Chapters 21-22
Exodus 21:13 - This verse means if the death was by accident, then the offender may flee. When the Bible says, "but God let him fall into his hand..." (NASB), it means that the Lord caused what should not have been a fatal blow to be a fatal blow as the execution of some punishment against the deceased. Thus, the offender was merely an unwitting instrument of God's justice, and by sending the person away was actually not a punishment but a protection of his life from the vengeance of the deceased family (Numbers 35:25).
Exodus 21:22 - Many who are for the abortion of un-born children cite this verse in the Bible as a proof-text saying, "The killing of a child was not viewed by God as a capital offense. Thus, the aborting of a baby in the womb is not the same as killing another human-being." This argument only shows their ignorance of the Scriptures. In context, the Bible does not give capital punishment for accidental death, only deliberate murder (see vs. 13). Clearly, this verse shows the miscarriage to be accidental, thus not warranting a death penalty. Notice further that it still required a form of punishment and recompense, which acknowledges the seriousness of the offense even if accidental. The next verse addresses another situation of miscarriage.
Exodus 21:23 - "If there is any further injury..." (NASB). This is a rather ambiguous statement. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the meaning is much more apparent: "If there is any mischief [or evil]..." The situation described is if there was some plan to cause a miscarriage by a mock fight, or something of the sort. Support for my view comes from the second part of the verse, "You shall appoint as a penalty life for life" (NASB). The death penalty is only given when murder is intended. Thus, the NASB rendering of the first part of this verse ("If there is any further injury...") does not agree with the last part of the sentence. Thus, returning the matter of modern-day abortion, the woman who premeditatedly aborts her unborn child is guilty of murder in the first degree and thus should receive the penalty of death, according to the biblical standard given in Exodus and elsewhere in the OT. Some ask the question, "What about mercy?" What about it? If the woman acknowledges her guilt, repents, and seeks the forgiveness of the Lord, then the court system will have to decide if she should die or get life imprisonment. A word of caution: If mercy is given in every instance, then the effective law is not death but mercy. Thus, the penal system is adulterated. Mercy should be given carefully and only to those most deserving, lest others be encouraged to evil by the breakdown of penal code. The deserving will be evidenced by true sorrow, repentance, and confession. The truly penitent will be willing to die for their sins. Those unwilling to die for their sins betray their faulty motivation for repentance: The fear of death. Judas had this same remorse (cf. Matthew 27:3 "when Judas...saw that he [Jesus] had been condemned, he felt remorse..."), but remorse is not repentance or a change of heart.
Exodus 21:24-25 - In modern society, we use the phrase, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" as a license for retribution. If you hit me, then I'm going to hit you. But in its original context, the meaning is quite different. It is intended to cap punishment for crimes. It is called equitable justice. A person cannot be punished greater than the crime committed. If you steal a piece of bread or meat, you are not put to death under the mosaic law. You are to repay what you owe plus a fine.
Exodus 21:29 - "...and its owner has been warned..." It seems to me that we often forget this part of the verse. If someone causes offense in some way and then does it again, we tend to seek retribution. However, the Bible is teaching that we must give the person fair warning on the first offense, if we wish to carry out justice should there be a second. When fair warning has been given, and death is caused as a result of negligence, then the Bible says the man and the beast must die. The man dies because he is accessory to murder.
Exodus 22:16 - The Hebrew word for "seduce" (NASB) is related to the word for "open." Derivatives of this word can mean "open minded," "simple" (or we might say "gullible"). Idiomatically, it can mean someone who is foolish with regard to his speech (lit. "open wide his lips," Brown, Driver, Briggs Lexicon). These observations give us insight into the Hebrew mind as it relates to seduction. The one seduced was seen as too "open minded" or "gullible." In our times, society parrots the phrase, "be open minded." This can obviously be taken too far. When it leads to ungodliness, it is no longer open minded but gullible.
Exodus 22:17 - Why, if the father is the one who refuses to give his daughter in marriage, does the man still have to pay the bride price? Because a woman who had lost her virginity before marriage was a disgrace (Matthew 1:19), and it was extremely unlikely that she would ever be married. The Lord did not want the family of the daughter to suffer for her mistakes and the sins of the man, so the seducer was still required to pay the bride price so the family wouldn't be cheated of that money. Let us take note of how equitable the Lord is in justice.
Exodus 22:23 - This verse employs two instances of adjectival intensification. It is a way for Hebrew writers to intensify the meaning of the verb. In English, it is rendered here as "If you afflict him at all..." (NASB). The intensifier is demonstrated as "at all." Then later in the same verse, "I will surely hear..." (NASB). The intensifier being "surely." The significance of the Hebrew grammar employing two intensifiers in a parallel fashion is as follows: The author is saying, "As surely as you afflict him, I will just as surely hear his cry against you." It is a warning of immanent and certain danger to all those who would attempt to afflict widows or orphans. The seriousness of the offense (as I have proposed based on the grammar of this verse) is echoed and expounded in the next verse (vs. 24). The Lord will become angry and kill you, so as to make your wife a widow and your children fatherless.
