Exodus 22:6 NIV

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 22:1-17

Laws about repayment (22:1-17)A convicted thief had to return stolen goods and pay a fine in the form of an additional compensation to the owner. The more serious the crime, the heavier the fine. If the thief could not make the payment, he himself became the payment by becoming the slave of the one whose goods he had stolen. It was not lawful to kill a thief caught in the act, unless at night, when self-defence could make such action excusable. Normally the thief was to be captured and brought... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 22:5-6

"If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. If fire break out and catch in thorns, so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, of the field are consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitutions."The principle of a citizen's responsibility for any action of his that might cause loss or injury to another... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 22:6

6. If fire break out, and catch in thorns—This refers to the common practice in the East of setting fire to the dry grass before the fall of the autumnal rains, which prevents the ravages of vermin, and is considered a good preparation of the ground for the next crop. The very parched state of the herbage and the long droughts of summer, make the kindling of a fire an operation often dangerous, and always requiring caution from its liability to spread rapidly. stacks—or as it is rendered... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 22:5-6

The fourth case involves damage due to grazing or burning. In the first instance (Exodus 22:5) the Torah required restitution from "the best" of the offender whereas the Code of Hammurabi required only restitution. [Note: Code of Hammurabi, section 57.] These two examples further illustrate God’s respect for the rights of others. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 22:1-31

The Book of the Covenant (continued)1. Four sheep] The larger compensation required in the case of the ox is probably due to the fact that it is an animal used for labour, and of proportionately higher value, therefore, than a sheep: cp. 2 Samuel 12:6. 2. Breaking up] RV ’breaking in.’ 3. If the sun be risen upon him] i.e. if the housebreaking be committed in daylight. The nocturnal burglar is more dangerous and cannot be so easily detected. In a case of daylight robbery it is less necessary to... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 22:6

(6) If fire break out, and catch in thorns.—In the East, as elsewhere—e.g., Italy (Virg. Georg., i. 84) and England—it is customary at certain seasons to burn the weeds and other refuse of a farm, which, is collected for the purpose into heaps, and then set on fire. Such fires may spread, especially in the dry East, if care be not taken, and cause extensive damage to the crops, or even the corn-heaps of a neighbour. The loss in such cases was to fall on the man who lit the fire. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Exodus 22:1-15

6PART III.--RIGHTS OF PROPERTY.Exodus 21:33 - Exodus 22:15.The vital and quickening principle in this section is the stress it lays upon man’s responsibility for negligence, and the indirect consequences of his deed. All sin is selfish, and all selfishness ignores the right of others. Am I my brother’s keeper? Let him guard his own property or pay the forfeit. But this sentiment would quickly prove a disintegrating force in the community, able to overthrow a state. It is the ignoble negative of... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Exodus 22:1-31

6THE LESSER LAW.Exodus 20:18 - Exodus 23:33.With the close of the Decalogue and its universal obligations, we approach a brief code of laws, purely Hebrew, but of the deepest moral interest, confessed by hostile criticism to bear every mark of a remote antiquity, and distinctly severed from what precedes and follows by a marked difference in the circumstances.This is evidently the book of the Covenant to which the nation gave its formal assent (Exodus 24:7), and is therefore the germ and the... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Exodus 22:1-31

CHAPTER 22 Further judgments 1. Concerning theft (Exodus 22:1-5 ) 2. Concerning neglect in case of fire (Exodus 22:6 ) 3. Concerning dishonesty (Exodus 22:7-15 ) 4. Concerning immoralities and forbidden things (Exodus 22:16-20 ) 5. Concerning oppression (Exodus 22:21-28 ) 6. Concerning offerings to God (Exodus 22:29-31 ) These laws need no further comment; they are good and just. The wisdom of them is the wisdom from above. We call attention to Exodus 22:18 : “Thou shalt not suffer... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 22:1-31

LAWS AS REGARDS PROPERTY (vs.1-15) While one rightly was control over his own property, yet he is also responsible as to how he uses it. If one were to dig a pit, even on his own property, and leave it uncovered, he would he responsible for an animal falling into it. If the animal died, the owner of the pit must pay the value of the animal, and could therefore keep the dead beast (v.34). In the case of one man's ox killing one belonging to another person, then half the value of the live ox... read more