The Scripture behind the Scripture

Thou Shalt Not Muzzle the Ox

Deuteronomy 25:4 forbids muzzling the ox that treads out the grain. Paul applies this to supporting gospel workers in 1 Corinthians 9:9 and 1 Timothy 5:18.

“Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.”Deuteronomy 25:4

“For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?”1 Corinthians 9:9

“For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.”1 Timothy 5:18

In its own place

In its own place. Deuteronomy 25 contains a series of miscellaneous laws about justice and fair dealing in the covenant community. Among them stands the brief command, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn. In the ancient world grain was threshed by having oxen walk over it or pull a threshing sledge, separating the kernels from the husks. In its original setting this law shows compassion and fairness toward a working animal, allowing the ox to eat freely from the grain it labors over rather than being muzzled to keep it from the food beneath its feet. It reflects the broader biblical concern for kindness to animals and the principle that the laborer should share in the fruit of his labor. The command sits among laws promoting justice and humane treatment, part of the character God desired for his people, that they be fair and generous, not grasping or cruel. It is a small, concrete instruction, but it embodies a wider principle, that those who work should benefit from their work, and that even a laboring animal deserves to eat what it produces. The law reveals a God attentive to fairness at every level of daily life, down to the treatment of an ox on the threshing floor.

Where the New Testament takes it up

This is a direct quotation, applied by Paul to the support of ministers. In 1 Corinthians 9:9 Paul defends the right of gospel workers to be supported materially, and he quotes, For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. He then asks, Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? and concludes that it was written for our sakes, drawing out the principle that the laborer deserves to share in the harvest. In 1 Timothy 5:18 Paul again cites the same command alongside the saying that the laborer is worthy of his reward, to argue that elders who labor in preaching and teaching are worthy of double honor, including material provision. Paul follows the sense of the text. His interpretation may seem to leap from oxen to ministers, but he is drawing out the underlying principle the law embodies, that those who work should be sustained by their work. Paul is not denying that the law shows concern for animals, but he presses that God's ultimate purpose in such a principle reaches to human laborers, especially those who labor in the gospel. The command about the ox becomes a scriptural warrant for churches to support their teachers and preachers.