Exodus 21:34

34 the owner of the pit shall make it good and give money unto their owner, and the dead beast shall be his.

Exodus 21:34 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 21:34

The owner of the pit shall make it good
Repair the loss of the ox or ass:

and give the money unto the owner of them:
the price of them, what they are worth: the Targum of Jonathan is,

``the owner of the pit shall pay the silver, he shall return to its owner the price of the ox or ass:''

and the dead beast shall be his;
either the owner of the pit; who pays the full value for the ox or ass killed, which seems but reasonable; or

``the injured person as Jarchi, for he says, they reckon or estimate the carcass, and he takes it for the price;''

that is, for part of the price it is valued at.

Exodus 21:34 In-Context

32 If the ox shall gore a manslave or a maidslave, he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

33 And if someone shall open a pit or if someone shall dig a pit and not cover it and an ox or an ass falls in it,

34 the owner of the pit shall make it good and give money unto their owner, and the dead beast shall be his.

35 And if one man’s ox hurts another’s that he dies; then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money of it, and the dead ox they shall also divide.

36 Or if it is known that the ox used to push in time past and his owner has not kept him in, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead shall be his own.