Leviticus 19:10

Hebrew Bible

8 and the one who eats it will bear his punishment for iniquity because he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person will be cut off from his people. 9 “‘When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. 10 You must not pick your vineyard bare, and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner. I am the Lord your God. 11 “‘You must not steal, you must not tell lies, and you must not deal falsely with your fellow citizen. 12 You must not swear falsely in my name, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Jeremiah 6:9

Hebrew Bible

7 As a well continually pours out fresh water, so it continually pours out wicked deeds. Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it. All I see are sick and wounded people.’ 8 So take warning, Jerusalem, or I will abandon you in disgust and make you desolate, a place where no one can live.” 9 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies said to me: “Those who remain in Israel will be like the grapes thoroughly gleaned from a vine. So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester passing your hand over the branches one last time.” 10 I answered, “Who would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, the Lord’s message is offensive to them. They do not like it at all. 11 I am as full of anger as you are, Lord. I am tired of trying to hold it in.”The Lord answered, “Vent it, then, on the children who play in the street and on the young men who are gathered together. Husbands and wives are to be included, as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.

 Notes and References

"... Grapes, raisins, wine all products of the vineyard - were staples in the Hebrew household. Usually the vineyard, except for smaller ones that formed a part of kitchen gardens, were shared by a whole village. Only a king or a wealthy landowner could afford his own extensive vineyard. An indication of the abundance of life during Solomon’s lifetime was that Judah and Israel, “from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fi g tree” (1 Kings 4:25) ... Jeremiah used the gleaner imagery for God’s thoroughness in judgment of his people: “Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as a vine; pass your hand over the branches again, like one gathering grapes” (Jeremiah 6:9). Here we see God as a laborer in the field, going back over each branch to pick the last of the grapes or the last of his children ... Some of the most painful imagery in Scripture depicts God’s people without any harvest of grapes: “no cluster of grapes to eat” (Micah 7:1), and “no grapes on the vines” (Habakkuk 3:17). Isaiah warned: “The new wine dries up and the vine withers; all the merrymakers groan” (Isaiah 24:7). Vineyards were recorded as far back as Noah’s day (Genesis 9:20). They flourished in Egypt, and Moses gave to the Israelites laws concerning them: a sabbatical for the land (Exodus 23:11) and provision for the gleaners (Leviticus 19:10). King Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel, coveted the vineyard of their neighbor, Naboth, (1 Kings 21:1–2) and killed him for it ..."

Tischler, Nancy M. All Things in the Bible (pp. 658-659) Greenwood Press, 2006

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