Exodus 22:8

22:8 If the thief is not caught, ¹  then the owner of the house will be brought before the judges ²  to see ³  whether he has laid ⁴  his hand on his neighbor’s goods.

Exodus 22:11

22:11 then there will be an oath to the Lord ⁵  between the two of them, that he has not laid his hand on his neighbor’s goods, and its owner will accept this, and he will not have to pay.

Exodus 22:14

22:14 “If a man borrows an animal ⁶  from his neighbor, and it is hurt or dies when its owner was not with it, the man who borrowed it ⁷  will surely pay.

[22:8]  ¹ tn Heb “found.”

[22:8]  ² tn Here again the word used is “the gods,” meaning the judges who made the assessments and decisions. In addition to other works, see J. R. Vannoy, “The Use of the Word ha’elohim in Exodus 21:6 and 22:7,8,” The Law and the Prophets, 225-41.

[22:8]  ³ tn The phrase “to see” has been supplied.

[22:8]  ⁴ tn The line says “if he has not stretched out his hand.” This could be the oath formula, but the construction here would be unusual, or it could be taken as “whether” (see W. C. Kaiser, Jr., “Exodus,” EBC 2:438). U. Cassuto (Exodus, 286) does not think the wording can possibly fit an oath; nevertheless, an oath would be involved before God (as he takes it instead of “judges”) – if the man swore, his word would be accepted, but if he would not swear, he would be guilty.

[22:11]  ⁵ tn The construct relationship שְׁבֻעַת יְהוָה (shÿvu’at yÿhvah, “the oath of Yahweh”) would require a genitive of indirect object, “an oath [to] Yahweh.” U. Cassuto suggests that it means “an oath by Yahweh” (Exodus, 287). The person to whom the animal was entrusted would take a solemn oath to Yahweh that he did not appropriate the animal for himself, and then his word would be accepted.

[22:14]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who borrowed the animal) has been specified in the translation for clarity.