Exodus 21:1-36

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 21

*Hebrew slaves – verses 1-11

v1 The *LORD continued to speak to Moses. ‘You must explain these laws to the *Israelites.’

v2 ‘If you buy a *Hebrew slave, he must serve you for 6 years. But in year 7 you must free him. He does not have to pay anything to you. v3 Perhaps he did not have a wife when he came to you. Then he should go alone. But if he did have a wife, then she must go with him. v4 Perhaps the slave’s master gave a wife to him. Suppose that they have sons and daughters. Only the man shall have his freedom. The woman and her children belong to her master. v5 But perhaps the slave will say this. “I love my master and my wife and my children. I do not want to have my freedom.” v6 Then his master must take him in front of the judges to tell them. The master must take the slave to the door of his house. He must use a tool with a sharp point. And he must make a small hole in the slave’s ear. Then he will be the master’s slave for the rest of his life.’

v7 ‘A man may sell his daughter as a slave. But she cannot have her freedom like male slaves. v8 Perhaps the master chose her as his wife. But perhaps she does not please him. Then her master must allow her relative to buy her back. The master has no right to sell her to strangers. He has been unfair to her. v9 If he chose her for his son, he must give to her a daughter’s rights. v10 Suppose that he marries another woman later. Then he must continue to provide food and clothes for the woman that he bought. And she continues to have the right to have sex with him. v11 If he does not provide these three things for her, then she can have her freedom. She does not have to pay anything to him.’

Verses 2-3 A *Hebrew man who was a slave had to serve for 6 years only. He would obtain his freedom in year 7. Also in their calendar, year 50 was the year called jubilee. This name was the same as the *trumpet’s name that announced that year. The year called jubilee might come before the end of the 6 years as a slave. If that happened, the slave could have his freedom then. And that meant that he had his freedom earlier (Leviticus 25:39-42).

Verses 5-6 A man might choose to remain with his master. Especially if the master had given to him a wife and they had children. Then the master would take him to the judges. The man would declare in front of witnesses that he wanted to stay with his master. Then the master would make that a permanent arrangement. He would make a small hole in his slave’s ear. The slave heard his master’s orders with his ears. So that hole in his ear was a *sign that he would obey his master always.

Verses 7-11 A female slave might become the master’s wife or his son’s wife. These verses deal with her rights. The husband had no right to sell her to a stranger. If he did not want her, he must tell her family. He must allow her relatives to buy her back. Perhaps the master married a second wife. Then he must continue to provide for the first wife, although she was only his slave. He must provide food and clothes. Also he must provide her right to have children. If he did not provide for her actual needs, he had not been loyal to his agreement. So he must allow her to have her freedom.

Laws about injuries – verses 12-36

1. People injure other people – verses 12-27

v12 ‘Perhaps a man hits another man so that he dies. Then you must kill the first man. v13 However, suppose that he did not kill the other man on purpose. But God let it happen. Then the man must run away to a place that I will choose’, God told Moses. v14 But suppose that a man intends to kill another man. Then he murders him on purpose. Do not pity the guilty man, but drag him away from my *altar. You must kill him.’

v15 ‘You must kill anyone who attacks his father or his mother.’

v16 ‘Perhaps someone will seize another person because they want to sell him. And perhaps you catch the guilty man. The other person may be with him. Or perhaps he has sold the person already. But the man is guilty and you must kill him.’

v17 ‘You must kill anyone who *curses his father or his mother.’

v18 ‘Suppose that men quarrel. One man might hit the other man with a stone or with his fist. The injury does not kill the man. But the man has to lie in his bed for a time. v19 As a result he may walk with a stick when he gets up. The person who hit him must pay the man with the injury. He must pay for the time that the other man spent in bed. He must make sure that the man recovers completely from his injuries.’

v20 ‘Perhaps a man hits his male slave or his female slave with a stick. And that causes the slave to die. Then you must punish the master. v21 But you must not punish him if his slave gets up after a day or two. The slave is his property.’

v22 ‘Perhaps men, who are fighting, hit a woman. If she is expecting a baby, her baby may be born too soon as a result. But perhaps she is not hurt very badly. Then the man who hurt her must pay. He must pay whatever the woman’s husband asks from him. And the court will agree what is right to pay. v23 But suppose that she has a serious injury. If she dies, the man must die too as his payment. v24 He must pay an eye for an eye, and he must pay a tooth for a tooth. He must pay a hand for a hand, and he must pay a foot for a foot. v25 He must pay a burn for a burn, and he must pay a cut for a cut. He must pay a bruise for a bruise.’

v26 ‘Suppose that a man hits his male slave’s eye or his female slave’s eye. Perhaps the eye is of no use. Then he must let the slave have his freedom. The freedom will pay for the eye. v27 Or perhaps he knocks out a slave’s tooth. He must let that slave have his freedom. Whether it is a male slave or a female slave with the injury, their freedom will pay for the tooth.’

