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Exodus Chapter
Twenty-one
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 21
In this, and the two
following chapters, are delivered various laws and precepts, partly of a moral,
and partly of a religious, but chiefly of a civil nature, respecting the
commonwealth of Israel, and its political good. This chapter treats of
servants, and laws relating to them; to menservants, how long they shall serve,
and what is to be done to those who are desirous of staying with their masters
after their time is up, Exodus 21:1, to
maidservants, and especially betrothed ones, either to a father or a son, Exodus 21:7,
likewise it contains laws concerning the slaughter of men, whether with design
or unawares, Exodus 21:12, and
concerning the ill usage of parents, Exodus 21:15, and
man stealing, Exodus 21:16 and of
mischief that comes by men's quarrelling and fighting, Exodus 21:18 and by
smiting a man or maidservant, Exodus 21:20, to a
woman with child, that is, by means of men's striving and contending with each
other, Exodus 21:22 and of
damages that come by oxen, or to them, Exodus 21:28.
Exodus 21:1 “Now
these are the judgments which you shall set before them:
YLT 1`And these [are] the judgments which thou
dost set before them:
Now these are
the judgments,.... The judicial laws respecting the civil state of the people
of Israel, so called because they are founded on justice and equity, and are
according to the judgment of God, whose judgment is according to truth; and
because they are such by which the commonwealth of Israel was to be judged or
governed, and were to be the rule of their conduct to one another, and a rule
of judgment to their judges in the execution of judgment and justice among
them:
which thou
shall set before them; besides the ten commands before delivered. They were spoken by
God himself in the hearing of the people; these were delivered to Moses after
he went up to the mount again, at the request of the people, to be their
mediator, to be by him set before them as the rule of their behaviour, and to
enjoin them the observance of them; in order to which he was not only to
rehearse them, but to write them out, and set them in a plain and easy light
before them: and though they did not hear these with their own ears from God
himself, as the ten commands; yet, as they had the utmost reason to believe
they came from him, and it was at their own request that he, and not God, might
speak unto them what was further to be said, with a promise they would obey it,
as if they had immediately heard it from him; it became them to receive these
laws as of God, and yield a cheerful obedience to them; nor do we find they
ever questioned the authority of them; and as their government was a Theocracy,
and God was more immediately their King than he was of any other people, it was
but right, and what might be expected, that they should have their civil laws
from him, and which was their privilege, and gave them the preference to all
other nations, Deuteronomy 4:5.
Exodus 21:2 2 If
you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; and in the seventh he shall
go out free and pay nothing.
YLT 2`When thou buyest a Hebrew servant -- six
years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought;
If thou buy an
Hebrew servant,.... Who sells himself either through poverty, or rather is sold
because of his theft, see Exodus 22:3 and so
the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"when ye shall buy for his theft, a
servant, a son of an Israelite;'agreeably to which Aben Ezra observes, this
servant is a servant that is sold for his theft; and he says, it is a tradition
with them, that a male is sold for his theft, but not a female; and the persons
who had the selling of such were the civil magistrates, the Sanhedrim, or court
of judicature; so Jarchi, on the text, says, "if thou buy", &c.
that is, of the hand of the sanhedrim who sells him for his theft:
six years he
shall serve; and no longer; and the Jewish doctors sayF4Maimon.
& Bartenora in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 2. , if his master dies within
the six years he must serve his son, but not his daughter, nor his brother, nor
any other heirs:
and in the
seventh he shall go out free for nothing; without paying any money
for his freedom, as it is explained Exodus 21:11, nay,
on the other hand, his master was not to send him away empty, but furnish him
liberally out of his flock, floor, and wine press, since his six years'
servitude was worth double that of an hired servant, Deuteronomy 15:13,
and his freedom was to take place as soon as the six years were ended, and the
seventh began, in which the Jewish writers agree: the Targum of Jonathan is, at
the entrance of the seventh; and Aben Ezra's explanation is, at the beginning
of the seventh year of his being sold; and MaimonidesF5Hilchot
Abadim, c. 2. sect. 2. observes the same. Now as this servant, in the state of
servitude, was an emblem of that state of bondage to sin, Satan, and the law,
which man is brought into by his theft, his robbing God of his glory by the
transgression of his precepts; so likewise, in his being made free, he was an
emblem of that liberty wherewith Christ, the Son of God, makes his people free
from the said bondage, and who are free indeed, and made so freely without
money, and without price, of pure free grace, without any merit or desert of
theirs; and which freedom is attended with many bountiful and liberal blessings
of grace.
Exodus 21:3 3 If
he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he comes in
married, then his wife shall go out with him.
YLT 3if by himself he cometh in, by himself he
goeth out; if he [is] owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him;
If he came in
by himself, he shall go out by himself,.... That is, if he came
into his servitude "alone", as the Septuagint version has it, he
should go out of it in like manner; the word for "by himself", some
interpret with "his garment"F6בגפו
"cum quali veste", V. L. "cum veste sua"; some in Vatablus
& Drusius. , or the skirt of one; and then the sense seems to be, that as
he was clothed when he was sold, so he should be when made free: but rather the
phrase literally is "with his body"F7"Cum corpore
suo", Munster, Pagninus, Vatablus, Drusius; "solus corpore suo",
Junius & Tremellius; "cum solo corpore suo", Piscator. ; not his
naked body, or as destitute of raiment, and the necessaries of life; for, as
before observed, his master was to furnish him liberally with good things: but
the plain meaning is, that if he was a single or unmarried man when he entered
his master's service, he should go out, so; or as a Jewish writerF8R.
Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 15. 1. expresses it, as if he should say, with his
body, without another body with him, who is his wife, as appears by what
follows; unless his master should give him a wife while in his service, which
is supposed in the next verse, and even then he was to go out alone, if he
chose to go out at all; though Jarchi says, if he was not married at first, his
master might not give him a Canaanitish woman to beget slaves of her:
if he were
married, then his wife shall go with him; that is, if he had a
wife, a daughter of Israel, as the Targum of Jonathan; or an Israelitish woman,
as Jarchi, and had her at his coming; for otherwise, if it was one his master
after gave him, she might not go out, as appears by the following verse; but
being his wife before his servitude, and an Israelitish woman, was not the
master's bondmaid, nor bought with his money, and therefore might go out free
with her husband.
