Exodus 22

The section of Exodus from 20:22 to 23:33 is commonly called the "Book of the Covenant." It is a collection of laws given at Mount Sinai, and this chapter falls in its middle portion. Following Exodus 21, which deals with servants and personal injury, this chapter addresses restitution for property and obligations between neighbors.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: Restitution required of one who steals an ox or a sheep (five oxen for an ox, four sheep for a sheep). A distinction is made between a thief who breaks in at night and one who does so after the sun has risen.
• Verses 5–6: Restitution when an animal grazes in another person's field or when a fire spreads and burns grain.
• Verses 7–15: Who bears responsibility when goods or animals entrusted to someone's keeping, or borrowed animals, are lost or harmed. The matter is examined before the judges, or the parties are made to swear an oath by the LORD.
• Verses 16–17: A man who entices a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her must pay the dowry (bride-price).
• Verses 18–20: The death penalty for a sorceress, for one who lies with an animal, and for one who sacrifices to other gods.
• Verses 21–24: A command not to oppress the stranger, the widow, or the fatherless.
• Verses 25–27: A command not to charge interest to the poor and to return a garment taken in pledge before the sun goes down.
• Verses 28–31: A command to respect the judges and the ruler of the people, and to offer the firstfruits and the firstborn. The flesh of an animal torn by beasts in the field is not to be eaten.

Key Verses

• Exodus 22:21 "Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." — The command to protect the vulnerable is grounded in Israel's own experience.
• Exodus 22:27 "When he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious." — The legal provisions are shown to be rooted in the character of God.

People and Places

• No specific individuals appear in this chapter. It continues the words, begun in the previous chapter, that God gave to Israel through Moses.
• Egypt: The land where Israel lived as strangers. It is mentioned in verse 21 as the reason for protecting the stranger.

Points for Reflection

• The Hebrew text numbers verse 1 of Korean and English Bibles as Exodus 21:37. As a result, the verse numbers in this chapter are offset by one.
• Interpreters differ on whether the civil and criminal provisions of this chapter still apply directly today. The Westminster Confession of Faith holds that the judicial laws given to Israel as a nation expired together with that state, and that only the general equity contained in them remains.
• The word translated "sorceress" in verse 18 (KJV "witch") is feminine in Hebrew and refers to one who practices magic or sorcery. This verse is reported to have been cited as justification during the European witch hunts.
• The medieval church used the prohibition of interest in verse 25 as grounds for forbidding the taking of interest altogether. Some Reformers, including John Calvin, read the verse as forbidding interest that exploits a poor neighbor, and they are known to have permitted commercial interest within certain limits.
• The chapter also connects with the New Testament. Paul quotes verse 28 before the high priest (Acts 23:5). The fourfold restitution of verse 1 is often read alongside Zacchaeus's promise to restore fourfold what he had taken (Luke 19:8). The law protecting the stranger is carried forward in Leviticus 19:33–34, and the command to care for widows and the fatherless is echoed in James 1:27.