The Plain Sense of Exodus 23:5
Since antiquity, commentators have taken Exodus 23:5 to impose a duty of assistance upon a person who encounters an enemy's animal in distress. This misunderstanding of the text is already to be found in Deuteronomy 22:4 and in the Septuagint. It was (and still is) often propounded for apologet...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
HUC
1989
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual
Year: 1988, Volume: 59, Pages: 1-22 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Since antiquity, commentators have taken Exodus 23:5 to impose a duty of assistance upon a person who encounters an enemy's animal in distress. This misunderstanding of the text is already to be found in Deuteronomy 22:4 and in the Septuagint. It was (and still is) often propounded for apologetic purposes, although it depends on problematic or unacceptable interpretations of the verb ʿ-z-b. If ʿ-z-b is taken in its normal sense ('leave, forsake, abandon'), then, in contrast to the preceding verse, Exodus 23:5 describes a situation in which one must avoid any contact with an enemy's animal. Following a detailed discussion of the history of interpretation (including an Appendix on the meaning of ʿ-z-b), the author musters philological, rhetorical, and juridical arguments in support of this new interpretation of the law. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual
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