“Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.”
Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. The economic ethics of the Holiness Code: no fraud, no robbery, and prompt payment of wages. The same-day wage payment requirement is one of the most practically specific regulations in the Holiness Code: the hired worker who labors all day must be paid before sunset, not held to wait for the employer's convenience. Deuteronomy 24:14–15 and James 5:4 both address the injustice of delayed wages. The employer who holds back wages until morning has used the worker's economic vulnerability to his own advantage.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
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