Exodus 21:4 4 If
his master has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the
wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
YLT 4if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath
borne to him sons or daughters -- the wife and her children are her lord's, and
he goeth out by himself.
If his master
have given him a wife,.... One of his slaves, a Canaanitish woman, on purpose to beget
slaves on her, since all born in his house were his own; this is supposed to be
after he was come into his house, and into his service:
and she have
born him sons or daughters; as she might have born him several of the
one sort, or the other, if she was given to him quickly after his servitude
began:
the wife and
her children shall be her master's: she being his slave, and
bought with his money, he had a right unto her, and to the children belonging
to her, the birth following the belly; and being born in his house, they were
also his. Jarchi here observes, that the Scripture speaks of a Canaanitish
woman, for an Hebrew woman went out at the sixth year, and even before the
sixth, if she produced the signs, that is, of puberty:
and he shall go
out by himself; without his wife and children: if it be objected to this law,
that it is contrary to the law of marriage, which is indissoluble, but by this
dissolved; it may be replied, that the servant was not obliged by it to leave
his wife, unless he chose it; on complying with certain conditions after
mentioned, he might continue with her; besides, she was, according to Jarchi,
but his secondary wife, and not only so, the marriage was not lawful, being
with a Canaanitish woman, and not agreeable to the Lord; and being also her
master's slave, to whom he had a right, he could retain her if he pleased,
having only given her to his servant to beget slaves on for him.
Exodus 21:5 5 But
if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will
not go out free,’
YLT 5`And if the servant really say: I have loved
my lord, my wife, and my sons -- I do not go out free;
And if the
servant shall plainly say,.... Or, "in saying shall say"F9אמר יאמר shall express himself in
plain and full terms, and repeat his words, and abide by them, signifying it as
his last will and determined resolution:
I love my
master, my wife, and my children, and I will not go out free; but continue
in his servitude, having a great affection for his master, and that he might
enjoy his wife and children he dearly loved; and being animated with such a
principle, his servitude was a pleasure to him: and when our obedience to God
springs from love to him, and to his cause and interest, which should be as
dear to us as our families, it is then acceptable to God and delightful to
ourselves; in Deuteronomy 15:16,
it is, because
he loveth thee, and thine house, because he is well with thee; hence the
Jewish writers sayF11T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 22. 1. Maimon. in Misn.
Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 2. , understanding by "house" a family, if a
servant has a wife and children and his master not, his ear is not to be bored;
and if his master has a wife and children and he has not, his ear is not to be
bored; if he loves his master and his master do not love him, or his master
loves him and he do not love his master, or if he is sick, &c. his ear is
not to be bored.
Exodus 21:6 6 then
his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door,
or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he
shall serve him forever.
YLT 6then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God,
and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord
hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him -- to the age.
Then his master
shall bring him unto the judges,.... To Elohim, to God, to the judgment seat
of God, according to the Septuagint; to some person or persons to inquire of
God what is to be done in such a case; but this seems needless, since it is
here declared: no doubt civil magistrates or judges are meant by Elohim, or the
gods, as in Psalm 82:1, and so
Jarchi interprets it of the house of judgment, or sanhedrim, the court that had
convicted the servant of theft, and had sold him to him, it was proper he
should acquaint them with it, have their opinion about it; and especially it
was proper to have him to them, that he might before them, even in open court,
declare his willingness to abide in his master's service; and from whom, as the
Targum of Jonathan, he was to receive power and authority to retain him in his
service:
he shall also
bring him to the door, or to the doorpost; either of the gate of
the city, where the judges were sitting, before whom what follows was to be
done, as Aben Ezra suggests; or rather the door of his master, or any other
man's, as MaimonidesF12Hilchot Abadim, c. 3. sect. 9. :
and his master
shall bore his ear through with an awl; or with a needle, as the
Targum of Jonathan, which also says it was the right ear; and so Jarchi; and
the upper part of it, as says Maimonides, who likewise observes, that that with
which it is bored must be of metal; and moreover, that it is the master himself
that must do it, and not his son, nor his messenger, nor a messenger of the
sanhedrimF13Ibid. : the ear is an hieroglyphic of obedience, and the
boring of it through to the doorpost denotes the strict and close obedience of
such a servant to his master, and how he is, and ought to be, addicted to his service,
and be constantly employed in it, and never stir from it, nor so much as go
over the threshold of his master's house. This custom of boring a servant's ear
continued in Syria till the times of Juvenal, as appears by some lines of his:F14"----Molles
quod in aure fenestrae Arguerint, licet ipse negem?" Satyr. 1. .
and he shall
serve him for ever; as long as he livesF15"Serviet in aeternum, qui
parvo nesciet uti". Horat. ; however, until the year of jubilee, as the
Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; if there was one before his death, for
nothing else could free him; denoting freedom by Christ in his acceptable year,
and day of salvation.
Exodus 21:7 7 “And
if a man sells his daughter to be a female slave, she shall not go out as the
male slaves do.
YLT 7`And when a man selleth his daughter for a
handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants;
And if a man
sell his daughter to be a maidservant,.... That is, if an
Israelite, as the Targum of Jonathan, sells his little daughter, as the same
Targum, and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra, one that is under age, that is not arrived
to the age of twelve years and a day, and this through poverty; he not being
able to support himself and his family, puts his daughter out to service, or
rather sells her to be a servant:
she shall not
go out as the menservants do; that are sold, before described; or rather,
according to the Targum,"as the Canaanitish servants go out, who are made
free, because of a tooth, or an eye, (the loss of them, Exodus 21:26) but
in the years of release, and with the signs (of puberty), and in the jubilee,
and at the death of their masters, with redemption of silver,'so Jarchi.
Exodus 21:8 8 If
she does not please her master, who has betrothed her to himself, then he shall
let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people,
since he has dealt deceitfully with her.
YLT 8if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he
hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people
he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.
