Exodus 21:20

20 "If a slave owner hits a slave, male or female, with a stick and the slave dies on the spot, the slave must be avenged.

Exodus 21:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 21:20

And if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod
A Canaanitish servant or maid, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; and that only with a rod for the correction of them, and not with a sword or any such destroying weapon, which would seem as though he intended to kill, yet nevertheless:

and he die under his hand;
immediately, while he is smiting or beating him or her, on the same day, as the above Targum interprets it:

he shall be surely punished;
or condemned to the punishment of being slain with the sword, as the said Targum and Jarchi explain it: this law was made to deter masters from using severity and cruelty towards their servants.

Exodus 21:20 In-Context

18 "If a quarrel breaks out and one hits the other with a rock or a fist and the injured one doesn't die but is confined to bed

19 and then later gets better and can get about on a crutch, the one who hit him is in the clear, except to pay for the loss of time and make sure of complete recovery.

20 "If a slave owner hits a slave, male or female, with a stick and the slave dies on the spot, the slave must be avenged.

21 But if the slave survives a day or two, he's not to be avenged - the slave is the owner's property.

22 "When there's a fight and in the fight a pregnant woman is hit so that she miscarries but is not otherwise hurt, the one responsible has to pay whatever the husband demands in compensation.