1 Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.
13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14 But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
18 And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
19 If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
27 And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
29 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.
30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32 If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.
36 Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.
1 Now these are the judgments H4941 which thou shalt set H7760 before H6440 them.
2 If thou buy H7069 an Hebrew H5680 servant, H5650 six H8337 years H8141 he shall serve: H5647 and in the seventh H7637 he shall go out H3318 free H2670 for nothing. H2600
3 If he came in H935 by himself, H1610 he shall go out H3318 by himself: H1610 if he were married, H1167 H802 then his wife H802 shall go out H3318 with him.
4 If his master H113 have given H5414 him a wife, H802 and she have born H3205 him sons H1121 or daughters; H1323 the wife H802 and her children H3206 shall be her master's, H113 and he shall go out H3318 by himself. H1610
5 And if the servant H5650 shall plainly H559 say, H559 I love H157 my master, H113 my wife, H802 and my children; H1121 I will not go out H3318 free: H2670
6 Then his master H113 shall bring H5066 him unto the judges; H430 he shall also bring H5066 him to the door, H1817 or unto the door post; H4201 and his master H113 shall bore H7527 his ear H241 through with an aul; H4836 and he shall serve H5647 him for ever. H5769
7 And if a man H376 sell H4376 his daughter H1323 to be a maidservant, H519 she shall not go out H3318 as the menservants H5650 do. H3318
8 If she please H7451 H5869 not her master, H113 who hath betrothed H3259 her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: H6299 to sell H4376 her unto a strange H5237 nation H5971 he shall have no power, H4910 seeing he hath dealt deceitfully H898 with her.
9 And if he have betrothed H3259 her unto his son, H1121 he shall deal H6213 with her after the manner H4941 of daughters. H1323
10 If he take H3947 him another H312 wife; her food, H7607 her raiment, H3682 and her duty of marriage, H5772 shall he not diminish. H1639
11 And if he do H6213 not these three H7969 unto her, then shall she go out H3318 free H2600 without money. H3701
12 He that smiteth H5221 a man, H376 so that he die, H4191 shall be surely H4191 put to death. H4191
13 And if a man lie not in wait, H6658 but God H430 deliver H579 him into his hand; H3027 then I will appoint H7760 thee a place H4725 whither he shall flee. H5127
14 But if a man H376 come presumptuously H2102 upon his neighbour, H7453 to slay H2026 him with guile; H6195 thou shalt take H3947 him from mine altar, H4196 that he may die. H4191
15 And he that smiteth H5221 his father, H1 or his mother, H517 shall be surely H4191 put to death. H4191
16 And he that stealeth H1589 a man, H376 and selleth H4376 him, or if he be found H4672 in his hand, H3027 he shall surely H4191 be put to death. H4191
17 And he that curseth H7043 his father, H1 or his mother, H517 shall surely H4191 be put to death. H4191
18 And if men H582 strive H7378 together, and one H376 smite H5221 another H7453 with a stone, H68 or H176 with his fist, H106 and he die H4191 not, but keepeth H5307 his bed: H4904
19 If he rise again, H6965 and walk H1980 abroad H2351 upon his staff, H4938 then shall he that smote H5221 him be quit: H5352 only he shall pay H5414 for the loss of his time, H7674 and shall cause him to be thoroughly H7495 healed. H7495
20 And if a man H376 smite H5221 his servant, H5650 or his maid, H519 with a rod, H7626 and he die H4191 under his hand; H3027 he shall be surely H5358 punished. H5358
21 Notwithstanding, H389 if he continue H5975 a day H3117 or two, H8147 he shall not be punished: H5358 for he is his money. H3701
22 If men H582 strive, H5327 and hurt H5062 a woman H802 with child, H2030 so that her fruit H3206 depart H3318 from her, and yet no mischief follow: H611 he shall be surely H6064 punished, H6064 according as the woman's H802 husband H1167 will lay H7896 upon him; and he shall pay H5414 as the judges H6414 determine.
23 And if any mischief follow, H611 then thou shalt give H5414 life H5315 for life, H5315
24 Eye H5869 for eye, H5869 tooth H8127 for tooth, H8127 hand H3027 for hand, H3027 foot H7272 for foot, H7272
25 Burning H3555 for burning, H3555 wound H6482 for wound, H6482 stripe H2250 for stripe. H2250
26 And if a man H376 smite H5221 the eye H5869 of his servant, H5650 or the eye H5869 of his maid, H519 that it perish; H7843 he shall let him go H7971 free H2670 for H8478 his eye's H5869 sake.