If she please
not her master,.... "Be evil in the eyes of her master"F16רעה בעיני "mala in
oculis", Montanus; "mala videbitur in oculis", Junius &
Tremellius; "mala fuerit in oculis", Drusius. ; and he has no liking
of her, and love to her, not being agreeable in her person, temper, or conduct,
so that he does not choose to make her his wife:
who hath
betrothed her to him; but not completed the marriage, as he promised, when he bought
her, or at least gave reason to expect that he would; for, according to the
Jewish canons, a Hebrew handmaid might not be sold but to one who laid himself
under obligation to espouse her to himself, or his son, when she was fit to be
betrothedF17Maimon. Hilchot Abadim, c. 4. sect. 11. & in Misn.
Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 2. ; and so Jarchi says, he ought to espouse her, and
take her to be his wife, for the money of her purchase is the money of her
espousals. There is a double reading of this passage, the Keri, or marginal
reading we follow; the Cetib, or written text, is, "who hath not betrothed
her", both may be taken in, "who hath not betrothed her to him",
as he said he would, or as it was expected he should; for, had she been really
betrothed, what follows could not have been done:
then shall he
let her be redeemed; she being at age, and fit for marriage, and her master not
caring to marry her, her father shall redeem her, as the Targum of Jonathan; it
was incumbent on him to do that, as it was on her master to let her be
redeemed, to admit of the redemption of her; or whether, as Aben Ezra says, she
redeemed herself, or her father, or one of her relations, if she was near the
six years (the end of them), they reckoned how many years she had served, and
how many were yet to the seventh, or to the time that she is in her own power,
and according to the computation was the redemption: thus, for instance, as it
is by othersF18Bartenora in Kiddush. ib. put, if she was bought for
six pounds, then one pound is the service of every year; and if she redeemed
herself, her master took off of the money for the years she had served; or thusF19Maimon.
in ib. , if she was bought for sixty pence, and had served two years, he must
pay her forty pence, and so free her:
to sell her
unto a strange nation, he shall have no power; that is, to another man, as
both the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, even to an Israelite that was of
another family, to whom the right of redemption did not belong; for to sell an
Israelite, man or woman, to a Gentile, or one of another nation, was not
allowed of in any case, as JosephusF20Antiqu. l. 16. c. 1. sect. 1.
observes; but the meaning is, he had no power to sell her to another, though of
the same nation, to be his handmaid; this power neither her master nor her
father had, as Jarchi asserts, she being redeemed, and in her own power:
seeing he hath
dealt deceitfully with her; in not fulfilling his promise made to her
father when he sold her to him, or not answering the expectation he had raised
in her; and especially he dealt thus with her, if he had corrupted her, and yet
refused to betroth and marry her.
Exodus 21:9 9 And
if he has betrothed her to his son, he shall deal with her according to the
custom of daughters.
YLT 9`And if to his son he betroth her, according
to the right of daughters he doth to her.
And if he have
betrothed her unto his son,.... Not caring to betroth and marry her
himself, as being more suitable in age for his son than for himself:
he shall deal
with her after the manner of daughters; as if she was his
daughter, and give her a dowry: or the son shall treat her after the manner the
daughters of Israel are treated when married, by giving her food, raiment, and
the duty of marriage, so Jarchi: or after the manner of the daughters of Israel
that are virgins, and who are not sold, as Aben Ezra.
Exodus 21:10 10 If
he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and
her marriage rights.
YLT 10`If another [woman] he take for him, her
food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw;
If he take him
another wife,.... The father takes another wife for his son, or the son takes
another wife to himself after he has betrothed and married his father's
maidservant:
her food, her
raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish; neither deny
it her in whole, nor lessen it in part, but give her her full due of each. What
is meant by the two former words is easy, and admits of no difficulty, the latter
is differently interpreted. Some take it to signify no other than an
"habitation"F21ענתה
"habitationem ejus", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius; so some in
Aben Ezra. Vid. Pfeiffer. "dubia vexata", cent. 1. loc. 97. , that as
he was to provide food and raiment for her, so an house to dwell, in; but the
generality of interpreters, Jewish and Christian, understand it as we do, of
the conjugal duty, the use of the marriage bed, or what the apostle calls due
benevolence, 1 Corinthians 7:3.
The word is thought to have the signification of a fixed time for it; and the
Misnic doctorsF23Misn. Cetubot, c. 5. sect. 6. are very particular
in assigning the set times of it for different persons; and in those countries
where there were, and where there still are, plurality of wives, each had, and
have their turns, see Genesis 30:15.
Exodus 21:11 11 And if he does not do
these three for her, then she shall go out free, without paying money.
YLT 11and if these three he do not to her, then she
hath gone out for nought, without money.
And if he do
not these three unto her,.... Not the three things last mentioned; though this sense, Aben
Ezra says, many of their interpreters give, which is rejected by him, so do
some Christian expositors; but these three things are, espousing her to
himself, or to his son, or redeeming her by the hand of her father; that is,
letting her be redeemed by him, as the Targum of Jonathan; and so Jarchi, Aben
Ezra, and Ben Melech: the meaning is, if one or other of these things are not
done:
then shall she
go out free without money; be dismissed from her servitude, and not
obliged to pay anything for her freedom; the Targum of Jonathan adds, he shall
give her a bill of divorce; that is, the son to whom she had been betrothed,
and another wife taken by him, and she denied the above things; which favours
the first sense.
Exodus 21:12 12 “He
who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.
YLT 12`He who smiteth a man so that he hath died,
is certainly put to death;
He that smiteth
a man, so that he die,.... The Targum of Jonathan is, that smites a man or daughter of
Israel with the sword; but there is no need to restrain the words either to
persons of any certain nation, nor to any instrument with which a person may be
smitten as to die: but any human person, man, woman, or child, of whatsoever
nation, and they smitten with anything whatever, that issues in their death:
shall surely be
put to death; by the order of the civil magistrate, and by the hand of such as
shall be appointed by him; for this is the original law of God, Genesis 9:6.
Exodus 21:13 13 However,
if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I
will appoint for you a place where he may flee.
YLT 13as to him who hath not laid wait, and God
hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth
flee.
