Bible-Center
РУ
EN
FR
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About

Search

Search Search
search in current section [Notes]

NOTES for Exo 22:1-31

Printable version
1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
14 And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
Hide

The legislation of the Book of Exodus quite consistently puts into practice the so-called principle of talion: repayment in kind. And this is understandable, because that was the simplest way to compensate for harm done to one's neighbor. Here God's view of human relationships is revealed: the main thing in them is the relationships themselves. Relationships have value in themselves, and everything else is only their context. Justice is important not in itself, not as an end in itself, but as an adequate context for full relationships.

An injury done to one's neighbor is not a violation of rights, but a destruction of relationships of love. And love is a practical thing: if you love, help. All the more, help if you are guilty of making someone's life worse than it was, if he has suffered some harm from you or because of you. Punishment as such is not an end in itself: after all, God does not deliberately punish anyone. He wants the sinner to turn back and remain alive, not to die because of his sin. For a person, punishment becomes the sin he has committed, or more precisely, its consequences.

It is from these consequences that the law commands a person to deliver his neighbor, insofar as such deliverance is possible and depends on that person. Of course, one can approach the matter formally: pay the fine and live peacefully. And if one has a lot of money, one can stop worrying altogether, since any harm is easy to compensate. Such payments, of course, do not affect relationships in any way, but only under the conditions of an impersonal society like the one that exists in modern megacities, where no one knows anyone else.

The legislation of the Book of Exodus functioned in small settlements where everyone knew one another, and there the matter could not be limited to a formality. The offender and the offended person had to walk the same streets, so in any case the issue was at least some minimal normalization of relations, and not merely payments that obligated no one to anything in the future. Thus the Torah, in its concrete interpretation, directed people toward restoring relationships between those who live side by side when those relationships had been violated or destroyed.

Other notes

 
For Exo 22:1-31
1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.
6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man's house; if the thief be found, let him pay double.
8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour's goods.
9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour.
10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it:
11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour's goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.
12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof.
13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
14 And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good.
15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.
16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.
17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.
21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;
24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.
25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:
27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.
28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.
30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.
31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
Hide
In this reading from the book of Exodus, if we look more closely, we can see an image of God that we do not usually associate with the Old Testament: the image of One for whom mercy is above justice. At first everything appears to go according to plan...  Read more

In this reading from the book of Exodus, if we look more closely, we can see an image of God that we do not usually associate with the Old Testament: the image of One for whom mercy is above justice. At first everything appears to go according to plan: it is clear that not stealing, not offending, not oppressing, and not exploiting others are all just. But at the end something unexpected and not fully just appears: "If you take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, return it before the sun goes down."

Let us think about it: a pledge is not taken for one's own pleasure; a pledge is a guarantee that money or something else lent will be returned. So it is quite logical and just not to return the pledge until you have received back what was lent. But the Lord says: "Think about the person - what will he sleep in?" From the standpoint of pure justice, the question is out of place; after all, if he gave his garment as a pledge, that is his own problem. But God gives an irrefutable argument: "When he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am merciful."

Mercy is above justice. This is the voice of Jesus. And there is no point in trying to separate the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament. He, the Living and True One, is one.

Hide
 
For Exo 22:22
22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Hide
The Law always required a person to treat attentively and carefully those who especially needed protection, in particular widows and orphans. Of course, in many ways this was due to the traditional patriarchal structure of the society in which the laws set out in the Book of Exodus operated...  Read more

The Law always required a person to treat attentively and carefully those who especially needed protection, in particular widows and orphans. Of course, in many ways this was due to the traditional patriarchal structure of the society in which the laws set out in the Book of Exodus operated. The large patriarchal clan in such a society was the foundation not only of family life, but also of social and religious life, and orphans and widows, who often found themselves without the traditional protection of a clan, became especially vulnerable in it. Still, this situation is found far from only in patriarchal society, and today those who are especially vulnerable in society are certainly not limited to orphans and widows.

What, then, is the logic of the lawgiver here? Is this only about social justice? Of course it is about that too. It is hardly worth speaking of normal spiritual life where social justice is forgotten. And still, the issue is probably not only that. Social injustice, above all, presupposes that most members of society stop looking at some people as people. This majority begins to see in them not neighbors, but merely a certain human mass, with which one can do, if not absolutely anything, then at least treat them differently from everyone else. And this is the path to spiritual collapse: after all, as is known, the one who does not love the neighbor before his eyes will hardly be able to love the God whom he does not see.

Hide
Bible
Notes
FAQ
Links
About
Site map
Design and development:  © 2001–2026 W-M v:2.0.3.107

After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan.

Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free.