Proverbs 22:28

Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set. Or, "the ancient border" or "boundary" F14 גבול עולם "terminum antiquum", Pagninus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis, Schultens. ; by which lands, estates, and inheritances, were marked, bounded, and distinguished; set by ancestors in agreement with their neighbours; which to remove was contrary to a law, and a curse is denounced upon those that did it, Deuteronomy 19:14 ; and was always reckoned a very heinous crime in early times; See Gill on Job 24:2 . This was so sacred a thing among the Romans, that they had a deity which presided over those bounds, and had its name from them. Some apply this, in a political sense, to laws of long standing, and customs of long prescription; and others interpret it, in a theological sense, of doctrines and practices settled by the fathers of the church; which, if understood of Christ and his apostles only, will be allowed; but if of the ancient fathers of the church that followed them, it should not be received; since they were but fallible men, and guilty of many errors and mistakes, both in doctrine and practice.