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Exodus 21: Laws for God's People

God gives just ordinances governing servants, violence, and personal injury, protecting the vulnerable and valuing every human life.

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Exodus 21 (WEB)

1 “Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.

2 “If you buy a Hebrew 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 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 for ever.

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 doesn’t 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 as 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 doesn’t 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 doesn’t 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.

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 flesh 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 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 doesn’t 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.

Summary

Having spoken the commandments, God now gives Moses the ordinances that apply them to daily life—the beginning of the Book of the Covenant. The first laws govern Hebrew servants: a servant serves six years and goes free in the seventh, with provisions to protect his family and even allow a servant who loves his master to stay for life. Special protections are given to a daughter sold as a servant, ensuring she is treated fairly and not wronged. The chapter then turns to violence and the value of human life: striking someone fatally with intent brings death, while accidental killing finds refuge; attacking or cursing parents, and kidnapping, are capital crimes. Detailed cases address injuries from quarrels, the harming of servants, harm to a pregnant woman, and the famous principle of proportionate justice—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth—which limits revenge rather than licensing it. Servants maimed by their masters are to go free. Finally, laws about a goring bull hold owners responsible for known dangers, requiring restitution and even capital accountability when negligence costs a life. Throughout, the laws restrain cruelty, demand responsibility, and uphold the dignity of every person.

Key Themes

  • Servants and masters — Laws limiting servitude to six years and protecting servants from abuse, ensuring even the lowest in society are treated with dignity and justice.
  • The vulnerable — Daughters, the injured, and the unborn, all given specific protections so the weak are not exploited by the strong.
  • The principle of proportionate justice — “Life for life, eye for eye,” which restrains vengeance by fitting the penalty to the harm, neither too lenient nor excessive.
  • Yahweh (the LORD) — The righteous Lawgiver whose ordinances reveal his care for justice, responsibility, and the worth of every human life made in his image.

Key Verse

Exodus 21:24 (WEB)

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

Lessons Learned

  • God's law reaches into the details of daily life, not just lofty principles.
  • Even servants and the vulnerable are protected by God's justice and granted dignity.
  • Human life is precious to God, and those who take or endanger it are held accountable.
  • Proportionate justice restrains both leniency toward evil and excessive revenge.
  • God holds us responsible for the harm our negligence causes, not only our deliberate acts.
  • God cares about how we treat the lowly. A Hebrew servant goes free in the seventh year (Exodus 21:2, WEB), and a servant maimed by his master is freed (21:26-27). God's justice reaches the powerless.
  • Human life bears immense value. “One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:12, WEB). Because people bear God's image, taking life is a grave offense.
  • Justice is to be proportionate. “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:24, WEB) limits penalties to fit the wrong, restraining both excessive vengeance and careless leniency.
  • We are responsible for foreseeable harm. An owner who fails to restrain a goring bull is held accountable (Exodus 21:29, WEB). God calls us to take responsibility for the danger our carelessness creates.
  1. What do the laws about Hebrew servants reveal about God's concern for justice and dignity?
  2. How do these ordinances show the value God places on human life?
  3. How does the principle “eye for eye” actually limit vengeance rather than encourage it?
  4. Why does God hold people accountable for harm caused by negligence, such as the goring bull?
  5. How do these ancient laws shape the way you think about justice and responsibility today?
  1. The servant laws build in release, protection of family, and humane treatment (21:2-11). In a world where the powerless were easily exploited, God's law dignifies servants and limits their bondage, reflecting his heart for the lowly and foreshadowing fuller freedom.
  2. Repeated penalties for taking life—whether by a person or a dangerous animal—show that human life is sacred (21:12-14, 28-29). Because people bear God's image, God surrounds life with protections and treats its destruction with utmost seriousness.
  3. “Eye for eye” sounds harsh but functions as a cap, ensuring the punishment never exceeds the crime (21:23-25). It curbs the human impulse toward escalating revenge, establishing measured, fair justice administered by judges rather than private vengeance.
  4. The goring-bull laws hold an owner liable when he knew the animal was dangerous and failed to act (21:29). God's justice extends beyond intentions to responsibility; we are accountable for the foreseeable harm our carelessness allows.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to reflect on how God's concern for the vulnerable, the value of life, fair proportion, and personal responsibility might shape their attitudes and actions. As leader, connect these to loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.