Shemot 23:20-33

20 Hinei, I send Malach before thee, to be shomer over thee in the derech, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Pay heed to him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your peysha’im; for My Shem is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his [bat] kol, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For My Malach shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Emori, and the Chitti, and the Perizzi, and the Kena’ani, the Chivi, and the Yevusi; I will cut them off.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their elohim, nor serve them, nor follow after their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and completely break down their matztzvot (memorial columns dedicated to idols).

25 And ye shall serve Hashem Eloheichem, and He shall bless thy lechem, and thy mayim; and I will take machalah (sickness) away from the midst of thee.

26 There shall nothing miscarry their young, nor be barren, in thy land; the mispar (number) of thy yamim I will fulfill.

27 I will send My ehmah (terror) ahead of thee, and will throw into confusion all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

28 And I will send the tzirah (hornet) ahead of thee, which shall drive out the Chivi, the Kena’ani, and the Chitti, from before thee.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in shanah echat; lest ha’aretz become desolate, and the beast of the sadeh multiply against thee.

30 Me’at me’at (little by little) I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit ha’aretz.

31 And I will establish thy borders from the Yam Suf even unto the Yam Pelishtim, and from the Midbar unto the [Euphrates] River: for I will deliver the inhabitants of ha’aretz into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

32 Thou shalt make no brit (covenant) with them, nor with their elohim.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against Me; for if thou serve their elohim, it will surely be a mokesh (snare) unto thee.

Shemot 23:20-33 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 23

This chapter contains several laws, chiefly judicial, relating to the civil polity of Israel, as concerning witness borne and judgment made of cases in courts of judicature, without any respect to poor or rich, and without the influence of a bribe, Ex 23:1-3,6-8, concerning doing good to an enemy in case any of his cattle go astray, or fall under their burden, Ex 23:4,5, and of the oppression of a stranger, Ex 23:9, and then follow others concerning the sabbath of the seventh year, and of the seventh day, with a caution against the use of the names of idols, Ex 23:10-13, next are laws concerning the appearance of all their males at the three feasts, Ex 23:14-17, and concerning the slaying of the sacrifice of the passover, and bringing the first of the firstfruits of the land, Ex 23:18,19 and then a promise is made of sending an angel to them to bring them into the land of Canaan, where they should carefully avoid all idolatry, and show a just indignation against it, and serve the Lord, and then it would be well with them, Ex 23:20-26, and particularly it is promised, that the Lord would send his fear, and his hornets, before them, to destroy the inhabitants of the land, and drive out the rest by little and little, until they should possess the utmost borders of it, which are fixed, Ex 23:27-31, and the chapter is concluded with a direction not to make a covenant with these people, or their gods, nor suffer them to dwell among them, lest they should be a snare unto them, Ex 23:32,33.