◄ Deuteronomy 22:1 ►
If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother.
Study Bible
If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying
This phrase emphasizes the importance of community responsibility and care for one another's property. In ancient Israel, livestock was a significant part of a person's wealth and livelihood. The term "brother" here extends beyond immediate family to fellow Israelites, highlighting the communal nature of society. The law reflects the broader biblical principle of loving one's neighbor (Leviticus 19:18) and is echoed in the New Testament teaching of bearing one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). The imagery of straying animals can also be seen as a metaphor for spiritual wandering, with God as the shepherd seeking to bring His people back to Himself (Psalm 23, Luke 15:4-7).

you must not ignore it
This command underscores the moral obligation to act when witnessing a neighbor's loss. Ignoring the situation would be akin to neglecting one's duty to love and serve others. The Hebrew culture placed a strong emphasis on communal responsibility, and this law reinforces the idea that one should not turn a blind eye to the needs of others. This principle is consistent with the teachings of Jesus, who emphasized active compassion and intervention in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

be sure to return it to your brother
The directive to return the stray animal highlights the value of restitution and reconciliation. It reflects the biblical theme of restoration, which is central to God's relationship with humanity. The act of returning the animal is not just about property rights but about maintaining harmony and trust within the community. This principle is mirrored in the New Testament, where believers are encouraged to restore those who have strayed from the faith (Galatians 6:1). The act of returning what is lost can also be seen as a type of Christ's redemptive work, where He restores what was lost through sin.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws to the Israelites.

2. Israelites
The audience receiving the law, God's chosen people, who are being prepared to live in the Promised Land.

3. Ox and Sheep
Common livestock in ancient Israel, representing valuable property and livelihood.

4. Brother
Refers to fellow Israelites, emphasizing community and kinship.

5. Promised Land
The land of Canaan, where the Israelites are to live according to God's laws.
Teaching Points
Community Responsibility
The verse emphasizes the importance of looking out for one another within the community. It teaches that we are not to be indifferent to the needs or losses of others.

Integrity and Honesty
Returning a stray animal reflects a commitment to integrity and honesty. It is a practical application of the commandment against stealing.

Love in Action
This law is an expression of love in action, demonstrating care and concern for a neighbor's well-being and property.

Obedience to God’s Law
Following this command is an act of obedience to God, showing respect for His instructions and trust in His wisdom for community living.

Practical Kindness
The verse encourages practical acts of kindness, which can build trust and strengthen relationships within the community.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the principle of returning a stray animal reflect the broader command to love your neighbor as yourself?

2. In what ways can we apply the principle of Deuteronomy 22:1 in our modern context, where livestock may not be as common?

3. How does this verse challenge us to consider our responsibilities towards others' property and well-being today?

4. What are some practical ways we can demonstrate community responsibility and integrity in our daily lives?

5. How do the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament reinforce the principles found in Deuteronomy 22:1?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 23:4
This verse also instructs the Israelites to return a stray animal to its owner, reinforcing the principle of responsibility and care for others' property.

Leviticus 19:18
The command to love your neighbor as yourself, which underpins the law in Deuteronomy 22:1, emphasizing community responsibility.

Matthew 7:12
The Golden Rule, which aligns with the principle of returning lost property as a form of treating others as one would want to be treated.

Galatians 6:2
Encourages believers to bear one another's burdens, which can be seen as a broader application of the principle in Deuteronomy 22:1.

Philippians 2:4
Advises looking out for the interests of others, which is a New Testament echo of the Old Testament law.
Sermons
A Kind HeartDeuteronomy 22:1-4
Brotherly Service in Daily LifeD. Davies Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Consideration for Man and BeastR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Fraternal ResponsibilitiesJ. Parker, D. D.Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Helping UpC. Garrett.Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Love UnfeignedJ. Orr Deuteronomy 22:1-4
Restoration of Stray Cattle and Lost GoodsJ. Wolfendale.Deuteronomy 22:1-4
People
Hen, Moses
Places
Beth-baal-peor
Topics
Astray, Attention, Bring, Brother, Brother's, Case, Certainly, Countryman, Countryman's, Driven, Hast, Helping, Hidden, Hide, Ignore, Ox, Pay, Sheep, Straying, Sure, Surely, Thyself, Turn, Wandering, Withhold
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 22:1

     5661   brothers

Deuteronomy 22:1-2

     4684   sheep

Deuteronomy 22:1-4

     8452   neighbours, duty to

Library
Spiritual Farming. --No. 2 Ploughing.
There have been during the last few years great improvements in the construction of the plough, but no one dreams of any substitute for it. Ploughing is as necessary as sowing; that is to say, the land must be stirred and prepared for the seed. In heavenly husbandry there are some well-meaning folk who would dispense with the plough, and preach faith without repentance, but only to find that the birds of the air get most of the seed! If there is to be an abiding work there must be conviction of …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

