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Exodus 21:17-27

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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},
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 {toward his full recovery}."
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.
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}.
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.
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Exodus 21:17-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 21

In this, and the two following chapters, are delivered various laws and precepts, partly of a moral, and partly of a religious, but chiefly of a civil nature, respecting the commonwealth of Israel, and its political good. This chapter treats of servants, and laws relating to them; to menservants, how long they shall serve, and what is to be done to those who are desirous of staying with their masters after their time is up, Ex 21:1-6, to maidservants, and especially betrothed ones, either to a father or a son, Ex 21:7-11, likewise it contains laws concerning the slaughter of men, whether with design or unawares, Ex 21:12-14, and concerning the ill usage of parents, Ex 21:15,17, and man stealing, Ex 21:16 and of mischief that comes by men's quarrelling and fighting, Ex 21:18,19 and by smiting a man or maidservant, Ex 21:20,21,26,27, to a woman with child, that is, by means of men's striving and contending with each other, Ex 21:22-25 and of damages that come by oxen, or to them, Ex 21:28-36.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Literally "he falls to bed"
  • [b]. Literally "his sitting"
  • [c]. Literally "and he indeed will recover"
  • [d]. Or "property"; literally "his silver"
  • [e]. Literally "and he will give according to judgments" or "judges" or "arbitrators"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.