27 And if he smite H5307 out his manservant's H5650 tooth, H8127 or his maidservant's H519 tooth; H8127 he shall let him go H7971 free H2670 for his tooth's H8127 sake.
28 If an ox H7794 gore H5055 a man H376 or a woman, H802 that they die: H4191 then the ox H7794 shall be surely H5619 stoned, H5619 and his flesh H1320 shall not be eaten; H398 but the owner H1167 of the ox H7794 shall be quit. H5355
29 But if the ox H7794 were wont to push with his horn H5056 in time past, H8543 H8032 and it hath been testified H5749 to his owner, H1167 and he hath not kept H8104 him in, but that he hath killed H4191 a man H376 or a woman; H802 the ox H7794 shall be stoned, H5619 and his owner H1167 also shall be put to death. H4191
30 If there be laid H7896 on him a sum of money, H3724 then he shall give H5414 for the ransom H6306 of his life H5315 whatsoever is laid H7896 upon him.
31 Whether he have gored H5055 a son, H1121 or H176 have gored H5055 a daughter, H1323 according to this judgment H4941 shall it be done H6213 unto him.
32 If the ox H7794 shall push H5055 a manservant H5650 or a maidservant; H519 he shall give H5414 unto their master H113 thirty H7970 shekels H8255 of silver, H3701 and the ox H7794 shall be stoned. H5619
33 And if a man H376 shall open H6605 a pit, H953 or if a man H376 shall dig H3738 a pit, H953 and not cover H3680 it, and an ox H7794 or an ass H2543 fall H5307 therein;
34 The owner H1167 of the pit H953 shall make it good, H7999 and give H7725 money H3701 unto the owner H1167 of them; and the dead H4191 beast shall be his.
35 And if one man's H376 ox H7794 hurt H5062 another's, H7453 that he die; H4191 then they shall sell H4376 the live H2416 ox, H7794 and divide H2673 the money H3701 of it; and the dead H4191 ox also they shall divide. H2673
36 Or if it be known H3045 that the ox H7794 hath used to push H5056 in time past, H8543 H8032 and his owner H1167 hath not kept H8104 him in; he shall surely H7999 pay H7999 ox H7794 for ox; H7794 and the dead H4191 shall be his own.
1 Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.
2 If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3 If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master give him a wife and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
5 But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6 then his master shall bring him unto God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
8 If she please not her master, who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9 And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 If he take him another `wife'; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11 And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.
12 He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death.
13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver `him' into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14 And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17 And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
18 And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;
19 if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall surely be punished.
21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.
22 And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow; he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, and destroy it; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
27 And if he smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
28 And if an ox gore a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
29 But if the ox was wont to gore in time past, and it hath been testified to its owner, and he hath not kept it in, but it hath killed a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
30 If there be laid on him a ransom, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.
31 Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32 If the ox gore a man-servant or a maid-servant, there shall be given unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein,
34 the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money unto the owner thereof, and the dead `beast' shall be his.
35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, so that it dieth, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the price of it: and the dead also they shall divide.
36 Or if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time past, and its owner hath not kept it in, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead `beast' shall be his own.
1 `And these `are' the judgments which thou dost set before them:
2 `When thou buyest a Hebrew servant -- six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought;
3 if by himself he cometh in, by himself he goeth out; if he `is' owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him;
4 if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters -- the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself.
5 `And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons -- I do not go out free;
6 then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age.
7 `And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants;
8 if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.
9 `And if to his son he betroth her, according to the right of daughters he doth to her.
10 `If another `woman' he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw;
11 and if these three he do not to her, then she hath gone out for nought, without money.
12 `He who smiteth a man so that he hath died, is certainly put to death;
13 as to him who hath not laid wait, and God hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth flee.
14 `And when a man doth presume against his neighbour to slay him with subtilty, from Mine altar thou dost take him to die.
15 `And he who smiteth his father or his mother is certainly put to death.
16 `And he who stealeth a man, and hath sold him, and he hath been found in his hand, is certainly put to death.
17 `And he who is reviling his father or his mother is certainly put to death.
