Shēnméngjì 24:6

6 Bùkĕ ná rén de quán pán mòshí huò shì shàng mòshí zuò dàngtou , yīnwei zhè shì ná rén de méng zuò dàngtou .

Shēnméngjì 24:6 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 24:6

No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge,
&c.] The first word being of the dual number takes in both stones, wherefore Vatablus renders the words,

``ye shall not take for a pledge both the millstones, nor indeed the uppermost;''

which is the least; so far should they be from taking both, that they were not allowed to take the uppermost, which was the shortest, meanest, and lightest; and indeed if anyone of them was taken, the other became useless, so that neither was to be taken:

for he taketh [a man's] life to pledge;
or with which his life is supported, and the life of his family; for if he has corn to supply them with, yet if his mill or millstones are pawned, he cannot grind his corn, and so he and his family must starve: and in those times and countries they did, as the Arabs do to this day, as Dr. Shaw ^F4 relates,

``most families grind their wheat and barley at home, having two portable millstones for that purpose; the uppermost whereof is turned round by a small handle of wood or iron, that is placed in the rim;''

and these millstones being portable, might be the more easily taken for pledges, which is here forbidden, for the above reason; and this takes in any other thing whatever, on which a man's living depends, or by which he gets his bread ^F5.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 Travels, p. 231. Edit. 2.
F5 Misn. Bava Metzia, c. 9. sect. 13.

Shēnméngjì 24:6 In-Context

4 Dǎfa tā qù de qián fú bùkĕ zaì fùrén diànwū zhī hòu zaì qǔ tā wéi qì , yīnwei zhè shì Yēhéhuá suǒ zēngwù de . bùkĕ shǐ Yēhéhuá nǐ shén suǒ cì wéi yè zhī dì beì diànwū le .

5 Xīn qǔ qì zhī rén bùkĕ cóng jūn chū zhēng , yĕ bùkĕ tuō tā bànlǐ shénme gōng shì , kĕyǐ zaì jia qīng xián yī nián , shǐ tā suǒ qǔ de qì kuaì huó .

6 Bùkĕ ná rén de quán pán mòshí huò shì shàng mòshí zuò dàngtou , yīnwei zhè shì ná rén de méng zuò dàngtou .

7 Ruò yùjiàn rén guǎi daì Yǐsèliè zhōng de yī gè dìxiōng , dàng núcai daì tā , huò shì maì le tā , nà guǎi daì rén de jiù bì zhìsǐ . zhèyàng , biàn jiāng nà è cóng nǐmen zhōngjiān chúdiào .

8 Zaì dàmáfēng de zāi bìng shàng , nǐmen yào jǐnshèn , zhào jìsī Lìwèi rén yīqiè suǒ zhǐjiào nǐmen de liúyì zūnxíng . wǒ zĕnyàng fēnfu tāmen , nǐmen yào zĕnyàng zūnxíng .