(1) Overview
a. The law of killing someone v.12-14
intentional-death penalty v.12,14
unintentional-fleeing to a place appointed by God
b. Other crimes that are equivalent to killing someone and will receive the death penalty v.15-17
Striking one's parents v.15
kidnapping v.16
Treating one's parents disgracefully v.17
c. The law of serious injury someone v.18-27
General
-compensate for injury time and healing cost v.18-19
Masters injured their slaves
-if causing immediate death-death penalty as above v.20
-if no immediate death-master suffered monetary loss v.21
d.The law of serious injury and result of loss of eye/teeth
To pregnant woman and her child
-if only causing the premature birth and no other injury-paying for the injury v.22
-if causing death/serious injury (for both the mother and child)-eye for eye v.23-24
To servants-let the servant go free v.26-27
(2) 21:15 “Whoever strikes his father or his mother must surely be put to death.
21:17 “Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully must surely be put to death. (NET) This is the same construction that was used in v. 12, but here there is no mention of the parents’ death. This attack, then, does not lead to their death—if he killed one of them then v. 12 would be the law. S. R. Driver says that the severity of the penalty was in accord with the high view of parents
[treats...disgracefully] (NET)=“treat lightly, curse, revile, declare contemptible, treat shamefully.”
Reflection: I am sure I will be put to death if I am under this Law. How I talked about my parents was not treating them in honor and violating the 10 commandments. Note that God did not treat seriously injuring a person and murdering the same. There are separate laws to deal with just injuring a person. God still chose to put dishonoring/striking a parents the equivalent sin as killing. This is serious.
(3) No matter if you are a servant or an unborn child, anyone who kills or injures you received the same penalty as if they did it to anyone else.
21:20 “If a man strikes his male servant or his female servant with a staff so that he or she dies as a result of the blow, he will surely be punished.
This master will have no escape. He will surely be punished. God cares about the slaves as seen in the beginning of chapter 21. Among all the civil law, the laws of the slaves came first v.1-11.
This master will have no escape. He will surely be punished. God cares about the slaves as seen in the beginning of chapter 21. Among all the civil law, the laws of the slaves came first v.1-11.
God also cares about the unborn child v.22-25. Although the passage is not clear whether the injury/death described in v.23-25 refers to the mother or the child. I think it meant both. If only the woman's injury/death is counted then there is no need to repeat the law because she is covered under the general injury/death law above.
Reflection: Our life is sacred and it does not matter what is one's social status. And it does not matter before or after you are born. Do we see the value of a people from a worldly angle? We see people who can get a good job and good pay with value? Or we see people who cannot work, e.g. elderly, mental retarded, etc have no value?
Audrey
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