Exodus 22

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Exodus 22 is a chapter of case law from the covenant at Sinai. It begins with property: a thief repays fivefold for an ox and fourfold for a sheep; killing a night intruder is not guilt, killing one by daylight is; those whose animals or fires damage a neighbor's field make good the loss; goods left for safekeeping, borrowed, or rented are covered case by case. A man who seduces an unbetrothed girl must pay the bride price. Then come three capital crimes, sorcery, bestiality, and sacrifice to other gods, and then the laws that give the chapter its heart: do not oppress the foreigner, widow, or orphan, do not charge the poor interest, and return a poor man's cloak by sunset, "for I am compassionate."

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Exodus 22 reads like a legal code because it is one, the oldest in the Bible, given to a people who had been slaves a few months earlier and now had to learn to live together. The cases come one after another, each beginning with "if." If a man steals an ox. If a thief is caught breaking in at night. If a fire spreads to a neighbor's grain. If you leave money with a friend and it is stolen from his house. If you borrow a donkey and it dies. The rulings are practical and proportionate: pay back double, or four or five times over, take an oath before the LORD when there are no witnesses, and know that killing an intruder in the dark is self-defense while killing him after sunrise is not. Three capital crimes follow, sorcery, bestiality, and sacrifice to other gods, marking the edges of the covenant. Then the tone changes, and the lawgiver starts to sound like a father. Do not exploit the foreigner; you were foreigners in Egypt. Do not mistreat the widow or the orphan; if they cry to me, I will hear them, and my anger will burn. Do not charge the poor interest. If you take a poor man's cloak as security, give it back before dark, because it is the only blanket he has, and if he cries to me I will hear, for I am compassionate. Ancient law codes from Babylon have rules about oxen and thieves. None of them has God saying that.

Passages clés

Exodus 22:1-4 Exodus 22:21-24 Exodus 22:25-27 Exodus 20:22-26 Leviticus 25:35-38 Luke 19:8

Historical and literary context

The chapter is part of the Covenant Code, Exodus 20:22 to 23:33, the oldest collection of Israelite law, given after the Ten Commandments at Sinai. Its "if a man… then" form matches the case law of the ancient Near East, and several of its rules have parallels in the Code of Hammurabi and other Mesopotamian collections, which shows Israel lived in a shared legal world. What sets it apart is its repeated appeal to Israel's own memory, "you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt," and its direct concern for people without protectors. Lending at interest was normal in the ancient world; forbidding it to the poor was not. Zacchaeus's promise to repay fourfold in Luke 19 follows verse 1, and Paul cites verse 28 in Acts 23.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 4 cover theft of livestock and the killing of a burglar. Verses 5 and 6 cover damage by grazing animals and by fire. Verses 7 to 15 cover property entrusted to a neighbor, disputed ownership, animals in another's care, and borrowed or hired animals. Verses 16 and 17 cover the seduction of an unbetrothed virgin. Verses 18 to 20 list three capital offenses. Verses 21 to 27 protect the foreign resident, the widow, the orphan, and the poor borrower, with God's own promise to hear their cry. Verses 28 to 31 close with reverence for God and rulers, the offering of firstfruits and firstborn, and the call to be a holy people.

Why this chapter matters

Exodus 22 is where the Bible's concern for the poor first becomes law. The prohibition on interest to the poor shaped Jewish and Christian teaching on usury for three thousand years, the cloak returned by sunset is the classic image of mercy limiting a creditor's rights, and "you were foreigners in Egypt" is the biblical foundation of the ethic of hospitality to immigrants. The chapter's principle of restitution, making the victim whole and then some, rather than imprisonment, has influenced modern ideas of restorative justice. The distinction between killing a night intruder and a daytime one is an early statement of proportionality in self-defense.

Interpretive tension to watch

Verse 18, "You must not allow a sorceress to live," was used to justify witch trials in Europe and America, a history that hangs over the chapter. Verses 18 to 20, and the selling of a penniless thief into servitude in verse 3, raise the broader question of how Christians read Israel's civil law: as binding, as expired with the old covenant, or as a window onto God's priorities whose principles still apply. The seduction law of verses 16 and 17 protects the girl's economic future in its own setting, but reads harshly today. The chapter also mixes property rules, sexual ethics, worship, and welfare without headings, and readers must decide how the parts illuminate each other.

