Exodus 23:4

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

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) Thine enemy’s ox.—The general duty of stopping stray animals and restoring them to friendly owners, expressly taught in Deuteronomy 22:1-3, is here implied as if admitted on all hands. The legislator extends this duty to cases where the owner is our personal enemy. It was not generally recognised in antiquity that men’s enemies had any claims upon them. Cicero, indeed, says—“Sunt autem quædam officia etiam adversus eos servanda, a quibus injuriam aceeperis” (De Off. i. 11); but he stops short of enjoining active benevolence. Here and in Exodus 23:5 we have a sort of anticipation of Christianity—active kindness to an enemy being required, even when it costs us some trouble. The principle of friendliness is involved—the germ which in Christianity blossoms out into the precept, “Love your enemies.”

Benson Commentary

Exodus 23:4. Thou shalt surely bring it back to him — So far shalt thou be from revenging his injuries, that thou shalt render good to him for them, whereby if thou dost not reconcile him, thou wilt at least procure peace to thyself, and an honour to religion.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

23:1-9 In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one only God, and the separation of Israel from the pagan world. Neither parties, friends, witnesses, nor common opinions, must move us to lessen great faults, to aggravate small ones, excuse offenders, accuse the innocent, or misrepresent any thing.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

So far was the spirit of the law from encouraging personal revenge that it would not allow a man to neglect an opportunity of saving his enemy from loss.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. countenance—adorn, embellish—thou shalt not varnish the cause even of a poor man to give it a better coloring than it merits.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

So far shalt thou be from revenging his injuries, that thou shalt render good to him for them, whereby if thou dost not reconcile him, thou wilt procure peace to thyself, and honour to religion.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray,.... Or any other beast, as the Samaritan version adds; for these are only mentioned for instances, as being more common, and creatures subject to go astray; now when such as these are met going astray, so as to be in danger of being lost to the owner, though he is an enemy; or as the Targum of Jonathan,"whom thou hatest because of a sin, which thou alone knowest in him;''yet this was not so far to prejudice the finder of his beasts against him, as to be careless about them, to suffer them to go on without acquainting him with them, or returning them to him, as follows:

thou shalt surely bring it back to him again; whether it be an ox, or an ass, or any other beast, the law is very strong and binding upon the finder to return it to his neighbour, though an enemy, and bring it either to his field or to his farm.

Geneva Study Bible

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

(b) If we are bound to do good to our enemies beast, how much more to our enemy himself, Mt 5:44.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. thine enemy’s ox] that such a service would be rendered to a friend, is taken for granted. In Dt. the comprehensive term ‘brother,’ i.e. fellow-countryman, is employed, in accordance with the prevalent usage of that book (cf. Deuteronomy 15:2-3; Deuteronomy 15:7; Deuteronomy 15:9; Deuteronomy 15:11-12; Deuteronomy 17:15 al.).

4, 5. An enemy’s beast to be preserved from harm. These two injunctions breathe a spirit unusual in the OT. (cf., however, Leviticus 19:17-18), and reminding one of Matthew 5:44. They are repeated in Deuteronomy 22:1-4, in an expanded form, accommodating them to the spirit and point of view of Deuteronomy. They can hardly be here in their original place; for they evidently interrupt the connexion between vv. 1–3 and vv. 6–9: they would follow better after Exodus 22:24 or 27.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - Thine enemy's ox. A private enemy is here spoken of, not a public one, as in Deuteronomy 23:6. It is remarkable that the law should have so far anticipated Christianity as to have laid it down that men have duties of friendliness even towards their enemies, and are bound under certain circumstances to render them a service. "Hate thine enemies" (Matthew 5:43) was no injunction of the Mosaic taw, but a conclusion which Rabbinical teachers unwarrantably drew from it. Christianity, however, goes far beyond Mosaism in laying down the broad precept - "Love your enemies." Exodus 23:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Not only was their conduct not to be determined by public opinion, the direction taken by the multitude, or by weak compassion for a poor man; but personal antipathy, enmity, and hatred were not to lead them to injustice or churlish behaviour. On the contrary, if the Israelite saw his enemy's beast straying, he was to bring it back again; and if he saw it lying down under the weight of its burden, he was to help it up again (cf. Deuteronomy 22:1-4). The words וגו מעזב וחדלתּ, "cease (desist) to leave it to him (thine enemy); thou shalt loosen it (let it loose) with him," which have been so variously explained, cannot have any other signification than this: "beware of leaving an ass which has sunk down beneath its burden in a helpless condition, even to thine enemy, to try whether he can help it up alone; rather help him to set it loose from its burden, that it may get up again." This is evident from Deuteronomy 22:4, where התעלּמתּ לא, "withdraw not thyself," is substituted for מעזב חדלתּ, and עמּו תּקים הקם, "set up with him," for עמּו תּעזב עזב. From this it is obvious that עזב is used in the first instance in the sense of leaving it alone, leaving it in a helpless condition, and immediately afterwards in the sense of undoing or letting loose. The peculiar turn given to the expression, "thou shalt cease from leaving," is chosen because the ordinary course, which the natural man adopts, is to leave an enemy to take care of his own affairs, without troubling about either him or his difficulties. Such conduct as this the Israelite was to give up, if he ever found his enemy in need of help.