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Exodus 21:22-27
A new case addresses harm during a fight, establishing measured repayment, then applies injury outcomes to servants through mandated freedom.
Meaning in context
Two men fighting strike a pregnant woman. If an early birth occurs and no harm follows, the offender pays a fine, with the husband’s claim limited by what judges authorize. If harm follows, the response shifts to a fixed equivalence (“life for life”).
A list illustrates measured reciprocity: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and other matched injuries. The point is proportionality—matching kind and severity rather than escalation.
If a master destroys a servant’s eye or knocks out a tooth, the servant must be released free as compensation. The remedy is status change (manumission) tied to permanent bodily loss.
Section 5 of 7
Pregnancy injury and proportional repayment
A new case addresses harm during a fight, establishing measured repayment, then applies injury outcomes to servants through mandated freedom.
Movement
From slavery to covenant presence
Artifact
Deliverance route and tabernacle pattern
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Exodus context: 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Biblical Timeline
Exodus & Settlement
Exodus context
Exodus & Settlement / 1500 BC - 1000 BC
Exodus context is set in the exodus and settlement period, where Moses, the exodus, wilderness, covenant instruction, conquest, and judges.
Scripture Text
Thesis
A new case addresses harm during a fight, establishing measured repayment, then applies injury outcomes to servants through mandated freedom.
Plain Meaning
Two men fighting strike a pregnant woman. If an early birth occurs and no harm follows, the offender pays a fine, with the husband’s claim limited by what judges authorize. If harm follows, the response shifts to a fixed equivalence (“life for life”).
A list illustrates measured reciprocity: eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and other matched injuries. The point is proportionality—matching kind and severity rather than escalation.
If a master destroys a servant’s eye or knocks out a tooth, the servant must be released free as compensation. The remedy is status change (manumission) tied to permanent bodily loss.
Literary Context
This unit belongs to the Covenant Code’s case laws (Exodus 21–23), a sequence of "if…then…" rulings that apply covenant obligations to common disputes. The section moves from public violence affecting a bystander (the pregnant woman) to household power dynamics (master and servant), emphasizing regulated remedies rather than unchecked revenge (compare Exodus 21:12–36).
Historical Context
The passage presumes local adjudication by recognized authorities (“judges”), monetary compensation as a normal legal tool, and households that included servants. It also reflects a social world where bodily injury affected honor, labor capacity, and household stability, requiring standardized remedies that communities could enforce.
Theological Significance
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