Questions pour ce chapitre

The thief repays four or five times what he took. How does restitution differ from punishment, and what does each do for the victim?
God says of the widow and the orphan, "I will surely hear their cry." What does it mean that God takes the side of people without protectors?
The cloak must be returned at sunset even though it was lawfully taken. When should mercy limit a legal right?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Ajouter aux notes

1 「人若偷牛或羊，无论是宰了，是卖了，他就要以五牛赔一牛，四羊赔一羊。 2 人若遇见贼挖窟窿，把贼打了，以至于死，就不能为他有流血的罪。 3 若太阳已经出来，就为他有流血的罪。贼若被拿，总要赔还。若他一无所有，就要被卖，顶他所偷的物。 4 若他所偷的，或牛，或驴，或羊，仍在他手下存活，他就要加倍赔还。 5 「人若在田间或在葡萄园里放牲畜，任凭牲畜上别人的田里去吃，就必拿自己田间上好的和葡萄园上好的赔还。 6 「若点火焚烧荆棘，以致将别人堆积的禾捆，站着的禾稼，或是田园，都烧尽了，那点火的必要赔还。 7 「人若将银钱或家具交付邻舍看守，这物从那人的家被偷去，若把贼找到了，贼要加倍赔还； 8 若找不到贼，那家主必就近审判官，要[看看]他拿了原主的物件没有。 9 「两个人的案件，无论是为什么过犯，或是为牛，为驴，为羊，为衣裳，或是为什么失掉之物，有一人说：『这是我的』，两造就要将案件禀告审判官，审判官定谁有罪，谁就要加倍赔还。 10 「人若将驴，或牛，或羊，或别的牲畜，交付邻舍看守，牲畜或死，或受伤，或被赶去，无人看见， 11 那看守的人要凭着耶和华起誓，手里未曾拿邻舍的物，本主就要罢休，看守的人不必赔还。 12 牲畜若从看守的那里被偷去，他就要赔还本主； 13 若被[野兽]撕碎，看守的要带来当作证据，所撕的不必赔还。 14 「人若向邻舍借什么，所借的或受伤，或死，本主没有同在一处，借的人总要赔还； 15 若本主同在一处，他就不必赔还；若是雇的，也不必赔还，本是为雇价来的。」 16 「人若引诱没有受聘的处女，与她行淫，他总要交出聘礼，娶她为妻。 17 若女子的父亲决不肯将女子给他，他就要按处女的聘礼，交出钱来。 18 「行邪术的女人，不可容她存活。 19 「凡与兽淫合的，总要把他治死。 20 「祭祀别神，不单单祭祀耶和华的，那人必要灭绝。 21 「不可亏负寄居的，也不可欺压他，因为你们在埃及地也作过寄居的。 22 不可苦待寡妇和孤儿； 23 若是苦待他们一点，他们向我一哀求，我总要听他们的哀声， 24 并要发烈怒，用刀杀你们，使你们的妻子为寡妇，儿女为孤儿。 25 「我民中有贫穷人与你同住，你若借钱给他，不可如放债的向他取利。 26 你即或拿邻舍的衣服作当头，必在日落以先归还他； 27 因他只有这一件当盖头，是他盖身的衣服，[若是没有]，他拿什么睡觉呢？他哀求我，我就应允，因为我是有恩惠的。 28 「不可毁谤　神；也不可毁谤你百姓的官长。 29 「你要从你庄稼中的[谷]和[酒]榨中滴出来的酒拿来献上，不可迟延。「你要将头生的儿子归给我。 30 你牛羊[头生的]，也要这样；七天当跟着母，第八天要归给我。 31 「你们要在我面前为圣洁的人。因此，田间被野兽撕裂牲畜的肉，你们不可吃，要丢给狗吃。」

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