Pentecost Season · Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A
Exodus 22:20-26
Social Responsibility
October 25, 2026
Overview & Insights
“You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien… you shall not abuse any widow or orphan.” (Exodus 22:21–22)
Exodus 22 deals with eleven casuistic laws of the book of the covenant. These case laws protected property in cases of theft or negligent damage and established civility between neighbors by setting limits of liability for another’s property. They continue through verse 17, after which the legal form changes to commandments (apodictic law). The commandments address three more capital offenses, limitation of the use of power with the vulnerable, and one’s relationship to God. The Lord established law and the rule of law through the courts and judges, building a just society under God’s rule.
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Commentary
Exodus 22 verse by verse Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik's verse-by-verse commentary on the whole chapter.
Exodus 22:20 commentaries BibleHub
A stack of classic commentaries gathered at these verses.
Exodus 22 commentaries StudyLight
A second aggregator carrying a different set of classic commentators.
Exodus 22 commentary Precept Austin
A deep well of cross-linked commentary quotations and study notes.
Thirtieth Sunday readings (Cycle A) Agape Bible Study
A Catholic verse-by-verse study that treats this First Reading in context.
Background & Word Study
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What does this law protect?
The covenant code guards the vulnerable, the foreigner, the widow, the orphan, and the poor debtor, warning that God himself hears their cry, “for I am compassionate” (Exodus 22:20–26).
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