Exodus 21:12-32

Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death.¹ If it was not premeditated, but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee.² But if someone willfully attacks and kills another by treachery, you shall take the killer from my altar³ for execution.

Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death.⁴

Whoever kidnaps a person,⁵ whether that person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death.⁶

Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death.⁷

When individuals quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist so that the injured party, though not dead, is confined to bed, but recovers and walks around outside with the help of a staff, then the assailant shall be free of liability, except to pay for the loss of time, and to arrange for full recovery.⁸

When a slave-owner strikes a male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies immediately, the owner shall be punished.⁹ But if the slave survives for a day or two, there is no punishment; for the slave is the owner’s property.¹⁰

When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine.¹¹ If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.¹²

When a slave-owner strikes the eye of a male or female slave, destroying it, the owner shall let the slave go, a free person, to compensate for the eye. If the owner knocks out a tooth of a male or female slave, the slave shall be let go, a free person, to compensate for the tooth.¹³

When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned,¹⁴ and its flesh shall not be eaten;¹⁵ but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. If the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not restrained it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.¹⁶ If a ransom is imposed on the owner, then the owner shall pay whatever is imposed for the redemption of the victim’s life.¹⁷ If it gores a boy or a girl, the owner shall be dealt with according to this same rule.¹⁸ If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall pay to the slave-owner thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.¹⁹

1 Life is protected by the banning of murder, but put in jeopardy by the institution of the death penalty.

2 Protects the rights of those involved in accidents or perhaps even manslaughter.

3 “from my alter” - what does this phrasing mean? Study Bible suggests it may be a term for protection.

4 Extreme protection of 5^th commandment through another institution of death penalty.

5 Man-stealing is forbidden, banning a prominent form of slavery.

6Yet another offense is met with the death penalty.

7 Recalls the previous protection of the 5^th commandment, but even stronger!

8 Assault resulting in serious injury (though in the context of a quarrel) receives a much lighter punishment.

9 Another protection to the rights of slaves, though a minor one.

10 “Owner's property” is an odious phrase to me when referring to human life. The limits of the protection allotted the slave are clearly set.

11 It is clear that causing a miscarriage is not considered the equivalent of murder, but is still wrong and punishable. Woman does not have the right to determine the punishment, but men (judges and husband) work it out between them.

12 Payback for violence is clearly established. Justice requires equal payback, but no more.

13 Again the rights of the slave are protected to some degree.

14 Punishment accorded to animals too!

15 Is not eating the ox's flesh an odd symbolism, or a superstition about its nature, or a form of punishment to the owner?

16 In this case the owner is clearly liable, and once again violence in the form of the death penalty is proscribed as the solution.

17 Gives an option other than death. It seems this option would favor the rich who could pay the ransom.

18 The rights of children are noted.

19 The rights of slaves are noted again, but in this case appear closer to property than those with individual worth.

Take-home: Strict limits are placed on violence. These regulations are to be enforced with more violence. The extreme harsh rebuke of even minor violence towards parents appears out-of-place to our culture. Slavery is condoned, with strict limits placed upon it that protect the rights of slaves, but they are still considered property and still treated in such a way that would be considered immoral today.