21:16 “Whoever kidnaps someone 1 and sells him, 2 or is caught still holding him, 3 must surely be put to death.
1 tn Heb “a stealer of a man,” thus “anyone stealing a man.”
2 sn The implication is that it would be an Israelite citizen who was kidnapped and sold to a foreign tribe or country (like Joseph). There was always a market for slaves. The crime would be in forcibly taking the individual away from his home and religion and putting him into bondage or death.
3 tn Literally “and he is found in his hand” (KJV and ASV both similar), being not yet sold.
4 tn In view of the use of the verb “can, be able to” in the first clause, this imperfect tense is given a potential nuance.
5 tn Gesenius notes that sometimes a negative statement takes the place of a conditional clause; here it is equal to “if a man sees me he does not live” (GKC 498 §159.gg). The other passages that teach this are Gen 32:30; Deut 4:33, 5:24, 26; Judg 6:22, 13:22, and Isa 6:5.