Exodus 22:1

Laws about Property

22:1 ¹ (21:37) ²  “If a man steals an ox or a sheep and kills it or sells it, he must pay back ³  five head of cattle for the ox, and four sheep for the one sheep. ⁴ 

Exodus 22:7

22:7 “If a man gives his neighbor money or articles ⁵  for safekeeping, ⁶  and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, ⁷  he must repay double.

Exodus 22:9

22:9 In all cases of illegal possessions, ⁸  whether for an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any kind of lost item, about which someone says ‘This belongs to me,’ ⁹  the matter of the two of them will come before the judges, ¹⁰  and the one whom ¹¹  the judges declare guilty ¹²  must repay double to his neighbor.

Proverbs 6:31

6:31 Yet ¹³  if he is caught ¹⁴  he must repay ¹⁵  seven times over,

he might even have to give ¹⁶  all the wealth of his house.

Isaiah 40:2

40:2 “Speak kindly to ¹⁷  Jerusalem, ¹⁸  and tell her

that her time of warfare is over, ¹⁹ 

that her punishment is completed. ²⁰ 

For the Lord has made her pay double ²¹  for all her sins.”

Jeremiah 16:18

16:18 Before I restore them ²²  I will punish them in full ²³  for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own ²⁴  with their detestable idols.” ²⁵ 

Revelation 18:6

18:6 Repay her the same way she repaid others; ²⁶  pay her back double ²⁷  corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her.

[22:1]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of obligatory imperfect – he must pay back.

[22:1]  ⁴ 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.

[22:7]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “to keep.” Here “safekeeping,” that is, to keep something secure on behalf of a third party, is intended.

[22:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “found.”

[22:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “concerning every kind [thing] of trespass.”

[22:9]  ⁹ tn The text simply has “this is it” (הוּא זֶה, hu’ zeh).

[22:9]  ¹⁰ tn Again, or “God.”

[22:9]  ¹¹ tn This kind of clause Gesenius calls an independent relative clause – it does not depend on a governing substantive but itself expresses a substantival idea (GKC 445-46 §138.e).

[22:9]  ¹² tn The verb means “to be guilty” in Qal; in Hiphil it would have a declarative sense, because a causative sense would not possibly fit.

[6:31]  ¹³ tn The term “yet” is supplied in the translation.

[6:31]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “is found out.” The perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive is equivalent to the imperfect nuances. Here it introduces either a conditional or a temporal clause before the imperfect.

[6:31]  ¹⁵ tn The imperfect tense has an obligatory nuance. The verb in the Piel means “to repay; to make restitution; to recompense”; cf. NCV, TEV, CEV “must pay back.”

[6:31]  ¹⁶ tn This final clause in the section is somewhat cryptic. The guilty thief must pay back sevenfold what he stole, even if it means he must use the substance of his whole house. The verb functions as an imperfect of possibility: “he might even give.”

[40:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is personified as a woman.

[40:2]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[40:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “that she is filled [with] her warfare.” Some understand צָבָא (tsavah, “warfare”) as meaning “hard service” or “compulsory labor” in this context.

[40:2]  ²⁰ tn Heb “that her punishment is accepted [as satisfactory].”

[40:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “for she has received from the hand of the Lord double.” The principle of the double portion in punishment is also seen in Jer 16:18; 17:18 and Rev 18:6. For examples of the double portion in Israelite law, see Exod 22:4, 7, 9 (double restitution by a thief) and Deut 21:17 (double inheritance portion for the firstborn).

[16:18]  ²² tn Heb “First.” Many English versions and commentaries delete this word because it is missing from the Greek version and is considered a gloss added by a postexilic editor who is said to be responsible also for vv. 14-16. This is not the place to resolve issues of authorship and date. It is the task of the translator to translate the “original” which in this case is the MT supported by the other versions. The word here refers to order in rank or order of events. Compare Gen 38:28; 1 Kgs 18:25. Here allusion is made to the restoration previously mentioned. First in order of events is the punishment of destruction and exile, then restoration.

[16:18]  ²³ tn Heb “double.” However, usage in Deut 15:18 and probably Isa 40:2 argues for “full compensation.” This is supported also by usage in a tablet from Alalakh in Syria. See P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 218, for bibliography.

[16:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “my inheritance.”

[16:18]  ²⁵ tn Many of the English versions take “lifeless statues of their detestable idols” with “filled” as a compound object. This follows the Masoretic punctuation but violates usage. The verb “fill” never takes an object preceded by the preposition בְּ (bet).

[18:6]  ²⁶ tn The word “others” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[18:6]  ²⁷ tn On this term BDAG 252 s.v. διπλόω states, “to double τὰ διπλᾶ pay back double Rv 18:6.”