Exode 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."

Apri commento del capitolo

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.

Passi chiave

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.

Domande per questo capitolo

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.

Aggiungi alle note

1 Si un homme dérobe un bœuf ou un agneau, et qu’il l’égorge ou le vende, il restituera cinq bœufs pour le bœuf et quatre agneaux pour l’agneau. 2 Si le voleur est surpris dérobant avec effraction, et qu’il soit frappé et meure, on ne sera point coupable de meurtre envers lui; 3 mais si le soleil est levé, on sera coupable de meurtre envers lui. Il fera restitution; s’il n’a rien, il sera vendu pour son vol; 4 si ce qu’il a dérobé, bœuf, âne, ou agneau, se trouve encore vivant entre ses mains, il fera une restitution au double. 5 Si un homme fait du dégât dans un champ ou dans une vigne, et qu’il laisse son bétail paître dans le champ d’autrui, il donnera en dédommagement le meilleur produit de son champ et de sa vigne. 6 Si un feu éclate et rencontre des épines, et que du blé en gerbes ou sur pied, ou bien le champ, soit consumé, celui qui a causé l’incendie sera tenu à un dédommagement. 7 Si un homme donne à un autre de l’argent ou des objets à garder, et qu’on les vole dans la maison de ce dernier, le voleur fera une restitution au double, dans le cas où il serait trouvé. 8 Si le voleur ne se trouve pas, le maître de la maison se présentera devant Dieu, pour déclarer qu’il n’a pas mis la main sur le bien de son prochain. 9 Dans toute affaire frauduleuse concernant un bœuf, un âne, un agneau, un vêtement, ou un objet perdu, au sujet duquel on dira: C’est cela! — la cause des deux parties ira jusqu’à Dieu; celui que Dieu condamnera fera à son prochain une restitution au double. 10 Si un homme donne à un autre un âne, un bœuf, un agneau, ou un animal quelconque à garder, et que l’animal meure, se casse un membre, ou soit enlevé, sans que personne l’ait vu, 11 le serment au nom de l’Éternel interviendra entre les deux parties, et celui qui a gardé l’animal déclarera qu’il n’a pas mis la main sur le bien de son prochain; le maître de l’animal acceptera ce serment, et l’autre ne sera point tenu à une restitution. 12 Mais si l’animal a été dérobé chez lui, il sera tenu vis-à-vis de son maître à une restitution. 13 Si l’animal a été déchiré, il le produira en témoignage, et il ne sera point tenu à une restitution pour ce qui a été déchiré. 14 Si un homme emprunte à un autre un animal, et que l’animal se casse un membre ou qu’il meure, en l’absence de son maître, il y aura lieu à restitution. 15 Si le maître est présent, il n’y aura pas lieu à restitution. Si l’animal a été loué, le prix du louage suffira. 16 Si un homme séduit une vierge qui n’est point fiancée, et qu’il couche avec elle, il paiera sa dot et la prendra pour femme. 17 Si le père refuse de la lui accorder, il paiera en argent la valeur de la dot des vierges. 18 Tu ne laisseras point vivre la magicienne. 19 Quiconque couche avec une bête sera puni de mort. 20 Celui qui offre des sacrifices à d’autres dieux qu’à l’Éternel seul sera voué à l’extermination. 21 Tu ne maltraiteras point l’étranger, et tu ne l’opprimeras point; car vous avez été étrangers dans le pays d’Égypte. 22 Tu n’affligeras point la veuve, ni l’orphelin. 23 Si tu les affliges, et qu’ils viennent à moi, j’entendrai leurs cris; 24 ma colère s’enflammera, et je vous détruirai par l’épée; vos femmes deviendront veuves, et vos enfants orphelins. 25 Si tu prêtes de l’argent à mon peuple, au pauvre qui est avec toi, tu ne seras point à son égard comme un créancier, tu n’exigeras de lui point d’intérêt. 26 Si tu prends en gage le vêtement de ton prochain, tu le lui rendras avant le coucher du soleil; 27 car c’est sa seule couverture, c’est le vêtement dont il s’enveloppe le corps: dans quoi coucherait-il? S’il crie à moi, je l’entendrai, car je suis miséricordieux. 28 Tu ne maudiras point Dieu, et tu ne maudiras point le prince de ton peuple. 29 Tu ne différeras point de m’offrir les prémices de ta moisson et de ta vendange. Tu me donneras le premier-né de tes fils. 30 Tu me donneras aussi le premier-né de ta vache et de ta brebis; il restera sept jours avec sa mère; le huitième jour, tu me le donneras. 31 Vous serez pour moi des hommes saints. Vous ne mangerez point de chair déchirée dans les champs: vous la jetterez aux chiens.

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