If any Woman, under Pretence of Asceticism, Shall Change Her Apparel And...
If any woman, under pretence of asceticism, shall change her apparel and, instead of a woman's accustomed clothing, shall put on that of a man, let her be anathema. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XIII. Whatever women wear men's clothes, anathema to them. Hefele. The synodal letter in its sixth article also speaks of this. Exchange of dress, or the adoption by one sex of the dress of the other, was forbidden in the Pentateuch (Deut. xxii. 5), and was therefore most strictly interdicted by the whole …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

Excursus on the Word Theotokos .
There have been some who have tried to reduce all the great theological controversies on the Trinity and on the Incarnation to mere logomachies, and have jeered at those who could waste their time and energies over such trivialities. For example, it has been said that the real difference between Arius and Athanasius was nothing more nor less than an iota, and that even Athanasius himself, in his more placid, and therefore presumably more rational moods, was willing to hold communion with those who …
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

The Story of the Adulteress.
(Jerusalem.) ^D John VII. 53-VIII. 11. [This section is wanting in nearly all older manuscripts, but Jerome (a.d. 346-420) says that in his time it was contained in "many Greek and Latin manuscripts," and these must have been as good or better than the best manuscripts we now possess. But whether we regard it as part of John's narrative or not, scholars very generally accept it as a genuine piece of history.] ^d 53 And they went every man unto his own house [confused by the question of Nicodemus, …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

List of Abbreviations Used in Reference to Rabbinic Writings Quoted in this Work.
THE Mishnah is always quoted according to Tractate, Chapter (Pereq) and Paragraph (Mishnah), the Chapter being marked in Roman, the paragraph in ordinary Numerals. Thus Ber. ii. 4 means the Mishnic Tractate Berakhoth, second Chapter, fourth Paragraph. The Jerusalem Talmud is distinguished by the abbreviation Jer. before the name of the Tractate. Thus, Jer. Ber. is the Jer. Gemara, or Talmud, of the Tractate Berakhoth. The edition, from which quotations are made, is that commonly used, Krotoschin, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Whether There is to be a Resurrection of the Body?
Objection 1: It would seem that there is not to be a resurrection of the body: for it is written (Job 14:12): "Man, when he is fallen asleep, shall not rise again till the heavens be broken." But the heavens shall never be broken, since the earth, to which seemingly this is still less applicable, "standeth for ever" (Eccles. 1:4). Therefore the man that is dead shall never rise again. Objection 2: Further, Our Lord proves the resurrection by quoting the words: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Annunciation to Joseph of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^A Matt. I. 18-25. ^a 18 Now the birth [The birth of Jesus is to handled with reverential awe. We are not to probe into its mysteries with presumptuous curiosity. The birth of common persons is mysterious enough (Eccl. ix. 5; Ps. cxxxix. 13-16), and we do not well, therefore, if we seek to be wise above what is written as to the birth of the Son of God] of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed [The Jews were usually betrothed ten or twelve months …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Parable of the Good Samaritan.
(Probably Judæa.) ^C Luke X. 25-37. ^c 25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and made trial of him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? [For the term lawyer see pp. 313, 314, The lawyer wished to make trial of the skill of Jesus in solving the intricate and difficult question as to how to obtain salvation. Jesus was probably teaching in some house or courtyard, and his habit of giving local color to his parables suggests that he was probably in or near Bethany, through …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Healing of the Woman - Christ's Personal Appearance - the Raising of Jairus' Daughter
THERE seems remarkable correspondence between the two miracles which Jesus had wrought on leaving Capernaum and those which He did on His return. In one sense they are complementary to each other. The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonised were manifestations of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the raising of Jairus' daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith. The unlikeliness of dominion over the storm, and of command over a legion of …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel
In order accurately to understand the position of woman in Israel, it is only necessary carefully to peruse the New Testament. The picture of social life there presented gives a full view of the place which she held in private and in public life. Here we do not find that separation, so common among Orientals at all times, but a woman mingles freely with others both at home and abroad. So far from suffering under social inferiority, she takes influential and often leading part in all movements, specially …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

How Does it Come?
How does the Filling of the Spirit come? "Does it come once for all? or is it always coming, as it were?" was a question addressed to me once by a young candidate for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. There are many asking the same question. We have considered how the Fullness is obtained, but now we proceed to consider, How does the Fullness come? In speaking of the blessing of being filled with the Spirit, the New Testament writers use three tenses in the Greek--the Aorist, the Imperfect, and the …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

The Development of the Earlier Old Testament Laws
[Sidenote: First the principle, and then the detailed laws] If the canon of the New Testament had remained open as long as did that of the Old, there is little doubt that it also would have contained many laws, legal precedents, and ecclesiastical histories. From the writings of the Church Fathers and the records of the Catholic Church it is possible to conjecture what these in general would have been. The early history of Christianity illustrates the universal fact that the broad principles are …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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