Exodus 21:20

20 "When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse,^[a] the owner must be punished.^[b]

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 "When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or fist, and the injured man does not die but is confined to bed,

19 if he can [later] get up and walk around outside [leaning] on his staff, then the one who struck [him] will be exempt from punishment. Nevertheless, he must pay for his lost work time and provide for [his] complete recovery.

20 "When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod, and the slave dies under his abuse, the owner must be punished.

21 However, if the slave can stand up after a day or two, the owner should not be punished because he is his [owner's] property.

22 "When men get in a fight, and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born [prematurely], but there is no injury, the one who hit her must be fined as the woman's husband demands from him, and he must pay according to judicial assessment.

Footnotes

• [a] Lit hand
• [b] Or must suffer vengeance