Exodus 21:12-27
New English Translation
Personal Injuries
12 [a] “Whoever strikes someone[b] so that he dies[c] must surely be put to death.[d] 13 But if he does not do it with premeditation,[e] but it happens by accident,[f] then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14 But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill him cunningly,[g] you will take him even from my altar that he may die.
15 “Whoever strikes[h] his father or his mother must surely be put to death.
16 “Whoever kidnaps someone[i] and sells him,[j] or is caught still holding him,[k] must surely be put to death.
17 “Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully[l] must surely be put to death.
18 “If men fight, and one strikes his neighbor with a stone or with his fist and he does not die, but must remain in bed,[m] 19 and then[n] if he gets up and walks about[o] outside on his staff, then the one who struck him is innocent, except he must pay[p] for the injured person’s[q] loss of time[r] and see to it that he is fully healed.
20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she[s] dies as a result of the blow,[t] he will surely be punished.[u] 21 However, if the injured servant[v] survives one or two days, the owner[w] will not be punished, for he has suffered the loss.[x]
22 “If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely,[y] but there is no serious injury, the one who hit her[z] will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides.[aa] 23 But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.[ab]
26 “If a man strikes the eye of his male servant or his female servant so that he destroys it,[ac] he will let the servant[ad] go free[ae] as compensation for the eye. 27 If he knocks out the tooth of his male servant or his female servant, he will let the servant[af] go free as compensation for the tooth.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 21:12 sn The underlying point of this section remains vital today: The people of God must treat all human life as sacred.
- Exodus 21:12 tn The construction uses a Hiphil participle in construct with the noun for “man” (or person as is understood in a law for the nation): “the one striking [of] a man.” This is a casus pendens (independent nominative absolute); it indicates the condition or action that involves further consequence (GKC 361 §116.w).
- Exodus 21:12 tn The Hebrew word וָמֵת (vamet) is a Qal perfect with vav consecutive; it means “and he dies” and not “and killed him” (which requires another stem). Gesenius notes that this form after a participle is the equivalent of a sentence representing a contingent action (GKC 333 §112.n). The word shows the result of the action in the opening participle. It is therefore a case of murder or manslaughter.
- Exodus 21:12 sn See A. Phillips, “Another Look at Murder,” JJS 28 (1977): 105-26.
- Exodus 21:13 tn Heb “if he does not lie in wait” (NASB similar).
- Exodus 21:13 tn Heb “and God brought into his hand.” The death is unintended, its circumstances outside human control.
- Exodus 21:14 tn The word עָרְמָה (ʿormah) is problematic. It could mean with prior intent, which would be connected with the word in Prov 8:5, 12 which means “understanding” (or “prudence”—fully aware of the way things are). It could be connected also to an Arabic word for “enemy” which would indicate this was done with malice or evil intentions (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 270). The use here seems parallel to the one in Josh 9:4, an instance involving intentionality and clever deception.
- Exodus 21:15 sn This is the same construction that was used in v. 12, but here there is no mention of the parents’ death. This attack, then, does not lead to their death—if he killed one of them then v. 12 would be the law. S. R. Driver says that the severity of the penalty was in accord with the high view of parents (Exodus, 216).
- Exodus 21:16 tn Heb “a stealer of a man,” thus “anyone stealing a man.”
- Exodus 21:16 sn The implication is that it would be an Israelite citizen who was kidnapped and sold to a foreign tribe or country (like Joseph). There was always a market for slaves. The crime would be in forcibly taking the individual away from his home and religion and putting him into bondage or death.
- Exodus 21:16 tn Literally “and he is found in his hand” (KJV and ASV both similar), being not yet sold.
- Exodus 21:17 tn The form is a Piel participle from קָלַל (qalal), meaning in Qal “be light,” in Piel “treat lightly, curse, revile, declare contemptible, treat shamefully.” (See its use in Lev 19:14; Josh 24:9; Judg 9:26-28; 1 Sam 3:13; 17:43; 2 Sam 16:5-13; Prov 30:10-11; Eccl 7:21-22; 10:20.) It is opposite of “honor” (כָּבֵד, kaved; Qal “be heavy”; Piel “honor,” as in 20:12) and of “bless.” This verse then could refer to any act contrary to the commandment to honor the parents. B. Jacob (Exodus, 640) cites parallels in Sumerian where people were severely punished for publicly disowning their parents. “21:15, 17 taken together evoke the picture of parents who, physically and verbally, are forcibly turned out of the house (cf. Prov. 19:26)” (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:148).
- Exodus 21:18 tn Heb “falls to bed.”
- Exodus 21:19 tn “and then” has been supplied.
- Exodus 21:19 tn The verb is a Hitpael perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; it follows the sequence of the imperfect before it—“if he gets up and walks about.” This is proof of recovery.
- Exodus 21:19 tn The imperfect tense carries a nuance of obligatory imperfect because this is binding on the one who hit him.
- Exodus 21:19 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the injured person) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 21:19 tn The word appears to be the infinitive from the verb “to sit” with a meaning of “his sitting down”; some suggest it is from the verb “to rest” with a meaning “cease.” In either case the point in the context must mean compensation is due for the time he was down.
