Exodus 21:20-36

21:20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she ¹  dies as a result of the blow, ²  he will surely be punished. ³  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 

21:22 “If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, ⁷  but there is no serious injury, he will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides. ⁸  21:23 But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life, 21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise. ⁹ 

21:26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, ¹⁰  he will let the servant ¹¹  go free ¹²  as compensation for the eye. 21:27 If he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or his female servant, he will let the servant ¹³  go free as compensation for the tooth.

Laws about Animals

21:28 ¹⁴ “If an ox ¹⁵  gores a man or a woman so that either dies, ¹⁶  then the ox must surely ¹⁷  be stoned and its flesh must not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will be acquitted. 21:29 But if the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner was warned, ¹⁸  and he did not take the necessary precautions, ¹⁹  and then it killed a man or a woman, the ox must be stoned and the man must be put to death. 21:30 If a ransom is set for him, ²⁰  then he must pay the redemption for his life according to whatever amount was set for him. 21:31 If the ox ²¹  gores a son or a daughter, the owner ²²  will be dealt with according to this rule. ²³  21:32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner ²⁴  must pay thirty shekels of silver, ²⁵  and the ox must be stoned. ²⁶ 

21:33 “If a man opens a pit or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 21:34 the owner of the pit must repay ²⁷  the loss. He must give money ²⁸  to its owner, and the dead animal ²⁹  will become his. 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, ³⁰  and they will also divide the dead ox. ³¹  21:36 Or if it is known that the ox had the habit of goring, and its owner did not take the necessary precautions, he must surely pay ³²  ox for ox, and the dead animal will become his. ³³ 

[21:20]  ¹ tn Heb “so that he”; the words “or she” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:20]  ² tn Heb “under his hand.”

[21:20]  ³ tn Heb “will be avenged” (how is not specified).

[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.

[21:22]  ⁷ tn This line has occasioned a good deal of discussion. It may indicate that the child was killed, as in a miscarriage; or it may mean that there was a premature birth. The latter view is taken here because of the way the whole section is written: (1) “her children come out” reflects a birth and not the loss of children, (2) there is no serious damage, and (3) payment is to be set for any remuneration. The word אָסוֹן (’ason) is translated “serious damage.” The word was taken in Mekilta to mean “death.” U. Cassuto says the point of the phrase is that neither the woman or the children that are born die (Exodus, 275). But see among the literature on this: M. G. Kline, “Lex Talionis and the Human Fetus,” JETS 20 (1977): 193-201; W. House, “Miscarriage or Premature Birth: Additional Thoughts on Exodus 21:22-25,” WTJ 41 (1978): 108-23; S. E. Loewenstamm, “Exodus XXI 22-25,” VT 27 (1977): 352-60.

[21:22]  ⁸ tn The word בִּפְלִלִים (biflilim) means “with arbitrators.” The point then seems to be that the amount of remuneration for damages that was fixed by the husband had to be approved by the courts. S. R. Driver mentions an alternative to this unusual reading presented by Budde, reading בנפלים as “untimely birth” (Exodus, 219). See also E. A. Speiser, “The Stem PLL in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6.

[21:25]  ⁹ sn The text now introduces the Lex Talionis with cases that were not likely to have applied to the situation of the pregnant woman. See K. Luke, “Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth,” Indian Theological Studies 16 (1979): 326-43.

[21:26]  ¹⁰ tn The form וְשִׁחֲתָהּ (vÿshikhatah) is the Piel perfect with the vav (ל) consecutive, rendered “and destroys it.” The verb is a strong one, meaning “to ruin, completely destroy.”

[21:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:26]  ¹² sn Interestingly, the verb used here for “let him go” is the same verb throughout the first part of the book for “release” of the Israelites from slavery. Here, an Israelite will have to release the injured slave.

[21:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:28]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally “ox,” but “bull” would also be suitable. The term may refer to one of any variety of large cattle.

[21:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and he dies”; KJV “that they die”; NAB, NASB “to death.”

[21:28]  ¹⁷ 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.

[21:29]  ¹⁸ tn The Hophal perfect has the idea of “attested, testified against.”

[21:29]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he was not keeping it” or perhaps guarding or watching it (referring to the ox).

[21:30]  ²⁰ sn The family of the victim would set the amount for the ransom of the man guilty of criminal neglect. This practice was common in the ancient world, rare in Israel. If the family allowed the substitute price, then the man would be able to redeem his life.

[21:31]  ²¹ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the ox) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:31]  ²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:31]  ²³ tn Heb “according to this judgment it shall be done to him.”

[21:32]  ²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:32]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ sn See further B. S. Jackson, “The Goring Ox Again [Ex. 21,28-36],” JJP 18 (1974): 55-94.

[21:34]  ²⁷ tn The verb is a Piel imperfect from שָׁלַם (shalam); it has the idea of making payment in full, making recompense, repaying. These imperfects could be given a future tense translation as imperfects of instruction, but in the property cases an obligatory imperfect fits better – this is what he is bound or obliged to do – what he must do.

[21:34]  ²⁸ tn Heb “silver.”

[21:34]  ²⁹ tn Here the term “animal” has been supplied.

[21:35]  ³⁰ tn Literally “its silver” or “silver for it.”

[21:35]  ³¹ tn Heb “divide the dead.” The noun “ox” has been supplied.

[21:36]  ³² tn The construction now uses the same Piel imperfect (v. 34) but adds the infinitive absolute to it for emphasis.

[21:36]  ³³ sn The point of this section (21:28-36) seems to be that one must ensure the safety of others by controlling one’s property and possessions. This section pertained to neglect with animals, but the message would have applied to similar situations. The people of God were to take heed to ensure the well-being of others, and if there was a problem, it had to be made right.