Exodus 22

Read Exodus 22.

Exodus 22 continues the legal code God gave to Moses, opening with laws concerning theft and property damage. If a man stole an ox or sheep and slaughtered or sold it, he was required to pay back multiple animals in restitution. A thief caught in the act at night could be struck down without guilt, but killing a thief in daylight carried the penalty of blood guilt. If a thief had nothing to repay, he was to be sold into servitude. If the stolen animal was found alive in his possession, he repaid double.

The law then addressed damages caused by grazing animals and fire. If a man let his livestock graze in another's field or vineyard, he was to make restitution from the best of his own produce. If a fire spread and destroyed another's grain or field, whoever started the fire was required to make full restitution.

God then gave laws governing disputes over property held in trust. If a man entrusted money or goods to a neighbor for safekeeping, and those items were stolen, the thief — if found — paid double. If the thief was not found, the matter was brought before the judges to determine whether the keeper had taken the goods himself. Similarly, disputes over borrowed or hired animals were to be settled before the judges, and the outcome depended on whether negligence or unavoidable misfortune was to blame.

Exodus 22 then turns to social and moral laws. If a man seduced an unbetrothed virgin, he was required to pay the dowry and marry her. If her father refused to give her to him, the man still had to pay the dowry. Witches were not to be permitted to live, and anyone who lay with an animal was to be put to death. Those who sacrificed to any god other than the LORD alone were to be destroyed.

God then commanded Israel to show compassion to the vulnerable. Foreigners were not to be mistreated or oppressed, since Israel itself had been foreigners in Egypt. Widows and orphans were not to be exploited; if they cried out to God, He warned that His anger would burn and He would strike down the oppressors, leaving their own wives as widows and children as orphans. The poor were to be treated with fairness; if a man lent money to the poor, he was not to charge excessive interest. If a neighbor's cloak was taken as a pledge, it had to be returned before sunset, since it was his only covering for the night.

Exodus 22 closes with several brief but weighty commands. "The gods" (possibly the judges) were not to be scorned, and the rulers of the people were not to be cursed. The firstfruits of harvests and the firstborn of sons and livestock were to be given to God. Finally, Israel was called to be a holy people, which in this context meant they were not to eat meat torn by wild animals in the field — such meat was to be thrown to the dogs.