Exodus 19:13

19:13 No hand will touch him ¹  – but he will surely be stoned or shot through, whether a beast or a human being; ²  he must not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast they may ³  go up on the mountain.”

Exodus 21:28

Laws about Animals

21:28 ⁴ “If an ox ⁵  gores a man or a woman so that either dies, ⁶  then the ox must surely ⁷  be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted.

Exodus 21:32

21:32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner ⁸  must pay thirty shekels of silver, ⁹  and the ox must be stoned. ¹⁰ 

Hebrews 12:20

12:20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.” ¹¹ 

[19:13]  ¹ sn There is some ambiguity here. The clause either means that no man will touch the mountain, so that if there is someone who is to be put to death he must be stoned or shot since they could not go into the mountain region to get him, or, it may mean no one is to touch the culprit who went in to the region of the mountain.

[19:13]  ² tn Heb “a man.”

[19:13]  ³ tn The nuance here is permissive imperfect, “they may go up.” The ram’s horn would sound the blast to announce that the revelation period was over and it was permitted then to ascend the mountain.

[21:28]  ⁴ sn The point that this section of the laws makes is that one must ensure the safety of others by controlling the circumstances.

[21:28]  ⁵ tn Traditionally “ox,” but “bull” would also be suitable. The term may refer to one of any variety of large cattle.

[21:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “and he dies”; KJV “that they die”; NAB, NASB “to death.”

[21:28]  ⁷ tn The text uses סָקוֹל יִסָּקֵל (saqol yissaqel), a Qal infinitive absolute with a Niphal imperfect. The infinitive intensifies the imperfect, which here has an obligatory nuance or is a future of instruction.

[21:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:32]  ⁹ sn A shekel was a unit for measure by means of a scale. Both the weight and the value of a shekel of silver are hard to determine. “Though there is no certainty, the shekel is said to weigh about 11,5 grams” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:181). Over four hundred years earlier, Joseph was sold into Egypt for 20 shekels. The free Israelite citizen was worth about 50 shekels (Lev 27:3f.).

[21:32]  ¹⁰ sn See further B. S. Jackson, “The Goring Ox Again [Ex. 21,28-36],” JJP 18 (1974): 55-94.

[12:20]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Exod 19:12-13.