And if a man
lie not in wait,.... For the life of another to take it away; or does not do it
willingly, as the Septuagint version, does not seek after it, nor design it:
but God
delivers him into his hand; it being suffered and ordered by the
providence of God, without whose knowledge and will nothing comes to pass, even
what may seem to be a contingent thing, or matter of chance, to us; or it is so
brought about in providence, that one man falls into the hands of another, and
his life is taken away by him, though not purposely and maliciously; because,
as Aben Ezra expresses it, for another sin which he has committed, and for
which he must die in this way, though not intended by the person the more immediate
cause of his death:
then I will
appoint thee a place whither he shall flee; and there be safe both
from the avenger of blood, and the civil magistrate; which place, while Israel
were in the wilderness, was the camp of the Levites, according to Jarchi, or
the altar, as follows; but when they were come to Canaan's land, there were
cities of refuge appointed for such persons, that killed a man unawares, to
flee to, and where they were safe from private vengeance, and falling a
sacrifice to public justice.
Exodus 21:14 14 “But
if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by
treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.
YLT 14`And when a man doth presume against his
neighbour to slay him with subtilty, from Mine altar thou dost take him to die.
But if a man
come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile,.... That
comes with malice in his heart, with wrath in his countenance, in a bold,
daring, hostile manner, using all the art, cunning, and contrivance he can, to
take away the life of his neighbour; no asylum, no refuge, not anything to
screen him from justice is to be allowed him: hence, a messenger of the sanhedrim,
or an executioner, one that inflicts the forty stripes, save one, or a
physician, or one that chastises his son or scholar, under whose hands persons
may die, do not come under this law; for though what they do they may do
wilfully, yet not with guile, as Jarchi and others observe, not with an ill
design, but for good:
thou shalt take
him from mine altar, that he may die: that being the place which in early times
criminals had recourse unto, Joab and others, as well as in later times, to
secure them from vengeance; but a man guilty of wilful murder was not to be
protected in this way; and the Targum of Jonathan is,"though he is a
priest, (the Jerusalem Targum has it, an high priest,) and ministers at mine
altar, thou shalt take him from thence, and slay him with the sword,'so Jarchi;
but the law refers not to a person ministering in his office at the altar of
the Lord, but to one that should flee there for safety, which yet he should not
have.
Exodus 21:15 15 “And
he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
YLT 15`And he who smiteth his father or his mother
is certainly put to death.
And he that
smiteth his father or his mother,.... With his fist, or
with a stick, or cane, or such thing, though they died not with the blow, yet
it occasioned any wound, or caused a bruise, or the part smitten black and
blue, or left any print of the blow; for, as Jarchi says, the party was not
guilty, less by smiting there was a bruise, or weal, made, or any mark or scar:
but if so it was, then he
shall be surely
put to death; the Targum of Jonathan adds, with the suffocation of a napkin;
and so Jarchi says with strangling; the manner of which was this, the person
was sunk into a dunghill up to his knees, and two persons girt his neck with a
napkin or towel until he expired. This crime was made capital, to show the
heinousness of it, how detestable it was to God, and in order to deter from it.
Exodus 21:16 16 “He
who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be
put to death.
YLT 16`And he who stealeth a man, and hath sold him,
and he hath been found in his hand, is certainly put to death.
And he that
stealeth a man, and selleth him,.... One of the children of Israel, as the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and so the Septuagint version: but though this
law was given to the Israelites primarily, yet was made for men stealers in
general, as the apostle observes, who plainly has reference to it, 1 Timothy 1:9,
or if he be
found in his hand; before the selling of him, as Jarchi notes, since he stole him
in order to sell him, he was guilty of death, as follows:
he shall surely
be put to death; with strangling, as the same Jewish writer remarks, as on the
preceding verse; and Jarchi sets it down as a rule, that all death in the law,
simply expressed, is strangling.
Exodus 21:17 17 “And
he who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
YLT 17`And he who is reviling his father or his
mother is certainly put to death.
And he that
curseth his father, or his mother,.... Though he does not
smite them with his hand, or with any instrument in it, yet if he smites them
with his tongue, reviles and reproaches them, speaks evil of them, wishes
dreadful imprecations upon them, curses them by the name explained, as the
Targum of Jonathan calls it, by the name Jehovah, wishing the Lord would curse
them, or that his curse might light upon them, see Proverbs 20:20,
shall surely be
put to death; or be killed with casting stones on him, as the Targum of
Jonathan, or with stoning; so Jarchi, who observes, that wherever it is said,
"his blood be upon him", it is meant of stoning, as it is of the man
that curses his father or his mother, Leviticus 20:9 which
was after this manner, the place of stoning was two cubits high, to which the
malefactor with his hands bound was brought; from whence one of the witnesses
against him cast him down headlong, of which, if he did not die, then they took
up stones and cast on him, and if he died not through them, then all Israel
came and stoned him; that is, the multitude upon the spot: this verse in the
Septuagint version follows Exodus 21:15, with
which it agrees, both respecting the same persons.
Exodus 21:18 18 “If
men contend with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his
fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed,
YLT 18`And when men contend, and a man hath smitten
his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen
on the bed;
And if men
strive together,.... Quarrel and fight, and wrestle with and box one another:
and one smite
another with a stone; which lying near him he might take up, and in his passion throw
it at his antagonist:
or with his
fist; with his double fist, as we express it, with his hand closed,
that it might come with the greater force, and give the greater blow:
and he die not,
but keepeth his bed; does not die with the blow of the stone or fist, yet receives so
much damage by it that he is obliged to take to his bed; or, as the Targum of
Jerusalem paraphrases it, is cast on the bed sick; or, as the Targum of
Jonathan, falls into a disease, as a fever, or the like, through the force of
the blow, so that he is confined to his room and to his bed.
Exodus 21:19 19 if
he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him
shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and
shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.
YLT 19if he rise, and hath gone up and down without
on his staff, then hath the smiter been acquitted; only his cessation he
giveth, and he is thoroughly healed.
