Leviticus 19:9

And when ye reap the harvest of your land,.... Of the land of Canaan, when come into it, which having sown, and it was harvest, either barley harvest or wheat harvest, or both, and especially the

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. When ye reap the harvest of your land.

Leviticus 19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.Ver. 9. And when ye reap.] See what provision the Lord maketh for his poor, commanding that the fuller cups of the richer sort may overflow into their empty dishes: besides that πτωχοδεκατη, as Jerome calls it, that poor man’ s tithe appointed in Deuteronomy 14:28-29; Deuteronomy 15:11. James V of Scotland was, for his charity, called the poor man’ s king; much more may God.

(9) And when ye reap.—Benevolent consideration for the poor is another means whereby the Israelite is to attain to that holiness which will enable him to reflect the holiness of God. As the Lord is merciful to all, and provides for the wants of every living creature (Psalms 145:15-16), the Israelite, too, is to regard the wants of the needy. By this injunction the Law moreover establishes the legal rights of the poor to a portion of the produce of the soul, and thus releases him from private charity, which, in its exercise, might have been capricious and tyrannical. The harvest of your land.—The expression “harvest,” which is subject to this law, the administrators of the law during the second Temple defined to consist of the following produce of the soil (1) all edible and nutritious plants, but not those used for dyeing and colouring; (2) plants which are cultivated, but not those which grow wildly; (3) those which strictly belong to the soil, but not mushrooms, sponges, &c, since these are not so much dependent upon the soil for their growth, but upon humidity, and grow also upon wet wood, &c; (4) those which ripen at the same time of the year and are all gathered in at the same time, thus excluding figs and similar fruits of trees which are gathered later and gradually, and (5) the produce which is not for immediate consumption, but is garnered up, thus excluding vegetables. Thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field.—The extent of the “corner” to be thus left for the poor, like that of filial duty and the study of the Divine law, has designedly been left undefined by the administrators of the law. It is among the things which have “no fixed measures.” But though the maximum is not given, the minimum is stated to be no less than the sixtieth part of the field. The corner was generally left at the end of the field, so that the poor could easily get at it. The time when the poor came was morning, noon, and at the evening sacrifice, which was about three o’clock in the afternoon. The morning was intended for the accommodation of those mothers who had young children, who were then asleep; the middle of the day to accommodate the nurses, whilst the evening suited the elderly people. The gleanings of thy harvest.—The expression “gleaning” is defined by the authorities during the second Temple to be the ears which fall from the hand or from the sickle in the time of reaping, provided that the quantity which has thus dropped from the hand of the plucker or cutter does not exceed one or two ears. When these ears have thus been dropped they belong to the proprietor and not to the gleaner.

Verse 9. When ye reap the harvest] Liberty for the poor to glean both the corn-fields and vineyards was a Divine institution among the Jews; for the whole of the Mosaic dispensation, like the Christian, breathed love to God and benevolence to man. The poor in Judea were to live by gleanings from the corn-fields and vine yards. To the honour of the public and charitable spirit of the English, this merciful law is in general as much attended to as if it had been incorporated with the Gospel.

9–11. Cp. Leviticus 23:22. The law of gleaning: a portion of the produce of the soil is to be left for the poor. A similar law is found in Deuteronomy 24:19-21. The word translated ‘the fallen fruit’ (‘every grape,’ A.V.) occurs only here in O.T., but is of common occurrence in Mishnaic Heb. to denote a particular object as distinguished from the general name of the class to which it belongs. The traditional interpretation is that the grapes were to be gathered in bunches, but a single grape was to be left, as well as those that fell to the ground during the gathering. The law is expressed in 2nd pers. sing. and in Leviticus 23:22.

See Deuteronomy 24:19-21. “Grape” signifies fallen fruit of any kind; and “vineyard” a fruit garden of any kind. Compare Deuteronomy 23:24.

9. Corners of thy field — Rather, borders. See Leviticus 23:22, note.