1105 – 1871 5 witnesses
“in order to inherit them Heb. בַּעֲבוּר נַעֲלָיִם. [from Jonathan] and the refuse of the corn we will sell—[Jonathan renders:] And the sweepings of the grains we will sell. The refuse that fell from the wheat into the sieve, to sell at high prices to the poor.”
“That we may buy the poor for silver,.... Thus making them pay dear for their provisions, and using them in this fraudulent manner, by which they would not be able to support themselves and their families; they might purchase them and theirs for slaves, at so small a price as a piece of silver, or a single shekel, worth about half a crown; and this was their end and design in using them after this manner; see Lev 25:39; and the needy for a pair of shoes; See Gill on Amo 2:6; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat; not only did they sell the poor grain and wheat at a dear rate, and in scanty measure, but the worst of it, and such as was not fit to make bread of, only to be given to the cattle; and, by reducing the poor to extreme poverty, they obliged them to take that of them at their own price. It may be rendered, "the fall of wheat" (c); that which fell under the sieve, when the wheat was sifted, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, observe. (c) "labile frumenti", Montanus; "decidum frumenti", Cocceius; "deciduum triciti", Drusius, Mercerus, Stockius, p. 690.”
“That we may buy the poor for silver - Buying their services for such a time, with just money enough to clear them from other creditors. And the needy for a pair of shoes - See Amo 2:6. And sell the refuse of the wheat! - Selling bad wheat and damaged flour to poor people as good, knowing that such cannot afford to prosecute them.”
“Shoes, for almost nothing. Thus they forced the poor to serve, or to sell their effects.”
“buy . . . poor for silver . . . pair of shoes--that is, that we may compel the needy for money, or any other thing of however little worth, to sell themselves to us as bondmen, in defiance of Lev 25:39; the very thing which brings down God's judgment (Amo 2:6). sell the refuse of . . . wheat--which contains no nutriment, but which the poor eat at a low price, being unable to pay for flour.”
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.