This chapter outlines and lists laws about slaves and laws about personal injury.
Exodus 21 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“Now these are the ordinances (laws) which you shall set before the Israelites:2 “If you purchase a Hebrew servant [because of his debt or poverty], he shall serve six years, and in the seventh [year] he shall leave as a free man, paying nothing. 3 If he came [to you] alone, he shall leave alone; if he came married, then his wife shall leave with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife, and she gives birth to sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall leave [your service] alone. 5 But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not leave as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God [that is, to the judges who act in God’s name], then he shall bring him to the door or doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl (strong needle); and he shall serve him for life.
7 “If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do. 8 If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her. 9 If her master chooses her [as a wife] for his son, he shall act toward her as if she were legally his daughter. 10 If her master marries another wife, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her privilege as a wife. 11 If he does not do these three things for her, then shall she leave free, without payment of money.
- ORDINANCES FOR THE PEOPLE. After giving the Ten Commandents, the Lord continued to give specific ordinances/laws for all the Israelites, concerning having a male and female servant. This will further set a clear boundary and guide for all the people, helping Moses (as the leader) and all the tribe leaders. From being burdened slaves in Egypt, the Israelites were free men and women, but they were not free to do whatever they wanted in their lives. They were a special possession and treasure from God, set apart, made holy as a nation, who will serve and obey God. Israel will be a kingdom of priests, and a nation where the Messiah (Jesus) would come from. There were different law between a male servant and a female servant-- maybe because men are considered leaders by God, and the women were designed by God for service and submission to the men. Here, I noticed the number 7 again, in the 7th year of the men's service, he shall be free. The law regarding female servants also gave clear conditions and instructions regarding the master's 'responsibility' upon her.
15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or is found with him in his possession, must be put to death.
17 “Whoever [c]curses his father or his mother or treats them contemptuously must be put to death.
18 “If men quarrel and one strikes another with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to bed, 19 if he gets up and walks around leaning on his cane, then the one who struck him shall be left [physically] unpunished; he must only pay for his loss of time [at work], and the costs [of treatment and recuperation] until he is thoroughly healed.
20 “If a man strikes his male or his female servant with a staff and the servant dies at his hand, he must be punished. 21 If, however, the servant survives for a day or two, the offender shall not be punished, for the [injured] servant is his own property.
22 “If men fight with each other and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [and the baby lives], yet there is no further injury, the one who hurt her must be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman’s husband, as much as the judges decide. 23 But if there is any further injury, then you shall require [as a penalty] life for life, 24 [d]eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
26 “If a man hits the eye of his male servant or female servant and it is destroyed, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the eye. 27 And if he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or female servant, he must let the servant go free because of [the loss of] the tooth.
- PERSONAL INJURIES. God has given the commandment "You shall not commit murder." But it doesn't mean that it will not happen, thus, the Lord gave specific and detailed laws regarding personal injuries, whether intentionally or unintentionally. God is the giver of life, and all life is important and precious to Him. God is the ultimate Judge.. Reading the above laws, it seems that they were strict, but the reality is we deserve death and more due to our sins, but God in His mercy and love has withheld His judgment. Instead, He put all the wrath to His Son Jesus, who sacrificed Himself by dying on the cross, so that everyone who will believe will get saved, forgiven and redeemed.
Footnotes: Exodus 21:13 I.e. if the act causing the death of another was unintentional.
Exodus 21:13 I.e. after the children of Israel possessed the promised land, six cities of refuge were established.
Exodus 21:17 The one who dishonors his parents in this way also dishonors God by violating God’s created order of honor.
Exodus 21:24 The concept of reciprocal punishment for a wrongful injury is applied mainly to special cases not already covered by more complex laws.
28 “If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be cleared [of responsibility]. 29 But if the ox has tried to gore on a previous occasion, and its owner has been warned, but has not kept it confined and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner shall be put to death as well. 30 If a ransom is demanded of him [in return for his life], then he shall give whatever is demanded for the redemption of his life. 31 If the ox has gored another’s son or daughter, he shall be dealt with according to this same rule. 32 If the ox gores a male or a female servant, the owner shall give to the servant’s master thirty shekels of silver [the purchase price for a slave], and the ox shall be stoned.
33 “If a man leaves a pit open, or digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall give money to the animal’s owner, but the dead [animal] shall be his.
35 “If one man’s ox injures another’s so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the proceeds equally; they shall also divide the dead ox [between them]. 36 Or if it is known that the ox was previously in the habit of goring, and its owner has not kept it confined, he must make restitution of ox for ox, and the dead [animal] shall be his.
