Exodus21

Exodus 21 presents a series of civil and criminal laws given to Israel, known as judgments. It begins with regulations concerning Hebrew servants, detailing their terms of service and conditions for freedom. The chapter then outlines capital offenses, including murder and striking or cursing parents, alongside laws for personal injury based on proportional retribution. Finally, it addresses liability for damages caused by animals and negligence.
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Introduction to the Covenant Laws

1
“These are the ordinances that you are to set before them: ​

Laws Concerning Hebrew Servants

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If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free without paying anything. ​
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If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.
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If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.
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But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children; I do not want to go free,’
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then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life. ​

Laws Concerning Female Servants

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And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do. ​
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If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her.
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And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.
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If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of his first wife. ​
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If, however, he does not provide her with these three things, she is free to go without monetary payment.

Laws of Capital Offenses

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Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death. ​
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If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. ​
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But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death. ​
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Whoever strikes his father or mother must surely be put to death.
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Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession. ​
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Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death. ​
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If men are quarreling and one strikes the other with a stone or a fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed,
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then the one who struck him shall go unpunished, as long as the other can get up and walk around outside with his staff. Nevertheless, he must compensate the man for his lost work and see that he is completely healed.
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If a man strikes his manservant or maidservant with a rod, and the servant dies by his hand, he shall surely be punished. ​
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However, if the servant gets up after a day or two, the owner shall not be punished, since the servant is his property. ​

Laws Concerning Personal Injury

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If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows. ​
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But if a serious injury results, then you must require a life for a life— ​
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eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ​
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burn for burn, wound for wound, and stripe for stripe.
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If a man strikes and blinds the eye of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the eye. ​
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And if he knocks out the tooth of his manservant or maidservant, he must let the servant go free as compensation for the tooth.

Laws Concerning Animal Liability and Property

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If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible. ​
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But if the ox has a habit of goring, and its owner has been warned yet does not restrain it, and it kills a man or woman, then the ox must be stoned and its owner must also be put to death. ​
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If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him. ​
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If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
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If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned. ​
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If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
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the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he must pay its owner, and the dead animal will be his.
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If a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and it dies, they must sell the live one and divide the proceeds; they also must divide the dead animal.
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But if it was known that the ox had a habit of goring, yet its owner failed to restrain it, he shall pay full compensation, ox for ox, and the dead animal will be his.

Study Notes for Exodus 21

Verse 1

This verse marks the beginning of the 'Book of the Covenant' (Exodus 21-23), detailing specific civil and criminal laws that apply the principles of the Ten Commandments to daily life in Israel.

Verse 2

This law establishes a system of indentured servitude, not chattel slavery. The mandatory release after six years prevents permanent bondage and ties the social structure to the Sabbatical cycle, emphasizing the servant’s humanity.

Verse 6

The ceremony before the judges and the boring of the ear signifies a voluntary and permanent decision by the servant to remain bound to the master's household, prioritizing family ties over personal freedom.

Verse 7

A woman sold as a maidservant was often intended as a potential wife or concubine (for the master or his son). Because of this marital dimension, she is granted greater protection and cannot be simply released in the seventh year.

Verse 10

This protection ensures that the master, if taking another wife, must continue to provide the first wife (whether servant or free) with her necessary provisions and marital rights, safeguarding her dignity and status.

Verse 12

This is the first law concerning homicide, establishing the fundamental principle that intentional killing is a capital crime punishable by death, reflecting the sanctity of human life (Gen. 9:6).

Verse 13

This verse distinguishes between premeditated murder and accidental manslaughter. For the latter, God provides a place of asylum (later formalized as Cities of Refuge, Num. 35) where the offender could flee from the avenger of blood.

Verse 14

The law stresses that sanctuary (even the altar) does not protect a murderer plotting with malice aforethought. Justice for intentional bloodshed takes precedence over religious privilege.

Verse 16

Kidnapping ('man-stealing') is treated as a capital offense, equating the deprivation of a person's freedom with murder, reflecting the high value placed on human liberty within the Israelite covenant.

Verse 17

Cursing one's parents is viewed as an attack on the foundational social and covenantal structure of the community, undermining the Fifth Commandment, and is therefore a capital crime.

Verse 20

This law restricts the power of the master; if a servant dies immediately under punishment, the master is held criminally accountable. This differentiates Israelite practice from surrounding cultures where masters held absolute power.

Verse 21

If the servant survives for a period, the death is not necessarily ruled homicide, and the master faces no criminal penalty, having already suffered economic loss ('he is his money'). Scholars interpret this as either leniency or a recognition of difficulty in proving intent.

Verse 22

This law protects both the mother and the fetus. If the mother survives but loses the child, the punishment is financial compensation determined by the husband and the judges, indicating the value placed on the unborn.

Verse 23

This introduces the principle of proportionate justice (*lex talionis*), ensuring that punishment must fit the crime. If the mother is harmed ('mischief'), the penalty escalates to 'life for life.'

Verse 24

The famous 'eye for eye' principle was not generally enforced literally but served primarily as a legal standard to limit private vengeance and establish proportional compensation in civil courts.

Verse 26

This provision powerfully safeguards the physical integrity of servants. If a master causes permanent damage to a servant, the immediate freedom of the servant serves as the penalty and compensation.

Verse 28

If an ox causes death, the animal must be executed (stoned) to ritually purify the community and underscore the seriousness of the incident. The owner is acquitted only if he was unaware of the animal's danger.

Verse 29

This establishes criminal negligence. If the owner knew the ox was dangerous and failed to restrain it, he is held responsible for the death and is liable to the death penalty himself.

Verse 30

This verse allows for a financial ransom (a fine or compensation) to be paid in lieu of the death penalty for the negligent owner, provided the judges or the victim’s family agree to the settlement.

Verse 32

If the ox kills a slave, the required compensation is 30 shekels of silver, the standard price for a slave (cf. Lev. 27:3). This specific amount is tragically referenced when Judas betrays Jesus (Matt. 26:15).

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