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
Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. ​

Laws Concerning Hebrew Servants

2
If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. ​
3
If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4
If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
5
And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
6
Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. ​

Laws Concerning Female Servants

7
And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. ​
8
If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9
And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10
If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. ​
11
And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

Laws of Capital Offenses

12
He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. ​
13
And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. ​
14
But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. ​
15
And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
16
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. ​
17
And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. ​
18
And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:
19
If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
20
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. ​
21
Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money. ​

Laws Concerning Personal Injury

22
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. ​
23
And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, ​
24
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ​
25
Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. ​
27
And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

Laws Concerning Animal Liability and Property

28
If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. ​
29
But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death. ​
30
If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him. ​
31
Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.
32
If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. ​
33
And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
34
The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.
35
And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.
36
Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

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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