18 `And when men contend, and a man hath smitten his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen on the bed;
19 if he rise, and hath gone up and down without on his staff, then hath the smiter been acquitted; only his cessation he giveth, and he is thoroughly healed.
20 `And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand -- he is certainly avenged;
21 only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he `is' his money.
22 `And when men strive, and have smitten a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath given through the judges;
23 and if there is mischief, then thou hast given life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 `And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye;
27 and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth.
28 `And when an ox doth gore man or woman, and they have died, the ox is certainly stoned, and his flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox `is' acquitted;
29 and if the ox is `one' accustomed to gore heretofore, and it hath been testified to its owner, and he doth not watch it, and it hath put to death a man or woman, the ox is stoned, and its owner also is put to death.
30 `If atonement is laid upon him, then he hath given the ransom of his life, according to all that is laid upon him;
31 whether it gore a son or gore a daughter, according to this judgment it is done to him.
32 `If the ox gore a man-servant or a handmaid, thirty silver shekels he doth give to their lord, and the ox is stoned.
33 `And when a man doth open a pit, or when a man doth dig a pit, and doth not cover it, and an ox or ass hath fallen thither, --
34 the owner of the pit doth repay, money he doth give back to its owner, and the dead is his.
35 `And when a man's ox doth smite the ox of his neighbour, and it hath died, then they have sold the living ox, and halved its money, and also the dead one they do halve;
36 or, it hath been known that the ox is `one' accustomed to gore heretofore, and its owner doth not watch it, he certainly repayeth ox for ox, and the dead is his.
1 And these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
2 If thou buy a Hebrew bondman, six years shall he serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3 If he came in alone, he shall go out alone: if he had a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone.
5 But if the bondman shall say distinctly, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free;
6 then his master shall bring him before the judges, and shall bring him to the door, or to the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall be his bondman for ever.
7 And if a man shall sell his daughter as a handmaid, she shall not go out as the bondmen go out.
8 If she is unacceptable in the eyes of her master, who had taken her for himself, then shall he let her be ransomed: to sell her unto a foreign people he hath no power, after having dealt unfaithfully with her.
9 And if he have appointed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the law of daughters.
10 If he take himself another, her food, her clothing, and her conjugal rights he shall not diminish.
11 And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
12 He that striketh a man, so that he die, shall certainly be put to death.
13 But if he have not lain in wait, and God have delivered [him] into his hand, I will appoint thee a place to which he shall flee.
14 But if a man act wantonly toward his neighbour, and slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15 And he that striketh his father, or his mother, shall certainly be put to death.
16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall certainly be put to death.
17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall certainly be put to death.
18 And if men dispute, and one strike the other with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but take to [his] bed,
19 -- if he rise, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that struck [him] be guiltless; only he shall pay [for] the loss of his time, and shall cause [him] to be thoroughly healed.
20 And if a man strike his bondman or his handmaid with a staff, and he die under his hand, he shall certainly be avenged.
21 Only, if he continue [to live] a day or two days, he shall not be avenged; for he is his money.
22 And if men strive together, and strike a woman with child, so that she be delivered, and no mischief happen, he shall in any case be fined, according as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and shall give it as the judges estimate.
23 But if mischief happen, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 branding for branding, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26 And if a man strike the eye of his bondman or the eye of his handmaid, and it be marred, he shall let him go for his eye.
27 And if he knock out his bondman's tooth or his handmaid's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth.
28 And if an ox gore a man or a woman, so that they die, then the ox shall certainly be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be guiltless.
29 But if the ox have gored heretofore, and it have been testified to its owner, and he have not kept it in, and it kill a man or a woman, -- the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
30 If there be imposed on him a satisfaction, then he shall give the ransom of his life, according to what is imposed on him.
31 Whether it gore a son or gore a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done to him.
32 If the ox gore a bondman or a handmaid, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 -- And if a man open a pit, or if a man dig a pit, and do not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall into it,
34 the owner of the pit shall make it good, shall give money to the owner of them; and the dead [ox] shall be his.
35 -- And if one man's ox gore his neighbour's ox, and it die, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money thereof, and divide the dead also.
36 Or if it be known that the ox have gored heretofore, and its owner have not kept him in, he shall in any case restore ox for ox; and the dead shall be his.
1 "Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.
2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything.
3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
5 But if the servant shall plainly say, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;'
6 then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the door-post, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.