Verses 12-14 A man might kill on purpose or kill by an accident. God said that these were different. Someone could avoid punishment if he had killed a person by an accident. Later, when the *Israelites lived in the country called *Canaan, the man could run away to a safe city. They established 6 cities as those safe places. 3 of those cities were on one side of the River Jordan. The other 3 cities were on the other side of the River Jordan (Numbers 35:6-34). The man could stay safely in one of those cities until he had to go to court. If he was not guilty, still he had to stay there until the most important priest had died (Joshua 20:2-9). A person, who had murdered someone, would try to escape. He would grasp the *horns of the *altar in God’s special tent. (After Solomon had built the *Temple in Jerusalem a person would go to the *altar there). These *horns stood up at the *altar’s four corners. Adonijah hoped to avoid punishment for his plot against King Solomon (1 Kings 1:50). Joab had thought that he would be safe by the *altar. But actually the king’s servant killed him by the *altar (1 Kings 2:28).

Verse 16 To seize someone like that is wrong. The guilty person hopes that a relative or friend will pay money to him for his prisoner’s freedom. In modern society, sometimes people do that for political reasons. The guilty person may demand money. But the guilty person may demand something else, in order to free the prisoners.

Verse 17 To *curse expresses a wish that something terrible will happen to someone. To *curse a parent is against God’s *commandment. He said that we must respect our parents. To *curse a parent also shows a bad attitude. Such an attitude may develop into murder.

Verses 18-19 Perhaps a person has to stay in bed as the result of a fight. Then he recovers enough to go out. But the guilty person who hit him must pay him. The person had a time when he could not work. And the guilty person must make sure that the person recovers completely.

Verses 20-21 Perhaps a man hits his slave so much that the slave dies. Then the master deserves punishment. But if his slave recovers, the master is not guilty. He was using his right to correct a slave. The master could hit someone who was his property. And the master did not deserve punishment.

Verses 22-25 Perhaps a woman who was expecting a baby, tried to stop a quarrel. But she received an injury so that the baby was born too soon. But if neither she nor the baby had a serious injury, the husband could ask for money. The people who were fighting must pay for any injury. The court would make the decision about how much money was fair. The judge would not allow the husband to demand an excess amount. A person could demand payment for an injury or loss. Often, we want to hurt a person more than he has hurt us. But the law meant that there were limits to those demands. The punishment had to be equal to the crime, no more and no less. It was a law that the courts had to make the decision. People could not make the decision about payment by themselves. Jesus spoke about this law. He told his people to forgive an enemy. They should be generous to their enemies (Matthew 5:38-42).

Verses 26-27 A slave had the right to freedom if his master hurt him with a permanent injury.

2. Animals injure people – verses 28-32

v28 ‘Suppose that a *bull kills a man or a woman. Suppose that the animal attacks them with its *horns. Then you must throw stones at the animal to kill it. And you must not eat its meat. But people should not consider that the animal’s owner is responsible. v29 However, suppose that the animal attacked people every day. And suppose that people had warned the owner about it. But he had not put the dangerous animal inside a pen. Then if the animal killed a man or a woman, you must kill the owner as well. v30 But perhaps someone will demand payment instead. Then the animal’s owner can pay money to save himself. He must pay whatever they require. v31 If a *bull kills a son or a daughter with its *horns, the law is the same. v32 But suppose that a *bull kills a male slave or a female slave. Then the animal’s owner must pay 30 silver coins to the slave’s master. And you must throw stones at the animal to kill it.’

Verses 28-32 An animal that had killed someone was guilty. It had caused a person’s death. So people had to throw stones at the animal in order to kill it. The animal’s owner must not sell the meat, because nobody must eat it. But suppose that the owner was careless. People had warned him that his animal attacked people all the time. Then they must kill the owner too. But he could ask the dead person’s relatives if they would receive money instead. In that way, he could buy himself back. The law about a slave’s death was different. They must kill the dangerous animal. And the animal’s owner must pay 30 silver coins (called *shekels) to the slave’s owner. That was the price for a slave. In the *New Testament, the priests wanted to seize Jesus. So they paid 30 silver coins to Judas so that he would help them (Matthew 26:15).

