EXOD613 … Israel's laws were unique in the ancient Near East; in biblical law we find no vicarious punishment, no capital punishment for crimes against property, while slaves and bond-servants receive relatively generous treatment. [Vicarious punishment--when the penalty for a wrong is suffered by someone other than the perpetrator--is found in the Laws of Hammurabi 230 and 210, and Middle Assyrian Law A55, found in Martha T. Roth, ed., Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995). [This verse and Deut. 24:16 prohibit this practice]. Capital punishment for theft is absent from the Bible except for the misappropriation of goods devoted to the sanctuary, called herem (Deut 7:25-26; Josh 7). The Laws of Hammurabi 6–11, 21-22, 25, and Middle Assyrian Law A3 would inflict capital punishment for a variety of property crimes. Regarding slaves, according to Jeffrey Tigay, Deut 23:16-17 "treats the whole land of Israel as a sanctuary offering permanent asylum" for slaves who flee from foreign countries (The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy [Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1996], p. 215). Ancient Near Eastern law collections decreed harsh penalties for harboring fugitive slaves; the Laws of Hammurabi 15-20 mandate capital punishment for giving refuge to runaway slaves. Further, Israelite law, in Exod 21:20-21, 26-27, restricts a slaveowner's abuse of his own property, while ancient Near Eastern law makes no such attempt. (By Elaine Adler Goodfriend, “Ethical Theory and Practice in the Hebrew Bible)