If he rise
again,.... From his bed, or from his disease, as the last mentioned
Targum, recovers again, at least so far as to be able to do what follows:
and walk abroad
upon his staff; if he is able to get out of his bed, and especially out of his
house, and can be seen walking about in the street or in the field, though he
is obliged to make use of a staff, and lean upon it, being yet weak and sickly:
then shall he
that smote him be quit; from the judgment of slaying, as the Targum, he shall not be
charged with manslaughter, or be found guilty of a capital crime, but
discharged from that:
only shall he
pay for the loss of his time; as much as he could have got in that time
by his labour, from which he was obliged to cease: the Jewish writers add other
things also he was to pay for, as the Targum of Jonathan, particularly; as for
his pain, and for his loss of any member, and for his shame and disgrace, as
well as the physician's fee, which is supposed to be included in the next
clause:
and cause him
to be thoroughly healed; take care that he has a physician or surgeon, and that the
proper medicines be applied, and those continued until he is quite well; all
which must be at the expense of the smiter.
Exodus 21:20 20 “And
if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so that he dies under his
hand, he shall surely be punished.
YLT 20`And when a man smiteth his man-servant or
his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand -- he is certainly
avenged;
And if a man
smite his servant or his maid with a rod,.... A Canaanitish
servant or maid, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; and that only with a
rod for the correction of them, and not with a sword or any such destroying
weapon, which would seem as though he intended to kill, yet nevertheless:
and he die
under his hand; immediately, while he is smiting or beating him or her, on the
same day, as the above Targum interprets it:
he shall be
surely punished; or condemned to the punishment of being slain with the sword, as
the said Targum and Jarchi explain it: this law was made to deter masters from
using severity and cruelty towards their servants.
Exodus 21:21 21 Notwithstanding, if he
remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his
property.
YLT 21only if he remain a day, or two days, he is
not avenged, for he [is] his money.
Notwithstanding,
if he continue a day or two,.... And does not die immediately, or the
same day, but lives twenty four hours, as the Jewish writers interpret it; so
AbendanaF24Not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. explains the phrase, "a
day or two";"a day which is as two days, and they are twenty four
hours from time to time,'that is, from the time he was smitten to the time of
his continuance; and so it is elsewhere explainedF25Maimon. &
Bartenora in Misn. Zabim, c. 2. sect. 3. by a day we understand a day, which is
like two days, that is, from time to time, the meaning of which is, from a
certain time in one day to the same in another:
he shall not be
punished; that is, with death:
for he is
his money; is bought with his money, and is good as money, and therefore it
is a loss sufficient to him to lose him; and it may be reasonably thought he
did not smite his servant with an intention to kill him, since he himself is
the loser by it.
Exodus 21:22 22 “If
men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely,
yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s
husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
YLT 22`And when men strive, and have smitten a
pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is
certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath
given through the judges;
If men strive,.... Quarrel
and fight with one another, which is to be understood of Hebrews, as Aben Ezra
observes:
and hurt a
woman with child; who being the wife of one of them, and also an Israelitish
woman, interposes to part them, or help her husband; but the other, instead of
striking his antagonist as he intended, gives her a blow:
so that her
fruit depart from her; or, "her children go forth"F26ויצאו ילדיה "et egressi
fuerint nati ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius. , out of her
womb, as she may have more than one; through the fright of the quarrel, and
fear of her husband being hurt, and the blow she received by interposing, might
miscarry, or, falling into labour, come before her time, and bring forth her
offspring sooner than expected:
and yet no
mischief follow: to her, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi and Aben Ezra
restrain it to the woman; and which mischief they interpret of death, as does
also the Targum of Onkelos; but it may refer both to the woman and her
offspring, and not only to the death of them, but to any hurt or damage to
either of them: now though there was none of any sort:
he shall surely
be punished; that is, be fined or mulcted for striking the woman, and
hastening the childbirth:
according as
the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine; the husband
might propose what fine should be paid, and might ask it in court; and if the
smiter agreed to it, well and good, but if he judged it an exorbitant demand,
he might appeal to the judges; for the husband might not lay what fine he
pleased: this, if disputed, was to be decided by the judges, and as they
determined it, it was paid; of which MaimonidesF1Hilchot Chobel
Umazzik, c. 4. sect. 1. 2. gives this account:"he that strikes a woman,
and her fruit depart, though he did not intend it, is obliged to pay the price
of the birth to the husband, and for hurt and pain to the woman; how do they
estimate the price of the birth? they consider the woman how well she was
before she brought forth, and how well she is after she has brought forth, and
they give it to the husband; if the husband be dead, they give it to the heirs;
if she is stricken after the death of her husband, they give the price of the
birth to the woman.'
Exodus 21:23 23 But
if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,
YLT 23and if there is mischief, then thou hast
given life for life,
And if any
mischief follow,.... According as that is, so shall it be done to the smiter: if
death follows:
then thou shalt
give life for life; if death to the woman, so Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret it; to
which agrees the Targum of Jonathan,"but if there is death in her, then ye
shall judge or condemn the life of the murderer for the life of the
woman;'about which, Jarchi says, there is a difference among their doctors;
some say life properly, absolutely the person himself; others say money, but
not life properly; for he that intends to kill one and kills another is
acquitted from death, but must pay to the heirs the price (of the person
killed) as that person might be sold for in the market: and indeed it seems
hard that a person that kills another at unawares should die for it; it is more
reasonable that the punishment should in such a case be commuted for something
less than life; and that though no satisfaction was to be taken for a wilful
murderer, Numbers 35:31, yet
it seems to imply that it might be taken for one that was so without design; as
by another law cities of refuge are appointed for the manslayer at unawares:
the canons of the Jews, according to MaimonidesF2Chobel Umazzik, c.
