_{Handout 24}

How the OT Law Handles Theft vs. Accidental Damage

I. Recap & Intro:

Many people assume that the OT’s response for any & every form of injury, crime or loss is, “an eye for an eye.” But in H/O #23 we saw that “an eye for an eye” is not the OT’s standard prescription for all such things. And it is certainly not(!) the OT’s way of life.

Rather, the expression “an eye for an eye” is only mentioned 3x in the OT, and turns out to be, in effect, a criminal punishment for reckless or malicious bodily injury or death to a fellow human being.

• Q: So how do the other laws in the Pentateuch govern other types of crime or loss? In specific, how do they govern financial and property loss? Is it an item-for-item, shekel-for-shekel restitution, or something else? Does the law see a difference between accidental unintentional loss, as opposed to crime & theft?

II. The Old Testament’s General Guidance on Theft and/or Property Loss:

A. The General Positive Affirmations: Be Honest, Considerate & Responsible:

• Exod 23:1-3 Give honest testimony. ⇒ Do not be a bleeding heart liberal, or a robber baron.

• Lev 19:15 Do not pervert justice.

• Lev 19:13 + Deut 24:14-15

  Pay your workers in a timely manner; don’t make them wait a long time.

• Deut 24:10-13 Be courteous and considerate to those who owe you money.

• Deut 24:6 Don’t(!) take an “upper mill-stone” as a pledge . . .

• Deut 15:7-11 Be generous to the poor.

  [But also note the common-sense guidance in Proverbs – .

  • 19:19 Tough love → “A hotheaded man . . .”
  • 20:16 “ “ → “Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge(!) if he does so for a wayward woman.”]

• Lev 19:9-10 + 23:22

  Gleaning fields

• Exod 23:4-5 + Deut 22:1-4

  Help your neighbor’s donkey . . . even if you think your neighbor is(!) a donkey.

B. The General Flip-side of the Positive Affirmations: Do not Steal, Do not Covet:

• Exod 20:15; Deut 5:19; Lev 19:11 The 8th Commandment: Do not steal.

• Exod 20:17 & Deut 5:21 The 10th Commandment: Do not covet.

• Deut 25:13-15 Do not use → two sets of weights.

  [Amos 8:5-6 specifically mentions this sin.]

III. The Primary Passage Governing Theft, and Protection of Property: Exod 21–23

The core laws governing theft and property damage are found in Exodus chs. 21–23. These chapters are the very next ones after the 10 Commandments are given (Exodus 20). They are foundational to the rest of the Law. They are often called “the Book of the Covenant” or “the Covenant Code.” Most of the references that follow (on back) come from Exodus 21–23.

A. Unintentional vs. Not-Careful Cases of Loss of Livestock; Exodus 21:33-36

• Exod 21:33,34 If an ox or donkey falls into an uncovered pit . . .

• Exod 21:35,36 When one ox gores another . . . .

  However, . . .

But note a common dynamic in all of these:

B. Punishments for Theft and Irresponsible Behavior: Exodus 22:1–6

• Exod 22:4–9 Punishments for theft: The most common penalty is:

  (esp. vv. 4,7,&9)

• Exod 22:1 However, there are harsher punishments for stealing . . .

  • A sheep:

  • An ox:

• Exod 22:3 But if the thief cannot pay the penalty . . .

  • Deut 15:12 For how long?

  • Lev 25:47–54 Redeeming someone sold into slavery.

• Exod 22:5-6 Restitution for Carelessness

• Lev 6:1-7 If someone steals something, and then repents on his own . . .

  • Num 5:5–7

C. Restitution - Or Not? - For Accidents and Bad-luck Losses: Exodus 22:7-15

• Exod 22:7-9 If you are safe-keeping your neighbor’s property, and it gets stolen . . .

• Exod 22:10-13 If you are donkey-sitting your neighbor’s donkey . . .

• Exod 22:14:15 If you have borrowed your neighbor’s donkey . . .

IV. Conclusions:

In General:

• There is a pervasive concern for . . .
• Justice is neither to favor . . .

In the Case of Accidental Loss:

• In the case of carelessness or accidental loss. . .
• But if you are doing your neighbor a favor, and have bad luck . . .

• Nobody gets rich . . .

  There is accountability and there is , but not .

In the Case of Theft:

• In the case of theft, while the punishment is generally proportional, it is always(!) . . .

  However, the law did not prescribe . . .

A footnote to the “eye-for-an-eye” principle:

• In the case of reckless or malicious bodily injury, the penalty is . . .