7 "If a man sells his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
8 If she doesn't please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, seeing he has dealt deceitfully with her.
9 If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.
11 If he doesn't do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
12 "One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death,
13 but not if it is unintentional, but God allows it to happen: then I will appoint you a place where he shall flee.
14 If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 "Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.
16 "Anyone who kidnaps someone and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17 "Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18 "If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn't die, but is confined to bed;
19 if he rises again and walks around with his staff, then he who struck him shall be cleared: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for his healing until he is thoroughly healed.
20 "If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished.
21 Notwithstanding, if he gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he is his property.
22 "If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman's husband demands and the judges allow.
23 But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.
26 "If a man strikes his servant's eye, or his maid's eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.
27 If he strikes out his man-servant's tooth, or his maid-servant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.
28 "If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.
29 But if the bull had a habit of goring in the past, and it has been testified to its owner, and he has not kept it in, but it has killed a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death.
30 If a ransom is laid on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid on him.
31 Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.
32 If the bull gores a man-servant or a maid-servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 "If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and doesn't cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,
34 the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.
35 "If one man's bull injures another's, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live bull, and divide its price; and they shall also divide the dead animal.
36 Or if it is known that the bull was in the habit of goring in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall surely pay bull for bull, and the dead animal shall be his own.
1 Now these are the laws which you are to put before them.
2 If you get a Hebrew servant for money, he is to be your servant for six years, and in the seventh year you are to let him go free without payment.
3 If he comes to you by himself, let him go away by himself: if he is married, let his wife go away with him.
4 If his master gives him a wife, and he gets sons or daughters by her, the wife and her children will be the property of the master, and the servant is to go away by himself.
5 But if the servant says clearly, My master and my wife and children are dear to me; I have no desire to be free:
6 Then his master is to take him to the gods of the house, and at the door, or at its framework, he is to make a hole in his ear with a sharp-pointed instrument; and he will be his servant for ever.
7 And if a man gives his daughter for a price to be a servant, she is not to go away free as the men-servants do.
8 If she is not pleasing to her master who has taken her for himself, let a payment be made for her so that she may go free; her master has no power to get a price for her and send her to a strange land, because he has been false to her.
9 And if he gives her to his son, he is to do everything for her as if she was his daughter.
10 And if he takes another woman, her food and clothing and her married rights are not to be less.
11 And if he does not do these three things for her, she has the right to go free without payment.
12 He who gives a man a death-blow is himself to be put to death.
13 But if he had no evil purpose against him, and God gave him into his hand, I will give you a place to which he may go in flight.
14 But if a man makes an attack on his neighbour on purpose, to put him to death by deceit, you are to take him from my altar and put him to death.
15 Any man who gives a blow to his father or his mother is certainly to be put to death.
16 Any man who gets another into his power in order to get a price for him is to be put to death, if you take him in the act.
17 Any man cursing his father or his mother is to be put to death.
18 If, in a fight, one man gives another a blow with a stone, or with the shut hand, not causing his death, but making him keep in bed;
19 If he is able to get up again and go about with a stick, the other will be let off; only he will have to give him payment for the loss of his time, and see that he is cared for till he is well.
20 If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant blows with a rod, causing death, he is certainly to undergo punishment.
21 But, at the same time, if the servant goes on living for a day or two, the master is not to get punishment, for the servant is his property.
22 If men, while fighting, do damage to a woman with child, causing the loss of the child, but no other evil comes to her, the man will have to make payment up to the amount fixed by her husband, in agreement with the decision of the judges.
23 But if damage comes to her, let life be given in payment for life,
24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, blow for blow.
26 If a man gives his man-servant or his woman-servant a blow in the eye, causing its destruction, he is to let him go free on account of the damage to his eye.
27 Or if the loss of a tooth is caused by his blow, he will let him go free on account of his tooth.
28 If an ox comes to be the cause of death to a man or a woman, the ox is to be stoned, and its flesh may not be used for food; but the owner will not be judged responsible.
29 But if the ox has frequently done such damage in the past, and the owner has had word of it and has not kept it under control, so that it has been the cause of the death of a man or woman, not only is the ox to be stoned, but its owner is to be put to death.
30 If a price is put on his life, let him make payment of whatever price is fixed.
31 If the death of a son or of a daughter has been caused, the punishment is to be in agreement with this rule.
32 If the death of a man-servant or of a woman-servant is caused by the ox, the owner is to give their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox is to be stoned.
