Exodus 22. Social Justice Laws

• Exodus 22 deals with both property damage and social justice. God says He will personally act if widows or orphans are mistreated: “My wrath will burn.”

“If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

• If the thief has killed or sold the animal, restitution is multiplied
  • perhaps more for the ox because of their worth (not just food but also plowing, etc.)

 ² If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, ³ but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 

• Why is it ok to kill a thief at night and not during the day? Just because you can assess the situation better?
• The system shows you are responsible for the loss you have caused.
• bloodguilt in Hebrew is דָּמִים לוֹ damim lo “there is blood for him.”

⁴ If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.

• the layout of this chapter throws me off a bit. Shouldn’t this verse be after verse 1?
  • After looking into it, it seems that the layout is about the thief of animals, the thief being caught in the act and killed, then the thief being caught alive.
• Overall of first four verses:
  • If someone steals livestock and disposes of it: 4×/5× restitution.
  • If a thief is caught breaking in at night and killed: no bloodguilt. 
  • If it’s daylight: there is bloodguilt.
  • The thief must make restitution. If he cannot, he can be sold for the theft.
  • If the stolen animal is still alive: 2× restitution.

⁵ “If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over, or lets his beast loose and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best in his own field and in his own vineyard.

• Important to respect others’ property

⁶ “If fire breaks out and catches in thorns so that the stacked grain or the standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.

⁷ “If a man gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep safe, and it is stolen from the man’s house, then, if the thief is found, he shall pay double. 

• Someone gives another person money or possessions for safekeeping.
  • If a third-party thief steals it and is caught, the thief pays double, just like the theft law in v. 4.
  • The person who agreed to watch it isn’t automatically responsible 

⁸ If the thief is not found, the owner of the house shall come near to God to show whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. ⁹ For every breach of trust, whether it is for an ox, for a donkey, for a sheep, for a cloak, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before God. The one whom God condemns shall pay double to his neighbor.

• The problem is, what if there wasn’t a thief? What if the person who was safekeeping it stole it?
• “come near to God” – the Hebrew is אֱלֹהִים (elohim) which is plural and can mean “judges”, which is what I think might be better suited here. But could be either!

¹⁰ “If a man gives to his neighbor a donkey or an ox or a sheep or any beast to keep safe, and it dies or is injured or is driven away, without anyone seeing it, ¹¹ an oath by the Lord shall be between them both to see whether or not he has put his hand to his neighbor’s property. The owner shall accept the oath, and he shall not make restitution. ¹² But if it is stolen from him, he shall make restitution to its owner. ¹³ If it is torn by beasts, let him bring it as evidence. He shall not make restitution for what has been torn.

• The person entrusted essentially swears before God.  If the oath is accepted, he doesn’t have to pay for the animal.
• Verse 12 is a bit confusing as verse 7 just said that if anything is stolen, the person who agreed to watch it is not responsible.
  • Perhaps it is because we are dealing with animals and not inanimate objects, and part of the care is keeping it safe.

¹⁴ “If a man borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is injured or dies, the owner not being with it, he shall make full restitution. ¹⁵ If the owner was with it, he shall not make restitution; if it was hired, it came for its hiring fee.

• If you borrow someone’s animal and it gets hurt or dies while in your care, you have to pay for it.
  • BUT if the owner was there when it happened, they are responsible.

Laws for a Just Community

¹⁶ “If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money equal to the bride-price for virgins.

¹⁸ “You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

• Why mention just sorceresses (מְכַשֵּׁפָה mekhashefah) and not sorcerers?

¹⁹ “Whoever lies with an animal shall be put to death.

• Unfortunately was seen in many religions, even around the land of Canaan.

²⁰ “Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the Lord alone, shall be devoted to destruction.

• Although this verse commands death for sacrificing to other gods, it seems that this wasn’t enforced enough in Israel?

²¹ “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ²² You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, ²⁴ and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

• Jeremiah 22:3-5 ³ This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴ For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. ⁵ But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
• What a wonderful God, who loves the vulnerable. Do we show that same love and compassion?

²⁵ “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. ²⁶ If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷ for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

²⁸ “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

• This warns against cursing leaders, which Paul reminds us in Acts 23:5
• This could be another instance where it is either “God” or “judges”

²⁹ “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. ³⁰ You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

• God will speak more on the giving of firstborn sons later on in Exodus 34 and Numbers 3.
• It was first mentioned in Exodus 13

³¹ “You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

• God’s people were set apart.
• Consecrated= Holy.