_A.M. 2513. B.C. 1491._ The laws recorded in this chapter relate to the fifth and sixth commandments; and though not accommodated to our constitution, especially in point of servitude, yet are of great use for the explanation of the moral law, and the rules of natural justice. (1,) Here are several... [ Continue Reading ]
The first verse is the general title of the laws contained in this and the two following Chapter s. Their government being purely a theocracy, that which in other states is to be settled by human prudence, was directed among them by a divine appointment. These laws are called _judgments;_ because th... [ Continue Reading ]
_If thou buy a Hebrew servant_ Either sold by himself or his parents through poverty, or by the judges for his crimes, yet even such a one was to continue in slavery but _seven years_ at the most. See the texts referred to in the margin.... [ Continue Reading ]
_If he came in by himself_ That is, single, he shall so depart: if married, his wife was to depart with him.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Her children shall be her master's_ Having become his in consequence of the right which he had to the parents. _He shall go out by himself_ But was not this separation of man and wife inconsistent with the first institution of marriage, by which that bond is made indissoluble? Answer, 1st, That bon... [ Continue Reading ]
_His master shall bring him to the judges_ In the original, _gods_, magistrates being often so called as the visible representatives of God upon earth. In the Septuagint it is προς το κριτηριον θεου, to the tribunal of God, meaning probably the sanctuary. The sense seems evidently to be, that the ma... [ Continue Reading ]
_If a man sell his daughter_ A Hebrew, as appears by the opposition of _one of a strange nation, Exodus 21:8_. _To be a maid-servant_ Which was allowed in cases of extreme necessity; _she shall not go out as the men-servants do_ Gaining her liberty after a servitude of six years, but upon better ter... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who hath betrothed her to himself_ For a concubine, or secondary wife. Not that masters always took maid-servants on those terms. _Then shall he let her be redeemed_ Either by herself or her friends, or any other person that will redeem her. _To sell her to a strange nation he shall have no power_... [ Continue Reading ]
_After the manner of daughters_ He shall give her a convenient portion, as he doth to his own daughters. _Duty of marriage_ Termed _due benevolence, 1 Corinthians 7:3_: or, _her dwelling_, as the word is often used. Thus the three great conveniences of life are included, _food, raiment_, and _habita... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that smiteth a man_ Knowingly and wilfully, as appears from the next verse; _shall be surely put to death_ Neither the friends of the person slain nor the magistrate shall give him a pardon, or accept a ransom for him, Numbers 35:31. _If God deliver him into his hand_ As the Scriptures teach us... [ Continue Reading ]
_If a man come presumptuously_ Do this boldly, purposely, and maliciously; for so the word signifies, thou shalt take him from mine altar. God so abhors murder that he will rather venture the pollution of his own altar than the escape of the murderer.... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that smiteth his father_, &c. So sacred and inviolable is that reverence which children owe to their parents, that, by the law of God, it was death not only to strike them, but even to curse or outrageously revile them, Exodus 21:17, and Matthew 15:4. The reason of this law is, that such crimes... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that stealeth a man_ Whether he keep him in his own hands for his own use, or sell him, still it is a theft of a heinous kind, and the _man-stealer_ deserves death. It appears from 1 Timothy 1:9, that this law was not meant to be of a merely temporary nature, but of standing force.... [ Continue Reading ]
_With a stone_ Or any other instrument fit for such a mischievous purpose. _The loss of his time_ Of the profit which he commonly made of his time in the way of his calling. _Shall cause him to be healed_ Shall pay the charges of his cure.... [ Continue Reading ]
_With a rod_ The usual instrument of correction, whereby is implied, that if he killed the person with a sword or any such weapon he was to be put to death; _and he die under his hand_ While the master is correcting him; _he shall be punished_ As the magistrate or judge shall think fit, according to... [ Continue Reading ]
_He is his money_ His possession, bought with his money; and, therefore, 1st, He had a power to chastise him according to his demerit, which might be very great. 2d, He is punished by his own loss. And, 3d, May be presumed not to have done this purposely and maliciously.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And yet no mischief follow_ That is, if the woman die not, as appears from the next verse, or the child was not formed and alive in the womb; _he shall be surely punished_ The woman's husband shall impose the fine, and if it be unreasonable, the judges shall have a power to moderate it. _If any mis... [ Continue Reading ]
_Eye for eye_, &c. This is termed _the law of retaliation;_ and from hence heathen lawgivers took it, and put it among their other laws. It seems probable, that it was not necessary always to take it strictly and literally, but that it might in some cases be satisfied with pecuniary mulcts, or with... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall let him go free_ A very fit recompense to a servant for such a loss, and certainly meant to be extended to every other material personal injury. _If an ox_ Or any other creature.... [ Continue Reading ]
_If there be laid on him a sum of money_ By the avenger of blood, the next akin to the party slain, who is willing to exchange the punishment, or by the judge.... [ Continue Reading ]