33 If a man makes a hole in the earth without covering it up, and an ox or an ass dropping into it comes to its death;
34 The owner of the hole is responsible; he will have to make payment to their owner, but the dead beast will be his.
35 And if one man's ox does damage to another man's ox, causing its death, then the living ox is to be exchanged for money, and division made of the price of it, and of the price of the dead one.
36 But if it is common knowledge that the ox has frequently done such damage in the past, and its owner has not kept it under control, he will have to give ox for ox; and the dead beast will be his.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Exodus 21
Commentary on Exodus 21 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The mishpatim (Exodus 21:1) are not the “laws, which were to be in force and serve as rules of action,” as Knobel affirms, but the rights , by which the national life was formed into a civil commonwealth and the political order secured. These rights had reference first of all to the relation in which the individuals stood one towards another. The personal rights of dependants are placed at the head (Exodus 21:2-11); and first those of slaves (Exodus 21:2-6), which are still more minutely explained in Deuteronomy 15:12-18, where the observance of them is urged upon the hearts of the people on subjective grounds.
The Hebrew servant was to obtain his freedom without paying compensation, after six years of service. According to Deuteronomy 15:12, this rule applied to the Hebrew maid-servant as well. The predicate עברי limits the rule to Israelitish servants, in distinction from slaves of foreign extraction, to whom this law did not apply (cf. Deuteronomy 15:12, “thy brother”).
(Note: Saalschütz is quite wrong in his supposition, that עברי relates not to Israelites, but to relations of the Israelites who had come over to them from their original native land. (See my Archδologie , §112, Note 2.))
An Israelite might buy his own countryman, either when he was sold by a court of justice on account of theft (Exodus 22:1), or when he was poor and sold himself (Leviticus 25:39). The emancipation in the seventh year of service was intimately connected with the sabbatical year, though we are not to understand it as taking place in that particular year. “He shall go out free,” sc., from his master's house, i.e., be set at liberty. חנּם : without compensation. In Deuteronomy the master is also commanded not to let him go out empty, but to load him ( חעניק to put upon his neck) from his flock, his threshing-floor, and his wine-press (i.e., with corn and wine); that is to say, to give him as much as he could carry away with him. The motive for this command is drawn from their recollection of their own deliverance by Jehovah from the bondage of Egypt. And in Exodus 21:18 an additional reason is supplied, to incline the heart of the master to this emancipation, viz., that “he has served thee for six years the double of a labourer's wages,” - that is to say, “he has served and worked so much, that it would have cost twice as much, if it had been necessary to hire a labourer in his place” ( Schultz ), - and “Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee in all that thou doest,” sc., through his service.
There were three different circumstances possible, under which emancipation might take place. The servant might have been unmarried and continued so ( בּגפּו : with his body, i.e., alone, single): in that case, of course, there was no one else to set at liberty. Or he might have brought a wife with him; and in that case his wife was to be set at liberty as well. Or his master might have given him a wife in his bondage, and she might have borne him children: in that case the wife and children were to continue the property of the master. This may appear oppressive, but it was an equitable consequence of the possession of property in slaves at all. At the same time, in order to modify the harshness of such a separation of husband and wife, the option was given to the servant to remain in his master's service, provided he was willing to renounce his liberty for ever (Exodus 21:5, Exodus 21:6). This would very likely be the case as a general rule; for there were various legal arrangements, which are mentioned in other places, by which the lot of Hebrew slaves was greatly softened and placed almost on an equality with that of hired labourers (cf. Exodus 23:12; Leviticus 25:6, Leviticus 25:39, Leviticus 25:43, Leviticus 25:53; Deuteronomy 12:18; Deuteronomy 16:11). In this case the master was to take his servant האלהים אל , lit., to God, i.e., according to the correct rendering of the lxx, πρὸς τὸ κριτήριον , to the place where judgment was given in the name of God (Deuteronomy 1:17; cf. Exodus 22:7-8, and Deuteronomy 19:17), in order that he might make a declaration there that he gave up his liberty. His ear was then to be bored with an awl against the door or lintel of the house, and by this sign, which was customary in many of the nations of antiquity, to be fastened as it were to the house for ever. That this was the meaning of the piercing of the ear against the door of the house, is evident from the unusual expression in Deuteronomy 15:17, “and put (the awl) into his ear and into the door, that he may be thy servant for ever,” where the ear and the door are co-ordinates. “ For ever, ” i.e., as long as he lives. Josephus and the Rabbins would restrict the service to the time ending with the year of jubilee, but without sufficient reason, and contrary to the usage of the language, as לעלם is used in Leviticus 25:46 to denote service which did not terminate with the year of jubilee. (See the remarks on Leviticus 25:10; also my Archäologie .)