* Study Guide Commentary from David Guzik:
A. Laws regarding servitude.
B. Laws regarding violence and disability.
C. Laws regarding animal control and damage.
a. Now these are the judgments: Exodus chapters 21-23 contain many laws on a wide variety of subjects, including:
· Employment law regarding the treatment of servants
· Murder, manslaughter, and violent assault
· Liability for one’s animals and responsibility for the animals of others
· Theft, responsibility, and restitution
· Rape, dowry, and the value of a woman’s virginity
· Idolatry and sorcery
· Treatment of disadvantaged people in society
· Money and property lending
· Justice and equal standing before the law
a. If you buy a Hebrew servant: With ancient Israel, as in the entire ancient world, there were people who worked for others on the principle of servitude. They were slaves in some sense, though not necessarily in the brutal and degraded sense most think of slavery.
i. Some think that the Bible is responsible for slavery. The opposite is true; slavery existed long before Israel or Moses. The Bible is responsible for the elimination of slavery, not its establishment.
b. A Hebrew servant: There were four basic ways a Hebrew might become a slave to another Hebrew.
· In extreme poverty, they might sell their liberty (Leviticus 25:39).
· A father might sell a daughter as a servant into a home with the intention that she would eventually marry into that family (Exodus 21:7).
· In the case of bankruptcy, a man might become servant to his creditors (2 Kings 4:1).
· If a thief had nothing with which to pay proper restitution (Exodus 22:3-4).
i. The ideas of man-stealing and life-long servitude – the concepts many have of slavery – simply do not apply to the practice of slavery in the Old Testament. Normally, slavery was:
· Chosen or mutually arranged
· Of limited duration
· Highly regulated
d. He shall serve him forever: Jesus gave us the right to be called friends instead of servants (John 15:15). Yet the writers of the New Testament found plenty of glory in simply being considered bondservants of Jesus (Romans 1:1, James 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1, Jude 1:1).
iii. This is a picture of our service to Jesus.
· We have the power to go free if we want to.
· We must be willing to take the consequences of chosen service.
· We must be motivated by love for our Master.
a. The ox shall surely be stoned…but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted: This law illustrated the principle of intent and neglect. An owner of a man-killing ox could not be held guilty if the animal had no history of aggression towards people. Yet the animal must die, and the owner was forbidden to profit from the animal or its death (its flesh shall not be eaten). No one was to profit from or regard casually even accidental death.
B. Laws regarding violence and disability.
C. Laws regarding animal control and damage.
a. Now these are the judgments: Exodus chapters 21-23 contain many laws on a wide variety of subjects, including:
· Employment law regarding the treatment of servants
· Murder, manslaughter, and violent assault
· Liability for one’s animals and responsibility for the animals of others
· Theft, responsibility, and restitution
· Rape, dowry, and the value of a woman’s virginity
· Idolatry and sorcery
· Treatment of disadvantaged people in society
· Money and property lending
· Justice and equal standing before the law
a. If you buy a Hebrew servant: With ancient Israel, as in the entire ancient world, there were people who worked for others on the principle of servitude. They were slaves in some sense, though not necessarily in the brutal and degraded sense most think of slavery.
i. Some think that the Bible is responsible for slavery. The opposite is true; slavery existed long before Israel or Moses. The Bible is responsible for the elimination of slavery, not its establishment.
b. A Hebrew servant: There were four basic ways a Hebrew might become a slave to another Hebrew.
· In extreme poverty, they might sell their liberty (Leviticus 25:39).
· A father might sell a daughter as a servant into a home with the intention that she would eventually marry into that family (Exodus 21:7).
· In the case of bankruptcy, a man might become servant to his creditors (2 Kings 4:1).
· If a thief had nothing with which to pay proper restitution (Exodus 22:3-4).
i. The ideas of man-stealing and life-long servitude – the concepts many have of slavery – simply do not apply to the practice of slavery in the Old Testament. Normally, slavery was:
· Chosen or mutually arranged
· Of limited duration
· Highly regulated
d. He shall serve him forever: Jesus gave us the right to be called friends instead of servants (John 15:15). Yet the writers of the New Testament found plenty of glory in simply being considered bondservants of Jesus (Romans 1:1, James 1:1, 2 Peter 1:1, Jude 1:1).
iii. This is a picture of our service to Jesus.
· We have the power to go free if we want to.
· We must be willing to take the consequences of chosen service.
· We must be motivated by love for our Master.
a. The ox shall surely be stoned…but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted: This law illustrated the principle of intent and neglect. An owner of a man-killing ox could not be held guilty if the animal had no history of aggression towards people. Yet the animal must die, and the owner was forbidden to profit from the animal or its death (its flesh shall not be eaten). No one was to profit from or regard casually even accidental death.
Reference and credits to https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-Exd/Exd-21.cfm ©2013 David Guzik
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