Parashah 18: Mishpatim ·Judgments, Rulings· 21:1-24:18
21
1 “Now these are the judgments which you shall set before them.
2 * “If you buy a Hebrew [Immigrant] servant, he shall serve six years and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything. 3 If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5 But if the servant shall plainly say, ‘I 'ahav ·affectionately love· my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.
7 “If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do. 8 †
If she does not please her master, who has married her to himself, ‡
then he shall let her be redeemed. § He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her. 9 If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her in the mishpat ·manner· of a daughter. 10 *
If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights. 11 If he does not do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
12 “One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death, † 13 but not if it is unintentional, but God allows it to happen: then I will appoint you a place where he shall flee. 14 If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15 ‡ “Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.
16 “Anyone who kidnaps someone and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17 § “Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. *
18 †
“If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he does not die, but is confined to bed; 19 if he rises again and walks around with his staff, then he who struck him shall be cleared: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for his healing until he is thoroughly healed.
(2) 20 ‡ “If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 Notwithstanding, if he gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for he is his property.
22 “If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow. 23 But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, § hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.
26 “If a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake. 27 If he strikes out his male servant’s tooth, or his female servant’s tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
28 *
“If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, † and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible. 29 But if the bull had a habit of goring in the past, and it has been testified to its owner, and he has not kept it in, but it has killed a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death. 30 If a ransom is laid on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is laid on him. 31 Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him. 32 If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels [12 oz; 3/4 lb; 340.2 g] of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
33 ‡
“If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it, 34 the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.
35 “If one man’s bull injures another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live bull, and divide its price; and they shall also divide the dead animal. 36 Or if it is known that the bull was in the habit of goring in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall surely pay bull for bull, and the dead animal shall be his own.
* 21:2 . Ex 21:2 (#4.282): T. To free your Hebrew male servant on the seventh year, the Sh'mitta ·Release· Year / R. Purchase a Hebrew slave in accordance with the prescribed laws (more notes in Ex 21:8 OU360) † 21:8 . Ex 21:8 (Ex 21:7-11) (#7.434): The man who buys a Hebrew female servant shall marry her (to designate her for himself) R. Reason: The Rabbis elaborate: The Torah ·Teaching· is concerned with the well-being of Jewish daughters who have been sold as maidservants and provides them with an opportunity to be freed from slavery. Her master is urged to marry his maidservant or give her as a wife to his son. In this way, the girl’s slavery may prove to be beneficial for her, showing her the guiding hand Adonai ‡ 21:8 . Ex 21:8 (Ex 21:7-11) (#5.360): To redeem a Hebrew female servant R. Note: The Rabbis’ add context; after a person sold his daughter as a slave, his situation may have improved and he can now afford to redeem her. Torah ·Teaching· encourages him to do so and her master is commanded to allow for her redemption T. Consider: Being a slave or a servant is a role and position in the house of the Master, the servant makes themselves valuable and honorable or commonplace by their own actions. Consider who God calls His servants. Abraham is called God’s servant and friend (Ps 105:6, 42); Joseph is a servant whom God exalts (Gen 39:2-6, 39:21, 41:39-44); Moses is God’s servant (Num 12:7-8, Josh 1:2, Mal 4:4); Samuel is God’s servant (1 Sam 3:9-10); King David is God’s servant (2 Sam 3:18, 2 Sam 7:8, 1 King 11:38, 1 Chr 17:24); national Israel is God’s servant (Ps 136:22, Is 41:8); the Servant Messiah is exalted to be King (Is 49:5-6) § 21:8 . Ex 21:8 (Ex 21:7-11) (#5.361): T. Not to sell a Hebrew female servant to foreigner / R. The master must not sell his maidservant (more notes in Ex 21:8 OU360) * 21:10 . Ex 21:10 (Ex 21:9-11) (#7.435): Not to withhold food, clothing, or conjugal rights from your wife T. Note: Specific context refers to a Hebrew maid-servant who becomes your wife and if any of these three are withheld, the servant become wife is to be given her freedom without cost † 21:12 . Paraphrase Quoted in Matt 5:21, Matt 15:4 ‡ 21:15 . Ex 21:15 (#5.362): Not to strike your father or mother § 21:17 . Ex 21:17 (#5.363): Not to curse your father or mother * 21:17 . Quoted in Matt 15:4; Mark 7:10 † 21:18 . Ex 21:18 (Ex 21:18-19) (#6.381): T. If a person inflicts bodily damage, they are to pay for the damages / R. The court must implement laws against the one who assaults another or damages another’s property T. Directive: The attacker shall care for the victim until the victim returns to health ‡ 21:20 . Ex 21:20 (Gen 9:4-6) (#6.382): T. To avenge the death of a servant who has died by his master’s rod (used for discipline) / R. For the court to execute by decapitation with a sword, as it is written “he shall surely be avenged” (v20) / R. For the court to punish any man who strikes in order to kill a servant § 21:24 . Quoted in Matt 5:38 * 21:28 . Ex 21:28 (Ex 21:28-29) (#6.383): T. To judge in penalties due to injuries or death caused by an animal attack / R. Not to benefit from an ox condemned to be stoned Consequence: The owner’s liability depends on the animal’s past behavior, whether this is the first offense or if there is a past history of offenses † 21:28 . Ex 21:28 (Ex 21:28-32) (#6.384): T. Not to eat the flesh of an ox condemned to be stoned, due to goring a human / R. The Cohenim ·Priests· are to judge the damages incurred by a goring ox ‡ 21:33 . Ex 21:33-34 (#6.385): T. To make judgment in injuries to an animal due to an uncovered pit / R. The court must judge the damages incurred by a pit Consequence: The uncovered pit’s owner is liable for damage and will pay the cost of the animal injured and keeps the carcass