The daughter of an Israelite, who had been sold by her father as a maid-servant ( לאמה ), i.e., as the sequel shows, as a housekeeper and concubine, stood in a different relation to her master's house. She was not to go out like the men-servants, i.e., not to be sent away as free at the end of six years of service; but the three following regulations, which are introduced by אם (Exodus 21:8), ואם (Exodus 21:9), and ואם (Exodus 21:11), were to be observed with regard to her. In the first place (Exodus 21:8), “ if she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed. ” The לא before יעדהּ is one of the fifteen cases in which לא has been marked in the Masoretic text as standing for לו ; and it cannot possibly signify not in the passage before us. For if it were to be taken as a negative, “that he do not appoint her,” sc., as a concubine for himself, the pronoun לו would certainly not be omitted. הפדּהּ (for הפדּהּ , see Ges. §53, Note 6), to let her be redeemed, i.e., to allow another Israelite to buy her as a concubine; for there can hardly have been any thought of redemption on the part of the father, as it would no doubt be poverty alone that caused him to sell his daughter (Leviticus 25:39). But “ to sell her unto a strange nation (i.e., to any one but a Hebrew), he shall have no power, if he acts unfaithfully towards her, ” i.e., if he do not grant her the promised marriage. In the second place (Exodus 21:9, Exodus 21:10), “ if he appoint her as his son's wife, he shall act towards her according to the rights of daughters, ” i.e., treat her as a daughter; “and if he take him (the son) another (wife), - whether because the son was no longer satisfied, or because the father gave the son another wife in addition to her - “ her food ( שׁאר flesh as the chief article of food, instead of לחם , bread, because the lawgiver had persons of property in his mind, who were in a position to keep concubines), her raiment, and her duty of marriage he shall not diminish, ” i.e., the claims which she had as a daughter for support, and as his son's wife for conjugal rights, were not to be neglected; he was not to allow his son, therefore, to put her away or treat her badly. With this explanation the difficulties connected with every other are avoided. For instance, if we refer the words of Exodus 21:9 to the son, and understand them as meaning, “if the son should take another wife,” we introduce a change of subject without anything to indicate it. If, on the other hand, we regard them as meaning, “if the father (the purchaser) should take to himself another wife,” this ought to have come before Exodus 21:9. In the third place (Exodus 21:11), “ if he do not (do not grant) these three unto her, she shall go out for nothing, without money .” “These three” are food, clothing, and conjugal rights, which are mentioned just before; not “ si eam non desponderit sibi nec filio, nec redimi sit passus ” ( Rabbins and others), nor “if he did not give her to his son as a concubine, but diminished her,” as Knobel explains it.
Still higher than personal liberty, however, is life itself, the right of existence and personality; and the infliction of injury upon this was not only prohibited, but to be followed by punishment corresponding to the crime. The principle of retribution, jus talionis , which is the only one that embodies the idea of justice, lies at the foundation of these threats.
Exodus 21:12-13
A death-blow was to be punished with death (cf. Genesis 9:6; Leviticus 24:17). “ He that smiteth a man and (so that) he die (whether on the spot or directly afterwards did not matter), he shall be put to death .” This general rule is still further defined by a distinction being drawn between accidental and intentional killing. “ But whoever has not lain in wait (for another's life), and God has caused it to come to his hand ” (to kill the other); i.e., not only if he did not intend to kill him, but did not even cherish the intention of smiting him, or of doing him harm from hatred and enmity (Numbers 35:16-23; Deuteronomy 19:4-5), and therefore did so quite unawares, according to a dispensation of God, which is generally called an accident because it is above our comprehension. For such a man God would appoint places of refuge, where he should be protected against the avenger of blood. (On this point, see Numbers 35:9.).
