Exodus 21:16

21:16 “Whoever kidnaps someone ¹  and sells him, ²  or is caught still holding him, ³  must surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:21

21:21 However, if the injured servant ⁴  survives one or two days, the owner ⁵  will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss. ⁶ 

[21:16]  ¹ tn Heb “a stealer of a man,” thus “anyone stealing a man.”

[21:16]  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.

[21:16]  ³ tn Literally “and he is found in his hand” (KJV and ASV both similar), being not yet sold.

[21:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “if he”; the referent (the servant struck and injured in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the injured servant) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[21:21]  ⁶ tn This last clause is a free paraphrase of the Hebrew, “for he is his money” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “his property.” It seems that if the slave survives a couple of days, it is probable that the master was punishing him and not intending to kill him. If he then dies, there is no penalty other than that the owner loses the slave who is his property – he suffers the loss.