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 21:7-8

21:7 “If a man sells his daughter ⁴  as a female servant, ⁵  she will not go out as the male servants do. 21:8 If she does not please ⁶  her master, who has designated her ⁷  for himself, then he must let her be redeemed. ⁸  He has no right ⁹  to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has dealt deceitfully ¹⁰  with her.

Exodus 22:3

22:3 If the sun has risen on him, then there is blood guilt for him. A thief ¹¹  must surely make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he will be sold for his theft.

Exodus 21:35

21:35 If the ox of one man injures the ox of his neighbor so that it dies, then they will sell the live ox and divide its proceeds, ¹²  and they will also divide the dead ox. ¹³ 

Exodus 22:1

Laws about Property

22:1 ¹⁴ (21:37) ¹⁵  “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back ¹⁶  five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. ¹⁷ 

[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.

[21:7]  ⁴ sn This paragraph is troubling to modern readers, but given the way that marriages were contracted and the way people lived in the ancient world, it was a good provision for people who might want to find a better life for their daughter. On the subject in general for this chapter, see W. M. Swartley, Slavery, Sabbath, War, and Women, 31-64.

[21:7]  ⁵ tn The word אָמָה (’amah) refers to a female servant who would eventually become a concubine or wife; the sale price included the amount for the service as well as the bride price (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 621). The arrangement recognized her honor as an Israelite woman, one who could be a wife, even though she entered the household in service. The marriage was not automatic, as the conditions show, but her treatment was safeguarded come what may. The law was a way, then, for a poor man to provide a better life for a daughter.

[21:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “and if unpleasant (רָעָה, ra’ah) in the eyes of her master.”

[21:8]  ⁸ tn The verb יָעַד (ya’ad) does not mean “betroth, espouse” as some of the earlier translations had it, but “to designate.” When he bought the girl, he designated her for himself, giving her and her family certain expectations.

[21:8]  ⁹ tn The verb is a Hiphil perfect with vav (ו) consecutive from פָדָה (padah, “to redeem”). Here in the apodosis the form is equivalent to an imperfect: “let someone redeem her” – perhaps her father if he can, or another. U. Cassuto says it can also mean she can redeem herself and dissolve the relationship (Exodus, 268).

[21:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he has no authority/power,” for the verb means “rule, have dominion.”

[21:8]  ¹¹ sn The deceit is in not making her his wife or concubine as the arrangement had stipulated.

[22:3]  ¹⁰ tn The words “a thief” have been added for clarification. S. R. Driver (Exodus, 224) thinks that these lines are out of order, since some of them deal with killing the thief and then others with the thief making restitution, but rearranging the clauses is not a necessary way to bring clarity to the paragraph. The idea here would be that any thief caught alive would pay restitution.

[21:35]  ¹³ tn Literally “its silver” or “silver for it.”

[21:35]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “divide the dead.” The noun “ox” has been supplied.

[22:1]  ¹⁶ sn The next section of laws concerns property rights. These laws protected property from thieves and oppressors, but also set limits to retribution. The message could be: God’s laws demand that the guilty make restitution for their crimes against property and that the innocent be exonerated.

[22:1]  ¹⁷ sn Beginning with 22:1, the verse numbers through 22:31 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 22:1 ET = 21:37 HT, 22:2 ET = 22:1 HT, etc., through 22:31 ET = 22:30 HT. Thus in the English Bible ch. 22 has 31 verses, while in the Hebrew Bible it has 30 verses, with the one extra verse attached to ch. 21 in the Hebrew Bible.

[22:1]  ¹⁸ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of obligatory imperfect – he must pay back.

[22:1]  ¹⁹ tn בָּקַר (baqar) and צֹאן (tso’n) are the categories to which the ox and the sheep belonged, so that the criminal had some latitude in paying back animals.