22 "'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap into the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest: you shall leave them for the poor, and for the foreigner. I am Yahweh your God.'"
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The repetition of the Law (see the margin reference) is appropriately connected with the thanksgiving for the completed grain harvest.
Neither shalt thou gather any gleaning - See the note on Leviticus 19:9.
And when ye reap the harvest of your land,.... This law is repeated from Leviticus 19:9; and as Aben Ezra observes, the feast of weeks being the feast of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, it is repeated, that they might not forget what God had commanded them to do at that time, namely, to leave somewhat for the poor; and the Jewish writers (a) observe, that this law, being put among the solemn feasts of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, and the beginning of the year, and the day of atonement, teaches, that he that observes it, and leaves the corner of the field and the gleanings to the poor, it is as if he built the sanctuary, and offered his sacrifices in the midst of it; but a much better reason may be given for it, which was, to teach them that when they expressed their thankfulness to God, they should exercise charity and liberality to the poor:
thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: See Gill on Leviticus 19:9,
thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God; See Gill on Leviticus 19:10.
(a) In Torat Cohenim, apud Yalkut in loc. & Jarchi.
thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, &c.--(See on Leviticus 19:9). The repetition of this law here probably arose from the priests reminding the people, at the presentation of the first-fruits, to unite piety to God with charity to the poor.
When ye reap, thou - From the plural, ye, he comes to the singular, thou, because he would press this duty upon every person who hath an harvest to reap, that none might plead exemption from it. And it is observable, that though the present business is only concerning the worship of God, yet he makes a kind of excursion to repeat a former law of providing for the poor, to shew that our devotion to God is little esteemed by him if it be not accompanied with acts of charity to men.
*More commentary available at chapter level.