Exodus 21:20

20 "Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave with a stick so that the slave dies from the beating, the owner must be punished.

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 "This is what you must do whenever men quarrel and one hits the other with a rock or with his fist and injures him so that he has to stay in bed.

19 If the injured man can get up again and walk around outside with a cane, the one who hit him must not be punished. He must pay the injured man for the loss of his time and for all his medical expenses.

20 "Whenever an owner hits his male or female slave with a stick so that the slave dies from the beating, the owner must be punished.

21 But if the slave gets up in a day or two, the owner must not be punished. The slave is his property.

22 "This is what you must do whenever men fight and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely. If there are no other injuries, the offender must pay whatever fine the court allows the woman's husband to demand.