Exodus 22:1-31

Exodus: *Israel becomes a nation

God’s instructions to Moses

Exodus Chapter s 19 to 40

Hilda Bright and Kitty Pride

Chapter 22

Laws about property – verses 1-15

v1 The *LORD continued to speak to Moses. ‘Perhaps someone stole a cow or a sheep. Then the thief kills the animal. Or perhaps he sells it. Then he must pay back 5 cows if he stole 1 cow. And he must pay back 4 sheep if he stole 1 sheep.’

v2 ‘Suppose that someone catches a thief. The thief was breaking into his house and the owner hits him. But he hits the thief so hard that the thief dies. If this happens at night, the owner is not guilty. v3 But if it happens during the day, then the owner is guilty. He could see what the thief was doing. Perhaps the owner will catch the thief. Then certainly the thief must pay for what he stole. But if he has no money, then the owner can sell him as a slave. The money will pay for what the thief stole.’

v4 ‘Suppose that the thief has the animal with him still. The cow or *donkey or sheep that he stole may be alive still. Then the thief must pay back twice as much as he stole.’

v5 ‘Suppose that a man is careless. He allows his animals to wander from his own property into another man’s field or into his *vineyard. Then the animals’ owner must pay for what his animals have damaged. He must use his best crops from his own field or from his *vineyard to pay for the damage.’

v6 ‘Suppose that a careless man starts a fire in his field. But it spreads into the bushes and it moves onto his neighbour’s field. Suppose that it burns the corn there. The owner had cut his corn already. He left the bundles of corn in the field. But the fire burns them. Or perhaps the corn is growing still and the fire burns it. The fire may burn a whole field. Then the person who started the fire must pay for that corn or for the field. The person must pay the owner’

v7 ‘Suppose that a man brings some silver or other things to his neighbour. He wants the neighbour to keep those things safely for him. But suppose that a thief steals the things. If people catch the thief, then the thief must pay for the things. He must pay back twice as much as he stole. v8 But suppose that nobody finds the thief. Then the neighbour must go to the judges. They will decide whether the neighbour stole the other person’s property himself.’

v9 ‘Perhaps two people say that they own the same cow or *donkey or sheep or clothes or something else. Perhaps each person says, ‘That belongs to me!’ Then both people must go to the judges together about the matter. The judges will decide who really owns the property. Then the guilty person must pay back twice as much to the real owner.’

v10 ‘Perhaps a man will ask his neighbour to look after his *donkey, his cow or his sheep. Perhaps he asks his neighbour to look after one of his animals. But suppose that the animal dies. Or suppose that it has an injury. Or suppose that someone steals it while the neighbour is not watching. v11 They must settle the problem in front of me. I am the *LORD. The neighbour must make a definite statement in front of me that he did not steal the property. Then the owner must believe that statement. There is no need for him to receive any payment from his neighbour. v12 If someone stole the animal from the neighbour, then he must pay back the owner for it. v13 Perhaps a wild animal has killed the animal. Then the neighbour must bring what remains of the dead animal to the judges as the proof. And he will not have to pay for the dead animal.’

v14 ‘Perhaps a man lends an animal to his neighbour. Perhaps the animal has an injury while its owner is not there. Perhaps the animal dies. Then the neighbour, who has the animal, must pay for it. v15 But if the owner is with the animal then the neighbour does not need to pay. Perhaps he paid money to the owner in order to hire the animal. He wanted the animal to work for him. Then the money that he paid will pay for any loss to the owner.’

Verse 2 If a thief breaks into a house at night, the house’s owner might kill him. He cannot see the thief in the dark. In a struggle with the thief, the owner might cause the thief’s death. But the owner did not intend to kill the thief. So the owner is not guilty of murder. But if it happens in the day, the owner can see the thief. He can see what he and the thief are doing. Then the owner will be guilty, if the thief dies.

Verse 5 Perhaps a person allows his animals to wander into another man’s field or into his *vineyard. Then he must pay for what his animals have damaged of his neighbour’s property. He must pay with his own crops. He must be generous, so he must give from his best crops.

