the Spirit helps with us; or lifts over against us. He looks ut acti agamus.

(5) If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee . . . —The sense is clear, but the words are greatly disputed. If a man sees his enemy’s ass prostrate under its burthen, he is to help to raise it up. In this case he owes a double duty—(1) to his enemy, and (2) to the suffering animal. Geddes’ emendation of ’azar for ’azab, in all the three places where the verb occurs, is the simplest and best of those suggested. The passage would then run: “If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burthen, and wouldest forbear to help it, thou shalt surely help with him”—i.e., the owner.

5. and wouldest forbear, &c.] This rend. (= AV.) of the existing text is quite impossible: ‘βzab means to leave, forsake, &c., but never to ‘help.’ That of the marg. is much preferable: for the uncommon sense let loose or release, cf. Deuteronomy 32:36, Job 10:1. Ges., Di., Keil under, thou shalt forbear to leave (it) to him (alone); thou shalt surely release (it) with him; the objection to this is that ‘βzab is taken in a efferent sense in the two parts of the verse; Ges., however, supposed e play to be intentional. The difficulty could be removed by reading in the last clause, with Bochart, Bδ., thou shalt surely help with him (ςζψϊςζψ for ςζαϊςζα). The rend. thou shalt forbear is perfectly grammatical: but it is in favour of RVm. that nearly everywhere else in these laws (e.g. v. 4) the apodosis after ki is introduced by a bare impf. Deuteronomy 22:4 has, ‘thou shalt surely lift (them) up with him.’

4, 5. Enemy’s ox… bring it back — This statute embodies the essence of our Lord’s command to “do good to them that hate you,” (Matthew 5:44,) and furnishes a most admirable illustration of it.