Exodus 21:18-21

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 21:12-21

Here is, I. A law concerning murder. He had lately said, Thou shalt not kill; here he provides, 1. For the punishing of wilful murder (Exod. 21:12): He that smiteth a man, whether upon a sudden passion or in malice prepense, so that he die, the government must take care that the murderer be put to death, according to that ancient law (Gen. 9:6), Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. God, who by his providence gives and maintains life, thus by his law protects it; so that... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:18

And if men strive together ,.... Quarrel and fight, and wrestle with and box one another: and one smite another with a stone ; which lying near him he might take up, and in his passion throw it at his antagonist: or with his fist ; with his double fist, as we express it, with his hand closed, that it might come with the greater force, and give the greater blow: and he die not, but keepeth his bed ; does not die with the blow of the stone or fist, yet receives so much damage by it... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:19

If he rise again ,.... From his bed, or from his disease, as the last mentioned Targum, recovers again, at least so far as to be able to do what follows: and walk abroad upon his staff ; if he is able to get out of his bed, and especially out of his house, and can be seen walking about in the street or in the field, though he is obliged to make use of a staff, and lean upon it, being yet weak and sickly: then shall he that smote him be quit ; from the judgment of slaying, as the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:20

And if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod ,.... A Canaanitish servant or maid, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; and that only with a rod for the correction of them, and not with a sword or any such destroying weapon, which would seem as though he intended to kill, yet nevertheless: and he die under his hand ; immediately, while he is smiting or beating him or her, on the same day, as the above Targum interprets it: he shall be surely punished ; or condemned to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:21

Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two ,.... And does not die immediately, or the same day, but lives twenty four hours, as the Jewish writers interpret it; so Abendana F24 Not. in Miclol Yophi in loc. explains the phrase, "a day or two";"a day which is as two days, and they are twenty four hours from time to time,'that is, from the time he was smitten to the time of his continuance; and so it is elsewhere explained F25 Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Zabim, c. 2. sect. 3. ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 21:19

Shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed - This was a wise and excellent institution, and most courts of justice still regulate their decisions on such cases by this Mosaic precept. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 21:21

If the slave who had been beaten by his master died under his hand, the master was punished with death - see Genesis 9:5 , Genesis 9:6 . But if he survived the beating a day or two the master was not punished, because it might be presumed that the man died through some other cause. And all penal laws should be construed as favourably as possible to the accused. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 21:18

Verse 18 18.And if men strive together. The punishment here enacted for wounds and blows is so slight, that it might have served as a provocative to the mischievousness of the ill-disposed. Since the Law of the Twelve Tables only inflicted a fine of twenty-five asses upon a man who had beaten another unjustly, there was a certain Lucius Veratius, (35) who, in mere wanton sport, did not hesitate to box the ears of any one he met, and then to command one of his slaves to pay the amount of the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 21:20

Verse 20 20.And if a man smite his servant. Although in civil matters there was a wide distinction between slaves and free-men, still, that God may show how dear and precious men’s lives are to Him, He has no respect to persons with regard to murder; but avenges the death of a slave and a free-man in the same way, if he should die immediately of his wound. Indeed, it was a proof of gross barbarism amongst the Romans and other nations, to give to masters the power of life and death; for men are... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:2-35

The slave laws. Slave laws belong to all communities, and not to some only, slavery being really a universal and not a partial institution. In the most civilised communities of modern Europe, there are two large classes of slaves—lunatics and criminals. The law openly condemns these last to penal servitude, which may be for life; and this "servitude," as Lord Chief Justice Coleridge has repeatedly pointed out, is simply a form of slavery. Ancient communities differed from modern— 1 .... read more

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