Verse 6 If a person starts a fire, he must pay for any damage to other people’s property. Perhaps the fire spreads into other people’s fields. Perhaps it destroys everything. There would be a hedge of bushes round a field. But bushes burn very quickly and help to spread the fire. Perhaps the owner had cut some of his corn already. He tied it in bundles. Then the bundles stood in the field in order to dry completely. The rest of his corn might be growing still, but that would burn too. His harvest in that field would be a total loss.

Verses 7-9 On some occasions, it was difficult to know whether someone was guilty or not. A thief might steal goods that someone had left with a neighbour. But they could not find the thief. Or people might find someone else’s property, but they did not give it back to its owner. Then those people must go to the judges. The judges would declare who was the guilty person. Then the guilty person must pay the real owner. The thieves must pay back twice as much as they stole.

Verses 10-13 A neighbour was looking after an animal but someone might take away that animal. There were no witnesses. Or perhaps a wild animal had hurt the animal or it might have killed the animal. Then the neighbour must prove that he did not steal the animal himself. The neighbour must make a definite statement in front of the *LORD. Or he must produce a piece of the animal as evidence that a wild animal attacked it. The animal’s owner must agree with the neighbour’s definite statement. Or he must receive as evidence what remained after an attack by an animal. Then the neighbour does not need to pay the owner. This law existed a long time before Moses. For example, Jacob had complained about Laban, who was his employer. Laban had accused Jacob. He said that Jacob was stealing his animals. And Laban had demanded payment for them. Also, Laban demanded payment for any of his animals that wild animals had attacked (Genesis 31:38-39).

Verse 14 A man might ask his neighbour to lend an animal to him for a time. But if the animal died, he must pay his neighbour for it. Or if it had an injury, he must pay for it. But if the owner was present too, the man need not pay. He had paid money to hire the man and his animal. And that money would pay for the possible injury or loss.

Laws about social problems – verses 16-31

v16 ‘Suppose that a young woman has never married. And she has not promised to marry anyone. Suppose that she meets a man. And he persuades her to have sex with him. Then he must pay to her father the price for a bride. And he must marry her. v17 But suppose that her father refuses to give her to him. Still the man must pay the price for a bride for her.’

v18 ‘There are women who use evil magic. Do not allow that kind of woman to remain alive.’

v19 ‘And you must kill anyone who has sex with an animal.’

v20 ‘You must kill anyone who gives gifts to any other god. I am the *LORD and you must *worship me only.’

v21 ‘You must not behave badly towards strangers. You must not be cruel to them. Remember that you were strangers in Egypt.’

v22 ‘Do not be cruel to a widow. And do not be cruel to a child whose father has died. v23 If you are cruel to them, they will cry to me for help. And certainly I will hear them. v24 Then I will become very angry, and I will kill those men. So your wives will become widows and your children will have no fathers.’

v25 ‘Perhaps you will lend money to someone among my people who needs it. Do not be like the usual people who lend money. Do not charge the man extra money for the loan. v26 Perhaps you will take your neighbour’s coat as his promise to pay back the money to you. You must give back the coat to him by sunset. v27 He may be very poor. So he has only this coat to sleep under at night. When he cries out to me, I will listen. And I will help him, because I pity him.’

v28 ‘Do not insult me, I am God. Do not say bad things about the ruler of your people.’

v29 ‘You must give your gifts to me. You must give to me what belongs to me from your corn and wine. You must give to me the oldest of your sons too. v30 You must give to me the animals that are the first to be born to your cows. And the animals that are the first to be born to your sheep. Let them remain with their mothers for 7 days. But on day 8 you must give them to me.’

v31 ‘I have chosen you to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat from any animal that wild animals have killed. Throw that meat to your domestic animals and they can eat it.’

Verses 16-17 A girl who had not yet married was her father’s property. He expected a gift of money for her when the two fathers agreed that she would marry. They called that the price for a bride. When she agreed to marry a man, the man and the girl met in an official way. This was as permanent as marriage. So if she had a sex relationship with another man, she was not loyal to her bridegroom. The man might persuade a young girl to go with him. But if he has not asked her father, then he has not paid the price for a bride. The Law says that he must pay it. And he must marry her. But her father may refuse to let her become his wife. Then the man must pay the price for a bride still. This payment will punish him because of what he has done. It will pay the father, who will have difficulty now. It will not be easy for the father to find a husband for his daughter. Many men do not want to marry a girl who has had sex already with another man.

