Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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it punished with death, especially among a people that were blessed with a divine revelation, and cared for by divine Providence above any people under the sun.
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Unnatural abominations are here made capital; such beasts in the shape of men as are guilty of them are unfit to live (Ex 22:19): Whosoever lies with a beast shall die.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he
shall be utterly destroyed.
Idolatry is also made capital, Ex 22:20. God having declared himself jealous in this matter, the civil powers must be jealous in it too, and utterly destroy those persons, families, and places of Israel, that worshipped any god, save the Lord: this law might have prevented the woeful apostasies of the Jewish nation in after times, if those that should have executed it had not been ringleaders in the breach of it.
21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were
strangers in the land of Egypt.
Strangers must not be abused (Ex 22:21), not wronged in judgment by the magistrates, not imposed upon in contracts, nor must any advantage be taken of their ignorance or necessity; no, nor must they be taunted, trampled upon, treated with contempt, or upbraided with being strangers; for all these were vexations, and would discourage strangers from coming to live among them, or would strengthen their prejudices against their religion, to which, by all kind and gentle methods, they should endeavour to proselyte them. The reason given why they should be kind to strangers is, "You were strangers in Egypt, and knew what it was to be vexed and oppressed there," Note,
(1.) Humanity is one of the laws of religion, and obliges us particularly to be tender of those that lie most under disadvantages and discouragements, and to extend our compassionate concern to strangers, and those to whom we