Exodus
Chapter 21
Laws About Slavery
These are the laws you are to set before them:
When you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve you for six years, and in the seventh year, he shall go free, with nothing to pay.
If he came alone, he would leave alone. If he were married, his wife would accompany him.
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to his master; he will leave them to their own care.
But if the slave says: ‘I love my wife, my master, and my children, I will not go free,’
his master shall bring him to God; he will take him to the door or the doorpost, then his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he shall serve him for life.
When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free as male slaves do.
If she does not please the master who intended her for himself, he shall let another redeem her; he is not to sell her to foreigners because he has broken faith with her.
If he intends her for his son, he will deal with her according to the rights of daughters.
If he takes another for himself, he will not diminish her food, clothing, or marital rights.
If he fails her regarding these three rights, she will go free without any payment.
Criminal Legislation
The man who strikes another and so causes his death shall die.
If he did not want to kill him, but as it were, let it happen, then I will give you a place where he may find refuge.
Instead, if a man willfully attacks another to kill him treacherously, you will take him away even from my altar and put him to death.
Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death.
Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or is found holding him captive shall be put to death.
He who curses his father or mother shall be put to death.
Criminal Casuistry
When men quarrel, and one strikes another with a stone or with his fist so that the man is confined to bed,
but after that, he gets up and walks about with the help of a stick, the man who struck the blow will not be held as a criminal. He will, however, pay the injured man for the loss of time and see that he is completely healed.
When a man strikes his slave, or his servant with a rod, and the man dies at his hands, he shall be punished.
But if the slave survives for a day or two, he will not be penalized since the slave is his property.
If men are fighting and a pregnant woman is hit so that the child is born prematurely, but she is not injured, the one who hurt her will pay the fine demanded by her husband and allowed by the court.
But if there is a serious injury, you are to take life for life,
eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, foot for foot,
burns for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and the eye is lost, he will let the slave go free in compensation for the eye.
Or if he knocks out a tooth, he will likewise give the slave his freedom.
When an ox kills a man or woman, the ox will be stoned, and its flesh will not be eaten, but the owner of the ox will not be punished.
If the ox has gored someone before and its owner was warned but did not keep it fenced in, and it later kills a man or woman, the ox will be stoned, and the owner will be put to death.
If the owner is allowed to pay a fine to save his life, he must pay whatever is required.
The same law applies if the ox gores a boy or a girl.
If the ox gores a man or woman slave, the owner of the slave shall be paid thirty pieces of silver, and the ox will be stoned.
When a man leaves a pit uncovered or digs a pit and leaves it open, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
the owner of the pit will compensate the animal’s owner by paying him money, but he may keep the dead animal.
When a man’s ox injures his neighbor’s ox and kills it, they will sell the live ox and divide both the money and the meat of the dead animal.
Or, if it is known that the ox has been in the habit of goring and its owner has not kept it in, he must compensate the neighbor by giving a live ox, but the dead ox will belong to him.
Laws Concerning Property
If a man steals an ox or a sheep and either slaughters or sells it, he must pay five oxen for the ox, four sheep for the sheep.
Commentaries
Laws About Slaves.
Surprisingly, people recently freed from slavery are supporting legislation that treats slavery as entirely usual. The historical background of these complex laws suggests that the people living in Canaan experienced these violations frequently. The legislator or legislators invoke divine authority and the founding moment of the people to justify their moral obligation to follow these laws. Often, the religious conscience emerges as a divine will that, at a particular time, is seen as appropriate, sound, and valid for both individuals and the community. In its historical context, the legislator believed these norms were the best way to address abuses against slaves. When slavery was normalized, the goal was not to eliminate it but to regulate it in a way that would benefit the enslaved person as much as possible (8-10).
Criminal Legislation.
The common thread in all these cases is aggression against human life, which results in the death penalty. No unintentional aggression, not even accidental homicide, was punishable; no one could take revenge. If someone pursued the unintentional aggressor, it was enough for him to seek temporary asylum in a sanctuary to have his life spared. However, in cases of premeditated homicide, not even the sanctuary itself could save him. Note the strictness of the law regarding the respect and reverence due to parents (15-17).
Criminal Casuistry.
This section of the laws addresses bodily injury, clearly distinguishing between injuries inflicted on free persons (18s., 22-25) and those on slaves (20s., 26s.). The second part focuses on cases of aggression by a bull, again differentiating between free individuals (28-31) and slaves (32). It also legislates instances of aggression between bulls (35f) and addresses accidents involving a bull or an ass caused by negligence (verse 33). Slaves, bulls, and donkeys were part of the patrimony, representing the domestic and family economy that needed protection. Additionally, we see the famous “law of Talion,” which aimed to restrain excessive revenge and promote compensation proportional to the damage. The Bible opposes excessive revenge, and Jesus explicitly repealed this law (Mt 5:38f) as a potential way to heal interpersonal relationships.
Laws Concerning Property.
This section discusses crimes against property, including theft, abuse, or negligence toward others’ belongings. In every case, there is no death penalty. Israel avoided enacting capital punishment for theft and instead imposed strict fines and compensation when the crime was proven (21:37). Cases requiring evidence or where suspects needed to prove their innocence were settled before the Lord. These matters were likely addressed at the sanctuary, possibly through a declaration of innocence invoking the Name of the Lord. This act was serious and required the other party to comply with it. To disrespect the oath would be to disrespect the very name of the Lord, even though someone could maliciously invoke the divine Name. That is what the second commandment prohibits: “Do not take the name of the Lord your God. For the Lord will not leave unpunished anyone who takes his name in vain” (20:7). The section ends with the case of a girl’s seduction (22:15f), right after laws about stealing bulls, donkeys, and other personal property. The woman, whether wife or daughter, was often viewed as a form of personal property, valued less than a bull, a donkey, or a slave.