Sunday, April 01, 2007

Exodus 22

Exodus 22 - Restitution


   These regulations were designed to protect the nation, to organize the nation and to focus the nation's attention on God. These regulations don't cover ever possible situation but should give Israel and its judges practical examples of how to make good legal judgments. The main principal in Chapter 22 is restitution.


(1) “If someone steals an ox* or sheep and then kills or sells it, the thief must pay back five oxen for each ox stolen, and four sheep for each sheep stolen.


*ox: Or bull, or cow; also in 22:4, 9, 10.


Luke 19:8: Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”


(2) “If a thief is caught in the act of breaking into* a house and is struck and killed in the process, the person who killed the thief is not guilty of murder.


*breaking into: The word bammakhteret means “digging through” the walls of a house (usually made of mud bricks). The verb is used only a few times and has the meaning of dig in (as into houses).


(3) But if it happens in daylight, the one who killed the thief is guilty of murder. “A thief who is caught must pay in full for everything he stole. If he cannot pay, he must be sold as a slave to pay for his theft.


   This law focuses on what is reasonable defense against burglary. If someone killed a thief who was breaking in during the night, he was not charged because he would not have known it was just a thief, but if it happened during the day, he was guilty of a crime, on the assumption that in daylight the thief posed no threat to the homeowner’s life and could be stopped and made to pay restitution.


(4) If someone steals an ox or a donkey or a sheep and it is found in the thief’s possession, then the thief must pay double the value of the stolen animal.


   The Mosaic Law did not send a person to jail because of theft. Instead, the thief was simply required to restore what he stole, plus an additional penalty.


(5) “If an animal is grazing in a field or vineyard and the owner lets it stray into someone else’s field to graze, then the animal’s owner must pay compensation from the best of his own grain or grapes.


(6) “If you are burning thornbushes* and the fire gets out of control and spreads into another person’s field, destroying the sheaves or the uncut grain or the whole crop, the one who started the fire must pay for the lost crop.


*thornbushes: Thornbushes were used for hedges between fields, but thornbushes also burned easily, making the fire spread rapidly.


(7) “Suppose someone leaves money or goods with a neighbor for safekeeping, and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house. If the thief is caught, the compensation is double the value of what was stolen.


(8) But if the thief is not caught, the neighbor must appear before God*, who will determine if he stole the property.


*before God: Or before the judges.


(9) “Suppose there is a dispute between two people who both claim to own a particular ox, donkey, sheep, article of clothing, or any lost property. Both parties must come before God*, and the person whom God declares** guilty must pay double compensation to the other.


*before God: Or before the judges.


**God declares: Or the judges declare.


(10) “Now suppose someone leaves a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal with a neighbor for safekeeping, but it dies or is injured or gets away, and no one sees what happened.


(11) The neighbor must then take an oath in the presence of the Lord. If the Lord confirms that the neighbor did not steal the property, the owner must accept the verdict, and no payment will be required.


(12) But if the animal was indeed stolen, the guilty person must pay compensation to the owner.


(13) If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the remains of the carcass must be shown as evidence, and no compensation will be required.


(14) “If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it is injured or dies when the owner is absent, the person who borrowed it must pay full compensation.


(15) But if the owner was present, no compensation is required. And no compensation is required if the animal was rented, for this loss is covered by the rental fee.


(16) “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and has sex with her, he must pay the customary bride price* and marry her.


*customary bride price: 50 pieces of silver, the amount that is written in a woman's marriage contract (kethuvah) upon marriage . It was enough for a person to live on for a year (


(17) But if her father refuses to let him marry her, the man must still pay him an amount equal to the bride price of a virgin.


Deuteronomy 22:23-29: “Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, you must take both of them to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you.“But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die. Do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no crime worthy of death. She is as innocent as a murder victim. Since the man raped her out in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her. “Suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married. If they are discovered, he must pay her father fifty pieces of silver. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.


(18) “You must not allow a sorceress to live.


Leviticus 19:31: “Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 20:6: “I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community.


(19) “Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must certainly be put to death.


(20) “Anyone who sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed.


(21) “You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.


(22) “You must not exploit a widow or an orphan.


(23) If you exploit them in any way and they cry out to me, then I will certainly hear their cry.


(24) My anger will blaze against you, and I will kill you with the sword. Then your wives will be widows and your children fatherless.


(25) “If you lend money to any of my people who are in need, do not charge interest as a money lender would.


Leviticus 25:35-38: If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you. Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative. Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.


   This did not prohibit the taking of interest on loans that were not for relief of the poor. "It is evident that what is here said must be understood of accumulated usury, or what we call compound interest only; and accordingly neshech is mentioned with and distinguished from tarbith and marbith, interest or simple interest Leviticus 25:36,37; Proverbs 28:8; Ezekiel 18:8, 13, 17, and 22:12." (Clarke)


(26) If you take your neighbor’s cloak as security for a loan, you must return it before sunset.


(27) This coat may be the only blanket your neighbor has. How can a person sleep without it? If you do not return it and your neighbor cries out to me for help, then I will hear, for I am merciful.


(28) “You must not dishonor God or curse any of your rulers.


(29) “You must not hold anything back when you give me offerings from your crops and your wine. “You must give me your firstborn sons.


(30) “You must also give me the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats. But leave the newborn animal with its mother for seven days; then give it to me on the eighth day.


(31) “You must be my holy people. Therefore, do not eat any animal that has been torn up and killed by wild animals. Throw it to the dogs.



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