3. People cause injuries to animals – verses 33-36

v33 ‘Suppose that a man takes a cover off a deep hole. Or he might dig a deep hole, but he does not cover it. Suppose that a cow or a *donkey falls into the hole. v34 Then the owner of the hole must pay the animal’s owner because he has lost a valuable animal. But the dead animal will belong to the owner of the hole.’

v35 ‘Suppose that a man’s *bull causes an injury to another man’s *bull. And suppose that the animal dies. Then they must sell the other *bull that remains alive. They must receive equal shares of the money and they must share the dead animal. v36 However, perhaps the owner knew that his animal attacked other animals every day. And perhaps he did not make sure that the dangerous animal was safely in a pen. Then he is responsible. He must give another *bull to pay for the dead animal. But the dead animal will belong to him.’

Verses 33-34 People used deep holes as traps to catch animals. Benaiah killed a lion in a deep hole (2 Samuel 23:20). They also used deep holes as prisons. Joseph’s brothers put him into a deep hole (Genesis 37:24). And people used deep holes in which to store things like water or grain. A careless man might remove the cover from his hole and then forget to cover it again. So he left the hole open. Or he might dig a new hole and he might leave that without a cover. If an animal fell into the hole, the owner of the hole must pay the animal’s owner. The owner had lost a valuable animal. It was the fault of the owner of the hole. A farmer needed his animal to work on his farm. Without that animal, the farmer could not do his work properly. So it was only fair that he should receive money for the dead animal. Then he could buy another one to replace it.

Verses 35-36 Suppose that a *bull attacked and killed another person’s *bull. The owner must sell the *bull that was still alive. Then he must share the money with the owner of the dead animal. They must divide the dead animal so that they each had half of it. Suppose that a particular *bull’s owner knew that his animal was dangerous. But the owner did nothing to control it. Then he had to give another animal to replace the dead animal. And the dead animal would belong to him.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has been here always.

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the Hebrew word ‘Adonai’, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

Hebrew ~ the language that the Israelites spoke. A Hebrew is a Jewish person or an Israelite

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the Jews.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument that people blow into to make a sound. Now trumpets are usually made out of metal, but often people have used animals’ horns to make them.

horn ~ animals like cows and goats have horns (usually 2) that grow out of their heads. The horns stick out and end in a point. The Israelite priest used male sheep’s horns as musical instruments. They blew into them to make a loud sound. And today people call certain instruments ‘horns’. Also the altar in God’s special tent had pieces that stuck out at the altar’s 4 corners. These pieces are called horns.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
sign ~ a signal; a mark to show that something is special; a powerful act.
altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.
curse ~ the opposite of a blessing; to express a wish that something terrible will happen to someone; bad things that God will do to people because they have been wicked.

bless ~ to say or do much good to a person; to call something holy; to call for good things to happen; to guard and to keep from evil.
Canaan ~ the country that God gave to Israelites. Canaanites lived here, and people called Amorites, Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites and Perizzites lived there also.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

Canaanite ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan; something that comes from the country called Canaan.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
horn ~ animals like cows and goats have horns (usually 2) that grow out of their heads. The horns stick out and end in a point. The Israelite priest used male sheep’s horns as musical instruments. They blew into them to make a loud sound. And today people call certain instruments ‘horns’. Also the altar in God’s special tent had pieces that stuck out at the altar’s 4 corners. These pieces are called horns.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

altar ~ a table on which people give gifts or *sacrifices to God or to a false god.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God. King Solomon built the first temple.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.
commandment ~ a rule or an order that God gave to the Jews. The 10 rules that God gave to Moses on the mountain called Mount Sinai (or Horeb); an order from someone who has authority.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

Mount ~ another name for mountain.
bull ~ male farm animal; (the female is called a cow). The Israelites made a metal image of a bull, which they worshipped as an idol.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called Israel. Israelite is another name for the Jews. Anything that has a relationship with Israel.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.

idol ~ an object that people worship instead of God; an object made out of wood, stone or metal that people worship.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
shekel ~ shekels weighed about 0.4 ounces (11 grams). It was the standard that they used to weigh things (especially gold and silver); they used it for God’s special tent and later, for the Temple.

temple ~ the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God. King Solomon built the first temple.

Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a gift to God.

'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It tells about Jesus Christ and his followers.
donkey ~ an animal that is like a horse with long ears. People use donkeys as animals to do work. They can carry people or loads. And they can pull carts or ploughs.