Exodus 21:4

21:4 If his master gave ¹  him a wife, and she bore sons or daughters, the wife and the children will belong to her master, and he will go out by himself.

Exodus 21:6

21:6 then his master must bring him to the judges, ²  and he will bring him to the door or the doorposts, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. ³ 

Exodus 21:18

21:18 “If men fight, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with his fist and he does not die, but must remain in bed, ⁴ 

Exodus 21:20

21:20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she ⁵  dies as a result of the blow, ⁶  he will surely be punished. ⁷ 

Exodus 21:26

21:26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it, ⁸  he will let the servant ⁹  go free ¹⁰  as compensation for the eye.

Exodus 21:32

21:32 If the ox gores a male servant or a female servant, the owner ¹¹  must pay thirty shekels of silver, ¹²  and the ox must be stoned. ¹³ 

Exodus 22:7

22:7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or articles ¹⁴  for safekeeping, ¹⁵  and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, ¹⁶  he must repay double.

Exodus 22:14

22:14 “If a man borrows an animal ¹⁷  from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it ¹⁸  will surely pay.

Exodus 30:20

30:20 When they enter ¹⁹  the tent of meeting, they must wash with ²⁰  water so that they do not die. ²¹  Also, when they approach ²²  the altar to minister by burning incense ²³  as an offering made by fire ²⁴  to the Lord,

[21:4]  ¹ sn The slave would not have the right or the means to acquire a wife. Thus, the idea of the master’s “giving” him a wife is clear – the master would have to pay the bride price and make the provision. In this case, the wife and the children are actually the possession of the master unless the slave were to pay the bride price – but he is a slave because he got into debt. The law assumes that the master was better able to provide for this woman than the freed slave and that it was most important to keep the children with the mother.

[21:6]  ² tn The word is הָאֱלֹהִים (ha’elohim). S. R. Driver (Exodus, 211) says the phrase means “to God,” namely the nearest sanctuary in order that the oath and the ritual might be made solemn, although he does say that it would be done by human judges. That the reference is to Yahweh God is the view also of F. C. Fensham, “New Light on Exodus 21:7 and 22:7 from the Laws of Eshnunna,” JBL 78 (1959): 160-61. Cf. also ASV, NAB, NASB, NCV, NRSV, NLT. Others have made a stronger case that it refers to judges who acted on behalf of God; see C. Gordon, “אלהים in its Reputed Meaning of Rulers, Judges,” JBL 54 (1935): 134-44; and A. E. Draffkorn, “Ilani/Elohim,” JBL 76 (1957): 216-24; cf. KJV, NIV.

[21:6]  ³ tn Or “till his life’s end” (as in the idiom: “serve him for good”).

[21:18]  ³ tn Heb “falls to bed.”

[21:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “so that he”; the words “or she” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[21:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “under his hand.”

[21:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “will be avenged” (how is not specified).

[21:26]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:26]  ⁷ 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.

[21:32]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:32]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ sn See further B. S. Jackson, “The Goring Ox Again [Ex. 21,28-36],” JJP 18 (1974): 55-94.

[22:7]  ⁷ tn The word usually means “vessels” but can have the sense of household goods and articles. It could be anything from jewels and ornaments to weapons or pottery.

[22:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “to keep.” Here “safekeeping,” that is, to keep something secure on behalf of a third party, is intended.

[22:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “found.”

[22:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “if a man asks [an animal] from his neighbor” (see also Exod 12:36). The ruling here implies an animal is borrowed, and if harm comes to it when the owner is not with it, the borrower is liable. The word “animal” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[22:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who borrowed the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:20]  ⁹ tn The form is an infinitive construct with the temporal preposition bet (ב), and a suffixed subjective genitive: “in their going in,” or, whenever they enter.

[30:20]  ¹⁰ tn “Water” is an adverbial accusative of means, and so is translated “with water.” Gesenius classifies this with verbs of “covering with something.” But he prefers to emend the text with a preposition (see GKC 369 §117.y, n. 1).

[30:20]  ¹¹ tn The verb is a Qal imperfect with a nuance of final imperfect. The purpose/result clause here is indicated only with the conjunction: “and they do not die.” But clearly from the context this is the intended result of their washing – it is in order that they not die.

[30:20]  ¹² tn Here, too, the infinitive is used in a temporal clause construction. The verb נָגַשׁ (nagash) is the common verb used for drawing near to the altar to make offerings – the official duties of the priest.

[30:20]  ¹³ tn The text uses two infinitives construct: “to minister to burn incense”; the first is the general term and expresses the purpose of the drawing near, and the second infinitive is epexegetical, explaining the first infinitive.

[30:20]  ¹⁴ tn The translation “as an offering made by fire” is a standard rendering of the one word in the text that appears to refer to “fire.” Milgrom and others contend that it simply means a “gift” (Leviticus 1-16, 161).