Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he [is] thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
Ver. 7. For he is thy brother.] And therefore to be borne with, though unkind and injurious. Howbeit, Fratrum concordia rara est: "A brother offended is harder to be won," saith the wise man, "than a strong city, and their contentions are like the bars of a castle." Pro 18:19 The dissension between England and Scotland consumed more Christian blood, wrought more spoil and destruction, and continued longer than ever quarrel we read of did between any two peoples of the world. a The God of Peace prevent the like bloody dissensions again, now mightily endeavoured by the boutefeaus of both nations. Si collidimur, frangimur, If we clash, we perish: dissension is the mother of dissolution, of desolation.
Thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian.] But learn of him to return one good turn for another. Egyptii dicuntur, praeter alias nationes, erga bene meritos de se grati; Existimant enim magnum vitae subsidium esse, gratiae retributionem, saith Diodorus. b The Egyptians are said to be, above all others, a thankful people, and to look upon thankfulness as a main support of man's life.
Because thou wast a stranger in his land.] Where, though thou meetest with much hardship, yet thou hadst kind entertainment at first, and after that a subsistence, such as it was. Our Henry VI is said to have been of that happy memory, that he never forgot anything but injuries. Elisha, by a noble revenge, bade set bread and water before the Syrians that came to surprise him.
a Daniel's Hist., 191.
b Diod. Sic., lib. i.