Exodus 21:14-17
“ But he who acts presumptuously against his neighbour, to slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from Mine altar that he may die .” These words are not to be understood as meaning, that only intentional and treacherous killing was to be punished with death; but, without restricting the general rule in Exodus 21:12, they are to be interpreted from their antithesis to Exodus 21:13, as signifying that even the altar of Jehovah was not to protect a man who had committed intentional murder, and carried out his purpose with treachery. (More on this point at Numbers 35:16.) By this regulation, the idea, which was common to the Hebrews and many other nations, that the altar as God's abode afforded protection to any life that was in danger from men, was brought back to the true measure of its validity, and the place of expiation for sins of weakness (cf. Leviticus 4:2; Leviticus 5:15, Leviticus 5:18; Numbers 15:27-31) was prevented from being abused by being made a place of refuge for criminals who were deserving of death. Maltreatment of a father and mother through striking (Exodus 21:15), man-stealing (Exodus 21:16), and cursing parents (Exodus 21:17, cf. Leviticus 20:9), were all to be placed on a par with murder, and punished in the same way. By the “ smiting ” ( הכּה ) of parents we are not to understand smiting to death, for in that case ומת would be added as in Exodus 21:12, but any kind of maltreatment. The murder of parents is not mentioned at all, as not likely to occur and hardly conceivable. The cursing ( קלּל as in Genesis 12:3) of parents is placed on a par with smiting, because it proceeds from the same disposition; and both were to be punished with death, because the majesty of God was violated in the persons of the parents (cf. Exodus 20:12). Man-stealing was also no less a crime, being a sin against the dignity of man, and a violation of the image of God. For אישׁ “a man,” we find in Deuteronomy 24:7, נפשׁ “a soul,” by which both man and woman are intended, and the still more definite limitation, “of his brethren of the children of Israel.” The crime remained the same whether he had sold him (the stolen man), or whether he was still found in his hand. (For ו - ו as a sign of an alternative in the linking together of short sentences, see Proverbs 29:9, and Ewald, §361.) This is the rendering adopted by most of the earlier translators, and we get no intelligent sense if we divide the clauses thus: “and sell him so that he is found in his hand.”
Fatal blows and the crimes placed on a par with them are now followed in simple order by the laws relating to bodily injuries .
Exodus 21:18-19
If in the course of a quarrel one man should hit another with a stone or with his fist, so that, although he did not die, he “ lay upon his bed, ” i.e., became bedridden; if the person struck should get up again and walk out with his staff, the other would be innocent, he should “ only give him his sitting and have him cured, ” i.e., compensate him for his loss of time and the cost of recovery. This certainly implies, on the one hand, that if the man died upon his bed, the injury was to be punished with death, according to Exodus 21:12; and on the other hand, that if he died after getting up and going out, no further punishment was to be inflicted for the injury done.
Exodus 21:20-21
The case was different with regard to a slave. The master had always the right to punish or “chasten” him with a stick (Proverbs 10:13; Proverbs 13:24); this right was involved in the paternal authority of the master over the servants in his possession. The law was therefore confined to the abuse of this authority in outbursts of passion, in which case, “ if the servant or the maid should die under his hand (i.e., under his blows), he was to be punished ” ( ינּקם נקם : “vengeance shall surely be taken”). But in what the נקם was to consist is not explained; certainly not in slaying by the sword, as the Jewish commentators maintain. The lawgiver would have expressed this by יוּמת מות . No doubt it was left to the authorities to determine this according to the circumstances. The law in Exodus 21:12 could hardly be applied to a case of this description, although it was afterwards extended to foreigners as well as natives (Leviticus 24:21-22), for the simple reason, that it is hardly conceivable that a master would intentionally kill his slave, who was his possession and money. How far the lawgiver was from presupposing any such intention here, is evident from the law which follows in Exodus 21:21, “Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two (i.e., remain alive), it shall not be avenged, for he is his money.” By the continuance of his life, if only for a day or two, it would become perfectly evident that the master did not wish to kill his servant; and if nevertheless he died after this, the loss of the slave was punishment enough for the master. There is no ground whatever for restricting this regulation, as the Rabbins do, to slaves who were not of Hebrew extraction.