4. sect. 5. 6. , run thus;"he that strikes a woman, and she miscarries and
dies, although it is done ignorantly; lo, such an one is free from payment, and
he does not pay anything, as it is said, "if there is no mischief,
&c." the Scripture does not distinguish between what is done
ignorantly and presumptuously, in a thing in which there is not death by the
sanhedrim, to free him from payment; in what things? when he intends the woman;
but if he intends his neighbour and strikes the woman, though she dies, since
her death is, without intention, lo, this is a thing in which there is not
death by the sanhedrim, and he pays the price of the birth:'the Septuagint
version interprets this, not of the woman that miscarries and dies, but of the
child that becomes an abortive; if that was not formed and shaped, then only a
fine was to be laid, but if it was come to its proper form and shape, and so
was animated or quickened, then life was to go for life: and so, according to
the Salic laws, he that killed an infant in its mother's womb was to pay 8000
pence, which made two hundred shillings; but if he was the cause of a woman's
miscarriage, by blows or otherwise, if the birth was animated, according to the
civil law, he was to be punished with deathF3Vid L'Empereur in Misn.
Bava Kama, c. 3. sect. 2. : but one would think, where this is only accidental
and not intended, such a punishment is too rigid and severe: however, neither
this nor what follows were left to the will of a private person to inflict at
his pleasure, but to the civil magistrate; and therefore no ways encourages
private revenge, in favour of which it was applied by the Pharisees in Christ's
time, whose gloss he refutes, Matthew 5:38 nor
are the words directed to the offender in this and the following cases, but to
Moses, and so to all judges under him and in succession, who were to see these
laws put in execution.
Exodus 21:24 24 eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
YLT 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot,
Eye for eye,
tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. This is "lex
talionis", the law of retaliation, and from whence the Heathens had
theirs; but whether this is to be taken strictly and literally, or only for
pecuniary mulcts, is a question; JosephusF4Antiqu. l. 4. c. 33. 35.
understands it in the former sense, the Jewish writers generally in the latter;
and so the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it;"the price of an eye for an
eye, &c.'Jarchi on the place observes, that,"he that puts out his
neighbour's eye must pay him the price of his eye, according to the price of a
servant sold in the market, and so of all the rest; for not taking away of
members strictly is meant, as our doctors here interpret it;'in a place he
refers to, and to which Aben Ezra agrees; and of the difference and dispute
between the Jews concerning this matter; see Gill on Matthew 5:38 and
indeed, though these laws of retaliation should, according to the letter of
them, be attended to as far as they can; yet, in some cases, it seems necessary
that they should not be strictly attended to, but some recompence made in
another way, and nothing seems more agreeable than a pecuniary one: thus, for
instance, this law cannot be literally executed, when one that has never an eye
puts out the eye of another, as it is possible that a blind man may; or one
that has no teeth may strike out the tooth of another; in such cases eye cannot
be given for eye, nor tooth for tooth; and, as Saadiah GaonF5Apud
Aben Ezram in loc. observes, if a man should smite the eye of his neighbour,
and the third part of the sight of his eye should depart, how will he order it
to strike such a stroke as that, without adding or lessening? and if a man that
has but one eye, or one hand, or one foot, should damage another man in those
parts, and must lose his other eye, or hand, or foot, he would be in a worse
case and condition than the man he injured; since he would still have one eye,
or hand, or foot; wherefore a like law of Charondas among the Thurians is
complained of, since it might be the case, that a man with one eye might have
that struck out, and so be utterly deprived of sight; whereas the man that
struck it out, though he loses one for it, yet has another, and so not deprived
of sight utterly, and therefore thought not to be sufficiently punished; and
that it was most correct that he should have both his eyes put out for it: and
hence Diodorus SiculusF6Bibliothec. l. 12. par. 2. p. 82, 83.
reports of a one-eyed man who lost his eye, that he complained of this law to
the people, and advised to have it altered: this "lex talionis" was
among the Roman laws of the "twelve tables"F7A. Gell.
Noct. Attic. l. 20. c. 1. .
Exodus 21:25 25 burn
for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
YLT 25burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe
for stripe.
Burning for
burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. This is to be understood
of burning a man's flesh with fire; of wounds made by any means, so that the
blood is let out; and of blows, and the prints and marks of them; of stripes
and weals where the blood is settled, and the part is turned black and blue:
the Targum of Jonathan is, the price of the pain of burning for burning,
&c. and indeed, in everyone of these cases, the law could not be well
literally executed; for it would be very difficult to burn and wound and mangle
a man exactly as he had done another: and as FavorinusF8A. Gell.
Noct. Attic. l. 20. c. 1. objects against the law of the twelve tables of the
Romans concerning retaliation, how can a man make a wound in another exactly as
long, and as broad, and as deep as that he has given? nor would he suffer a
larger to be made, as it was not just it should; and to which may be added,
that all constitutions are not alike, and burning and wounding and striping,
especially in some parts, might prove mortal, and the person might die thereby;
to them the law of retaliation would not be observed, the punishment would be
exceeded; and it is much more agreeable to justice and equity that it should be
lessened rather than increased; and it may be observed, the law of the twelve
tables with the Romans, concerning maiming of members, only took place when the
parties could not come to an agreement; and with respect to the Jewish law,
JosephusF9Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 4. c. 33,35.) himself says, that the
man that has his eye put out may receive money for it, if he is willing, which
the law allows of.
Exodus 21:26 26 “If
a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall
let him go free for the sake of his eye.
YLT 26`And when a man smiteth the eye of his
man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he
doth send him away for his eye;
If a man smite
the eye of his servant,.... Give him a blow on the eye in a passion, as a correction for
some fault he has committed:
or the eye of
his maid, that it perish; strike her on that part in like manner, so that the eye is
beaten or drops out, or however loses its sight, and "is
blinded", as the Septuagint version; or "corrupts" itF11שחתה "et corruperit eum", Pagninus, Montanus,
Drusius; so Ainsworth. , it turns black and blue, and gathers corrupt matter,
and becomes a sore eye; yet if the sight is not lost, or corrupts so as to
perish, this law does not take place; the Targum of Jonathan, and to Jarchi
restrain this to a Canaanitish servant or maid:
he shall let
him go free for his eye's sake; or "them", as the Septuagint; his
right to them as a servant was hereby forfeited, and he was obliged to give
them their freedom, let the time of servitude, that was to come, be what it
would. This law was made to deter masters from using their servants with
cruelty, since though humanity and goodness would not restrain them from ill
usage of them, their own profit and advantage by them might.