Verse 18 God does not want us to try to know the future. He does not want us to try to do bad things with magic. In the *New Testament Paul’s work in the city called Ephesus affected many people. And many people who used evil magic, burnt their books (Acts 19:19). Still today, some people say that they can tell other people about their future. And other people say that they can receive messages from dead people. This is bad because all those people cause trouble. The people who ask them for help can gain false confidence. They can depend on false information, or they can become anxious. They can become unhappy when it is not necessary.

Verse 19 To have a sex relationship with an animal is not natural. Also, it was a part of local religions where they did not *worship God himself. So God’s people who did that must die.

Verse 20 This verse refers to God’s *commandment in Exodus 20:3. If someone gives gifts to a false god, he must not continue to live with God’s people. This is a very serious *sin against God, so the punishment is severe.

Verses 21-27 God cares about poor people. He cares about those people who cannot defend themselves.

Verse 21 The *Israelites should look after any strangers who lived among them. They must remember that they themselves had been strangers in Egypt.

Verses 22-24 Often people are not fair to widows. A widow might not receive her rights. But perhaps someone could prevent that. Someone might have owed money to her husband when he was alive. But now, they refused to pay back the money to the widow. Or she might not be able to claim all her land. With nobody to support her, she might not receive a fair judgement in court. Someone might pay the judge to be favourable on their behalf. That judge would not be fair to the widow.

Verse 25 People might owe money because there had been a poor harvest. They needed money to buy food. And they could not plant more crops until they bought the seed. So they needed someone to lend money to them. But sometimes those people ask for a great amount extra. This law said that a poor person should not have to pay that extra money. It was wrong to obtain money in that way from a poor neighbour. Jesus spoke about loans too. Christians must not think that they will always receive back the payment. Even if they lend money to an enemy, they must not demand it back. And certainly they should not ask for any extra money. The loan should become a gift (Luke 6:34-35).

Verses 26-27 A person needed to leave something as a promise that he would pay his debt. But a poor person had nothing. His only possession was his coat. So he could leave that as his promise. Usually he wore it during the day. Then he used it as a blanket to cover him during the cold night. God ordered that he should receive back his coat at sunset. Then he would be warm and he would sleep during the night. The coat was valuable to its owner. So that would remind the owner about his debt every day.

Verses 28-31 These verses describe what God wants his people to give to him.

Verse 28 If we respect God, then we should respect authority. In the *New Testament, Paul used this verse when the most important priest was his judge (Acts 23:3-5). Also, Paul wrote that everyone should respect people with authority (Romans 13:1). There is only one exception to this rule. Perhaps you cannot give honour to God when you obey the person with authority. Then you must choose to respect God (Matthew 22:17-21 and Acts 5:28-32).

Verses 29-30 God had said that the people must give regular gifts to him from their corn and from their wine. Their oldest sons belonged to God too. Also, the cows and sheep that were born first belonged to God (Exodus 13:1-16). But those sons and animals should remain with their mothers for the first week. Then their parents or owners should give them to God. If it was an animal, they gave it to God as a *sacrifice. But for a son, they *sacrificed an animal to God instead of the child (Leviticus 12:6-8). Mary and Joseph obeyed this law with the baby Jesus (Luke 2:22-24).

Verse 31 God wanted all the *Israelites to serve him as priests (Exodus 19:6). When a wild animal kills a domestic animal, the blood remains inside the animal. God had told them the proper way to kill animals. There must be no blood in the meat that they ate (Leviticus 3:17 and 1 Samuel 14:32-34). So, like the priests, who were from Aaron’s family, none of the *Israelites should eat such an animal (Leviticus 22:8). They were a nation that was God’s special nation. And they must eat meat as if God had given it all to them as a gift.

Israel ~ the nation of people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the name of the country that God gave to that nation.
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.
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.
vineyard ~ a field where they grow the fruit called ‘grapes’. People make wine from juice that comes from grapes.
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.
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.
sin ~ the wrong things that people do against God or against other people; or, not to obey God.
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.