Exodus 21:22-25
If men strove and thrust against a woman with child, who had come near or between them for the purpose of making peace, so that her children come out (come into the world), and no injury was done either to the woman or the child that was born,
(Note: The words ילדיה ויצאוּ are rendered by the lxx καὶ ἐξέλθη τὸ παιδίον αὐτῆς μὴ ἐξεικονισμένον and the corresponding clause יהיה אסון ואם by ἐὰν δὲ ἐξεικονισμένον ᾖ ; consequently the translators have understood the words as meaning that the fruit, the premature birth of which was caused by the blow, if not yet developed into a human form, was not to be regarded as in any sense a human being, so that the giver of the blow was only required to pay a pecuniary compensation, - as Philo expresses it, “on account of the injury done to the woman, and because he prevented nature, which forms and shapes a man into the most beautiful being, from bringing him forth alive.” But the arbitrary character of this explanation is apparent at once; for ילד only denotes a child, as a fully developed human being, and not the fruit of the womb before it has assumed a human form. In a manner no less arbitrary אסון has been rendered by Onkelos and the Rabbins מותא , death, and the clause is made to refer to the death of the mother alone, in opposition to the penal sentence in Exodus 21:23, Exodus 21:24, which not only demands life for life, but eye for eye, etc., and therefore presupposes not death alone, but injury done to particular members. The omission of להּ , also, apparently renders it impracticable to refer the words to injury done to the woman alone.)
a pecuniary compensation was to be paid, such as the husband of the woman laid upon him, and he was to give it בּפללים by (by an appeal to) arbitrators. A fine is imposed, because even if no injury had been done to the woman and the fruit of her womb, such a blow might have endangered life. (For יצא roF( to go out of the womb, see Genesis 25:25-26.) The plural ילדיה is employed for the purpose of speaking indefinitely, because there might possibly be more than one child in the womb. “ But if injury occur (to the mother or the child), thou shalt give soul for soul, eye for eye,...wound for wound: ” thus perfect retribution was to be made.
Exodus 21:26-27
But the lex talionis applied to the free Israelite only, not to slaves. In the case of the latter, if the master struck out an eye and destroyed it, i.e., blinded him with the blow, or struck out a tooth, he was to let him go free, as a compensation for the loss of the member. Eye and tooth are individual examples selected to denote all the members, from the most important and indispensable down to the very least.
Exodus 21:28-30
The life of man is also protected against injury from cattle (cf. Genesis 9:5). “ If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; ” because, as the stoning already shows, it was laden with the guilt of murder, and therefore had become unclean (cf. Numbers 35:33). The master or owner of the ox was innocent, sc., if his ox had not bee known to do so before. But if this were the case, “ if his master have been warned ( בּבעליו הוּעד , lit., testimony laid against its master), and notwithstanding this he have not kept it in, ” then the master was to be put to death, because through his carelessness in keeping the ox he had caused the death, and therefore shared the guilt. As this guilt, however, had not been incurred through an intentional crime, but had arisen simply from carelessness, he was allowed to redeem his forfeited life by the payment of expiation money ( כּפר , lit., covering, expiation, cf. Exodus 30:12), “ according to all that was laid upon him, ” sc., by the judge.
Exodus 21:31-32
The death of a son or a daughter through the goring of an ox was also to be treated in the same way; but that of a slave (man-servant or maid-servant) was to be compensated by the payment of thirty shekels of silver (i.e., probably the ordinary price for the redemption of a slave, as the redemption price of a free Israelite was fifty shekels, Leviticus 27:3) on the part of the owner of the ox; but the ox was to be killed in this case also. There are other ancient nations in whose law books we find laws relating to the punishment of animals for killing or wounding a man, but not one of them had a law which made the owner of the animal responsible as well, for they none of them looked upon human life in its likeness of God.
Passing from life to property , in connection with the foregoing, the life of the animal, the most important possession of the Israelites, is first of all secured against destruction through carelessness. If any one opened or dug a pit or cistern, and did not close it up again, and another man's ox or ass (mentioned, for the sake of example, as the most important animals among the live stock of the Israelites) fell in and was killed, the owner of the pit was to pay its full value, and the dead animal to belong to him. If an ox that was not known to be vicious gored another man's ox to death, the vicious animal was to be sold, and its money (what it fetched) to be divided; the dead animal was also to be divided, so that both parties bore an equal amount of damage. If, on the other hand, the ox had been known to be vicious before, and had not been kept in, carefully secured, by its possessor, he was to compensate the owner of the one that had been killed with the full value of an ox, but to receive the dead one instead.