Exodus 23:29
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I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
This chapter continues and concludes the acts that passed in the first session (if I may so call it) upon mount Sinai. Here are, I. Some laws of universal obligation, relating especially to the ninth commandment, against bearing false witness (Exo 23:1), and giving false judgment (Exo 23:2, Exo 23:3, Exo 23:6-8). Also a law of doing good to our enemies (Exo 23:4, Exo 23:5), and not oppressing strangers (Exo 23:9). II. Some laws peculiar to the Jews. The sabbatical year (Exo 23:10, Exo 23:11), the three annual feasts (Exo 23:14-17), with some laws pertaining thereto. III. Gracious promises of the completing of the mercy God had begun for them, upon condition of their obedience. That God would conduct them through the wilderness (Exo 23:20-24), that he would prosper all they had (Exo 23:25, Exo 23:26), that he would put them in possession of Canaan (Exo 23:27-31). But they must not mingle themselves with the nations (Exo 23:32, Exo 23:33).
Open source ↗23:29-31 I will: God, not Israel, would take the land. The land would be a gift from their Covenant Lord. Israel was being granted possession of it as long as they faithfully fulfilled the covenant.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.
But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.
But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.