Verse 7
Second, the Israelites were perverting the legal system to exploit the poor. The courts were siding with creditors against their debtors; they were "stepping on" the poor. This was as painful and humiliating as having one trample on one’s head as it lay in the dust. The oppressors longed to see the poor reduced to extreme anguish. They may have been so greedy that they craved even the dust that the poor threw on their heads in mourning. The Mosaic Covenant called for justice in Israel’s courts (Exodus 23:4; Deuteronomy 16:19).
Third, fathers and sons were having sexual intercourse with the same women. The women in view may be temple prostitutes, servant girls taken as concubines, or female relatives (cf. Exodus 21:7-11; Leviticus 18:8; Leviticus 18:15). This showed contempt for Yahweh’s holy character (cf. Exodus 3:13-15). The Law forbade fornication, including incest (Leviticus 18:6-18; Leviticus 20:11; Leviticus 20:17-21).
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