Exodus 21:27 27 And
if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him go
free for the sake of his tooth.
YLT 27and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth
of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth.
And if he smite
out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth,.... Give them
such a slap on the face, or a blow on the mouth, as to strike out one of their
teeth; this also the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi restrain to a Canaanitish
servant or maid:
he shall let
him go free for his tooth's sake; both him and her, the
servant and the maid; this, though of lesser consequence than the loss of an
eye, was punished in the same manner with the loss of the servant man or maid,
to make masters careful how they abused their servants in any degree. And
though only these parts are expressed, yet Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe, that
all other principal members of the body, which they reckon to be twenty four,
are included, as the fingers, toes, &c.
Exodus 21:28 28 “If
an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and
its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be
acquitted.
YLT 28`And when an ox doth gore man or woman, and
they have died, the ox is certainly stoned, and his flesh is not eaten, and the
owner of the ox [is] acquitted;
If an ox gore a
man or a woman, that they die,.... That are Israelites, of whom only Aben
Ezra interprets it; but though they may be principally designed, yet not
solely; for no doubt if one of another nation was gored to death by the ox of
an Israelite, the same penalty would be inflicted, as follows:
then the ox
shall be surely stoned; which is but an exemplification of the original law given to
Noah and his sons, Genesis 9:5,
"at the hand of every beast will I require it"; i.e. the blood of the
lives of men; which shows the care God takes of them, that even a beast must
die that is the means of shedding man's blood:
and his flesh
shall not be eaten; it being as an impure beast according to this sentence, as
MaimonidesF12Hilchot Maacolot Asurot, c. 4. sect. 22. observes; and
even though it might have been killed in a regular manner before it was stoned,
it was not to be eaten; no, not even by Heathens, nor by dogs might it be
eaten, as a dead carcass might by a proselyte of the gate, or a stranger; this
might not be given nor sold to him; for, as Aben Ezra observes, all profit of
them is here forbidden:
but the owner
of the ox shall be quit; from punishment, as the last mentioned
writer observes, from suffering death; he shall only suffer the loss of his ox:
the Targum of Jonathan is,"he shall be quit from the judgment of slaughter
(or condemnation of murder), and also from the price of a servant or
maid,'which was thirty shekels, Exodus 21:32.
Exodus 21:29 29 But
if the ox tended to thrust with its horn in times past, and it has been made
known to his owner, and he has not kept it confined, so that it has killed a
man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to
death.
YLT 29and if the ox is [one] accustomed to gore
heretofore, and it hath been testified to its owner, and he doth not watch it,
and it hath put to death a man or woman, the ox is stoned, and its owner also
is put to death.
But if the ox
were wont to push with his horns in time past,.... Or "from or
before yesterday, to the third"F13מתמל
שלשם "ab heri et nudiustertius", Pagninus,
Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator, Drusius. that is, three days before, and had made
three pushes, as Jarchi explains it:
and it hath
been testified to his owner; by sufficient witnesses, who saw him push
at people for three days past: the Targum of Jonathan is,"and it hath been
testified to the face of his owner three days.'Concerning this testimony
MaimonidesF14Hilchot Niske Mammon, c. 6. sect. 1, 2. thus
writes,"this is a testification, all that testify of it three days; but if
he pushes, or bites, or kicks, or strikes even an hundred times on one day,
this is no testification (not a sufficient one): three companies of witnesses
testify of it in one day, lo, this is a doubt, whether it is a (proper)
testimony or not; there is no testification but before the owner, and before
the sanhedrim:"
and he hath not
kept him in; in some enclosed place, house or field, not frequented by
people, and where there was no danger of doing any hurt, if this care was not
taken, after a proper testimony had been given of his vicious disposition. By
the Roman lawsF15Plutarch. in Crasso. oxen that pushed with their
horns were to have hay bound about them, that those that met them might beware
of them; hence that of HoraceF16"Foenum habet in cornu, longe
fuge". Horat. Sermon. l. 1. Satyr. 4. : but that he hath killed a man or a
woman; by pushing and goring them with his horns, or any other way, as biting
or kicking:
the ox shall be
stoned; as is provided for the preceding law:
and his owner
shall be put to death; since he was accessory to the death of the person killed, not
keeping in his beast, when he had sufficient notice of his vicious temper: the
Targum of Jonathan, and so other Jewish writers, interpret this of death sent
upon him from heaven, or death by the immediate hand of God, as sudden death,
or death by some disease inflicted, or before a man is fifty years of age; but
there is no doubt to be made but this intends death by the civil magistrate,
according to the original law, Genesis 9:6.
Exodus 21:30 30 If
there is imposed on him a sum of money, then he shall pay to redeem his life,
whatever is imposed on him.
YLT 30`If atonement is laid upon him, then he hath
given the ransom of his life, according to all that is laid upon him;
If there be
laid on him a sum of money,.... By the decree of the judges, as Aben
Ezra, or which the sanhedrim of Israel have laid upon him; if his sentence of
death is commuted for a fine, with the consent of the relations of the
deceased, who in such a case are willing to show mercy, and take a fine instead
of the person's death; supposing it was through carelessness and negligence,
and not with any ill design that he did not keep up his ox from doing damage,
after he had notice:
then he shall
give for the ransom of his life whatever, is laid upon him; whatever mulct
or fine he is amerced with by the court, instead of the sentence of death first
pronounced. Of this ransom MaimonidesF17Hilchot Niske Mammon, c. 11.
sect. 1,2. thus writes:"the ransom is according as the judges consider
what is the price (or value) of him that is slain; (i.e. according to his rank,
whether a noble or common man, a free man or a servant) all is according to the
estimation of him that is slain.--To whom do they give the ransom? to the heirs
of the slain; and if a woman is killed, the ransom is given to the heirs of her
father's (family), and not to her husband.'
Exodus 21:31 31 Whether it has gored a son
or gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.
YLT 31whether it gore a son or gore a daughter,
according to this judgment it is done to him.