- Exodus 21:20 tn Heb “so that he”; the words “or she” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Exodus 21:20 tn Heb “under his hand.”
- Exodus 21:20 tn Heb “will be avenged” (how is not specified).
- Exodus 21:21 tn Heb “if he”; the referent (the servant struck and injured in the previous verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 21:21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the owner of the injured servant) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 21:21 tn This last clause is a free paraphrase of the Hebrew, “for he is his money” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “his property.” It seems that if the slave survives a couple of days, it is probable that the master was punishing him and not intending to kill him. If he then dies, there is no penalty other than that the owner loses the slave who is his property—he suffers the loss.
- Exodus 21:22 tn This line has occasioned a good deal of discussion. It may indicate that the child was killed, as in a miscarriage; or it may mean that there was a premature birth. The latter view is taken here because of the way the whole section is written: (1) “her children come out” reflects a birth and not the loss of children, (2) there is no serious damage, and (3) payment is to be set for any remuneration. The word אָסוֹן (ʾason) is translated “serious damage.” The word was taken in Mekilta to mean “death.” U. Cassuto says the point of the phrase is that neither the woman or the children that are born die (Exodus, 275). But see among the literature on this: M. G. Kline, “Lex Talionis and the Human Fetus,” JETS 20 (1977): 193-201; W. House, “Miscarriage or Premature Birth: Additional Thoughts on Exodus 21:22-25, ” WTJ 41 (1978): 108-23; S. E. Loewenstamm, “Exodus XXI 22-25, ” VT 27 (1977): 352-60.
- Exodus 21:22 tn Heb “he will surely.”
- Exodus 21:22 tn The word בִּפְלִלִים (biflilim) means “with arbitrators.” The point then seems to be that the amount of remuneration for damages that was fixed by the husband had to be approved by the courts. S. R. Driver mentions an alternative to this unusual reading presented by Budde, reading בנפלים as “untimely birth” (Exodus, 219). See also E. A. Speiser, “The Stem PLL in Hebrew,” JBL 82 (1963): 301-6.
- Exodus 21:25 sn The text now introduces the Lex Talionis with cases that were not likely to have applied to the situation of the pregnant woman. See K. Luke, “Eye for Eye, Tooth for Tooth,” Indian Theological Studies 16 (1979): 326-43.
- Exodus 21:26 tn The form וְשִׁחֲתָהּ (veshikhatah) is the Piel perfect with the vav (ל) consecutive, rendered “and destroys it.” The verb is a strong one, meaning “to ruin, completely destroy.”
- Exodus 21:26 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Exodus 21:26 sn Interestingly, the verb used here for “let him go” is the same verb throughout the first part of the book for “release” of the Israelites from slavery. Here, an Israelite will have to release the injured slave.
- Exodus 21:27 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the male or female servant) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Exodus 21:12-27
Lexham English Bible
Regulations Regarding Murder, Manslaughter, and Various Injuries
12 “‘Whoever strikes someone[a] and he dies will surely be put to death. 13 But if he did not lie in wait and it was an accident,[b] I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. 14 But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery,[c] you will take him from my altar to die. 15 And whoever strikes[d] his father or his mother will surely be put to death.
16 “‘And whoever kidnaps someone[e] and sells him, or he is found in his possession,[f] he will surely be put to death.
17 “‘And one who curses his father or his mother will surely be put to death.
18 “‘And if men quarrel and a man strikes his neighbor with a stone or with a fist and he does not die, but he is confined to bed,[g] 19 if he stands and walks about in the outside on his staff, the striker will be unpunished; he will only pay for his inactivity[h] toward his full recovery.”[i] 20 And if a man strikes his male slave or his female slave with the rod and he dies under his hand, he will surely be avenged. 21 Yet if he survives a day or two days, he will not be avenged, because he is his money.[j]
22 “‘And if men fight and they injure a pregnant woman, and her children go out and there is not serious injury, he will surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands concerning him and as the judges determine.[k] 23 And if there is serious injury, you will give life in place of life, 24 eye in place of eye, tooth in place of tooth, hand in place of hand, foot in place of foot, 25 burn in place of burn, wound in place of wound, bruise in place of bruise.
26 “‘And if a man strikes the eye of his male slave or the eye of his female slave and destroys it, he shall release him as free in place of his eye. 27 And if he causes the tooth of his male slave or the tooth of his female slave to fall out, he will release him as free in place of his tooth.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 21:12 Literally “A striker of a man”
- Exodus 21:13 Literally “and God let him happen to his hand”
- Exodus 21:14 Or “with cunning” or “craftily”
- Exodus 21:15 Literally “a striker of”
- Exodus 21:16 Literally “a stealer of a man”
- Exodus 21:16 Literally “in his hand”
- Exodus 21:18 Literally “he falls to bed”
- Exodus 21:19 Literally “his sitting”
- Exodus 21:19 Literally “and he indeed will recover”
- Exodus 21:21 Or “property”; literally “his silver”
- Exodus 21:22 Literally “and he will give according to judgments” or “judges” or “arbitrators”
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