EXOD611 See [[EXOD592]] Exodus 21:24 eye BLOCH 66-67

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EXOD612 See [[LEV1128]] Leviticus 26:34 rest DORFF-RUTTENBERGSOC 81-3

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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)

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EXOD614 See [[EXOD549]] Exodus 21:14 neighbor SPERO 126-30

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EXOD615 The owner is responsible to pay for damage caused by his animal. If your animal inflicts damage, you are responsible to pay for the damage. This law applies to all animals. The Torah used an ox as an example since that was the most common case. (Choshen Mishpat 389:1). If you own a pet and it damages someone's property, you are obligated to pay even when the person who suffered the damage is not aware of his loss. Your attitude should not be, "If he makes a claim against me, then I'll pay." You should take the initiative to reimburse him for his loss. (See Imre Binah, Parshas Yisro) the laws of how much a person has to pay for damage caused by his animals are dealt with in Choshen Mishpot 389-408).

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EXOD616 A thief is obligated to pay back four times the value of a calf stolen but five times the value of a large animal such as an ox. When the Talmud Bava Kamma 79b asks why the different amounts, Rabbi Yochanan says that Judaism even cares about the dignity of the thief. Since he had to carry the calf on his shoulders (an undignified act) he pays only four times the value, but as the ox could walk under its own power, the thief pays five times the amount.

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EXOD617 It was taught: R. Akiva said: Why does Scripture ordain "four and five" payment for one who slaughtered or sold? Because [by doing this] he has rooted himself in the sin. Rava says: Because he has repeated the sin. (Bava Kamma 67b, 68a)

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EXOD618 It was taught: R. Yochanan b. Zakkai said: Come and see how great is (concern for) human dignity.[For] an ox, which walks on its feet [and did not need to be carried by the thief, he pays] five-fold; [for] a lamb, which he must carry on his back [he pays(only)] four-fold [having already made a kind of partial payment in the sacrifice of his dignity] (Bava Kamma 79b)

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EXOD619 From the following ordinance, we can derive a moral lesson. The Bible evinces compassion, even for a thief. The thief suffers less embarrassment when he steals an ox, as compared to a sheep. He must carry away the sheep in his arms, and the owner's neighbors may well suspect the stranger's motives. But an ox may be led by its halter, and observers naturally suppose it belongs to the man leading it. Therefore, the penalty is less for a sheep because the theft is more obvious, and the thief is more easily spotted. The Bible even feels compassion for the lawbreaker who must suffer the penalty for his transgression.

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EXOD621 In cases where the thief was trapped and could not escape, it is assumed that (in order to escape) he was ready to kill the person that he was robbing. Therefore, if the person being robbed kills the thief he is not guilty of murder [for he acted in self-defense].

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