Whether he have
gored a son, or have gored a daughter,.... A little son or
daughter, and both Israelites, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; this is observed,
because only a man or woman are made mention of in Exodus 21:29
persons grown up; and lest it should be thought that only adult persons were
intended, this is added, to show that the same regard is had to little ones as
to grown persons, should they suffer by an ox in like manner as men and women
may. The Targum of Jonathan restrains this to a son or daughter of an
Israelite; but the life of everyone, of whatsoever nation, is equally provided
for, and guarded against by the original law of God:
according to
this judgment shall it be done unto him; to the owner of the ox
that has gored a child, male or female; that is, he shall be put to death, if
he has been warned of the practice of his ox for three days past, and has took
no care to keep him in; or he shall pay the ransom of his life, as it has been
laid by the court, with the consent of the relations of the children.
Exodus 21:32 32 If
the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty
shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
YLT 32`If the ox gore a man-servant or a handmaid,
thirty silver shekels he doth give to their lord, and the ox is stoned.
If the ox shall
push a manservant, or a maidservant,.... Which the Targum of
Jonathan and Jarchi interpret of a Canaanitish servant, man or maid; but no
doubt the same provision was made for an Hebrew servant, man or maid, as for a
Gentile one:
he shall give
unto their master thirty shekels of silver; that is, the owner of
the ox shall pay so much to the masters of the servants for the loss they have
sustained by his ox goring them; and MaimonidesF18Hilchot Niske
Maimon, c. 11. sect. 1. observes, that"the ransom of servants, whether
great or small, whether male or female, is fixed in the law, thirty shekels of
good silver, whether the servant is worth a hundred pounds, or whether he is
worth but a penny.'This was the price our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was
sold at; see Gill on Matthew 26:15.
Exodus 21:33 33 “And
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 in it,
YLT 33`And when a man doth open a pit, or when a
man doth dig a pit, and doth not cover it, and an ox or ass hath fallen
thither, --
If a man shall
open a pit,.... That has been dug in time past, and filled up again, or take
the covering from it, and leave it uncovered: "or if a man shall dig a
pit, and not cover it": a new one, in the street, as the Targum of
Jonathan; or in a public place, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; otherwise a man might
dig one for water, in his own fields, in enclosed places, where there was no
danger of cattle coming thither, and falling therein:
and an ox or an
ass fall therein; or any other beast, as Jarchi observes; for these are mentioned
only as instances, and are put for all others. MaimonidesF19Hilchot
Niske Maimon. c. 12. sect, 1,10. so Bartenora in Misn. Bava Kama, c. 1. sect.
1. says,"if a man digs a pit in a public place, and an ox or ass fall into
it and die, though the pit is full of shorn wool, and the like, the owner of
the pit is bound to pay the whole damage; and this pit (he says) must be ten
hands deep; if it is less than that, and an ox, or any other beast or fowl fall
into it and die, he is free,'
Exodus 21:34 34 the
owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner,
but the dead animal shall be his.
YLT 34the owner of the pit doth repay, money he
doth give back to its owner, and the dead is his.
The owner of
the pit shall make it good,.... Repair the loss of the ox or ass:
and give the
money unto the owner of them: the price of them, what they are worth: the
Targum of Jonathan is,"the owner of the pit shall pay the silver, he shall
return to its owner the price of the ox or ass:"
and the dead
beast shall be his; either the owner of the pit; who pays the full value for the ox
or ass killed, which seems but reasonable; or"the injured person as
Jarchi, for he says, they reckon or estimate the carcass, and he takes it for
the price;'that is, for part of the price it is valued at.
Exodus 21:35 35 “If
one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox
and divide the money from it; and the dead ox they shall also divide.
YLT 35`And when a man's ox doth smite the ox of his
neighbour, and it hath died, then they have sold the living ox, and halved its
money, and also the dead one they do halve;
And if one
man's ox hurt another's, that he die,.... By pushing with his
horns, or his body, or by biting with his teeth, as Jarchi, or by any way
whatever:
then they shall
sell the live ox, and divide the money; the Scripture speaks, as
the same writer observes, of one of equal value, otherwise the man that had his
ox killed might be greatly a gainer by it; for if his ox was a poor one, and of
little value, and the ox that killed his a good one, of value greatly superior,
which according to this law was to be sold, and the money divided between the
two owners, the man that lost his ox might have double the worth of it, or
more, which was not equitable. On the other hand, according to the Jewish
canonsF20Maimon. Hilchot Niske Mammon, c. 1. sect. 1. , the case
stood thus,"when an ox of the value of one pound strikes an ox of the
value of twenty, and kills him, and, lo, the carcass is of the value of four
pounds, the owner of the ox is bound to pay him eight pounds, which is the half
of the damage, (added to the half part of the price of the carcass,) but he is
not bound to pay, but of the body of the ox which hurts, because it is said,
"they shall sell the live ox"; wherefore if an ox of the value of
twenty pieces of money should kill one of two hundred, and the carcass is
valued at a pound, the master of the carcass cannot say to the master of the
live ox, give me fifty pieces of money; but it will be said to him, lo, the ox
which did the hurt is before thee, take him, and go thy way, although he is
worth no more than a penny:"
and the dead ox
also they shall divide; the money the carcass is worth; or it is sold for.
Exodus 21:36 36 Or
if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has
not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall
be his own.
YLT 36or, it hath been known that the ox is [one]
accustomed to gore heretofore, and its owner doth not watch it, he certainly
repayeth ox for ox, and the dead is his.
Or if it be
known that the ox hath used to push in time past,.... If it is a plain
case, and a thing well known in the neighbourhood, and there are witnesses
enough to testify it, that it has yesterday, and for two or three days running,
pushed with his horns men and cattle, as they have come in his way; see Gill on
Exodus 21:29.
and his owner
hath not kept him in; took no care to prevent his doing mischief by putting him into a
barn or out house, or into an enclosure, where he could do no damage to any:
he shall surely
pay ox for ox; that is, he shall give as good an ox to him, whose ox has been
killed by his, as that was, or pay him the full worth and value of it: and the
dead shall be his own; shall not be divided as in the preceding case, but shall
be the proprietor's wholly, that is, the sufferer's; because the owner of the
vicious ox took no care of him, though it was well known he was mischievous,
for which negligence he was punished this way.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》