2. MoseKapitel 21

Dieses Kapitel ist noch nicht auf Deutsch verfügbar — Originaltext wird angezeigt.

+ Zweittext Urtext ← Zurück Weiter →Beitragen

These are the ordinances you are to set before them:

When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go free without payment.

If he came alone, he shall go out alone; if he was married, his wife shall go out with him.

If his master gave him a wife and she bore him sons or daughters, the wife and her children belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.

But if the slave declares, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go free,"

then his master shall bring him before God.[^1] [^1]: Or 'before the judges'; the Hebrew word can refer to God or to those who act as judges on his behalf.

When a man sells his daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as male slaves do.

If she does not please the master who designated her for himself, he shall let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has broken faith with her.

If he designates her for his son, he shall treat her according to the rights of daughters.

If he takes another wife, he must not reduce the food, clothing, or marital rights of the first.

And if he does not provide these three things for her, she shall go free without payment.

Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.

But if he did not lie in wait, and God let it happen by his hand, then I will appoint a place where he may flee.

But if a man schemes against his neighbor to kill him by treachery, you shall take him even from my altar to be put to death.

Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

Whoever kidnaps a man—whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession—shall surely be put to death.

Whoever curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.

If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and the man does not die but is confined to bed,

then if he gets up and walks outside with his staff, the one who struck him is not to be punished. He must only pay for his lost time and see that he is fully healed.

If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies at his hand, he shall surely be punished.

But if the slave survives a day or two, the owner is not to be punished, for the slave is his property.

If men are fighting and they strike a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, but there is no serious injury, the offender shall be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the judges allow.

But if there is serious injury, you shall give life for life,

eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

If a man strikes the eye of his male or female slave and destroys it, he shall set the slave free in compensation for the eye.

And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female slave, he shall set the slave free in compensation for the tooth.

If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten, but the owner of the ox is not liable.

But if the ox has been in the habit of goring and its owner has been warned yet did not keep it penned up, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death.

If a ransom is imposed on him, he shall pay whatever is imposed to redeem his life.

If the ox gores a son or a daughter, the same rule applies.

If the ox gores a male or female slave, the owner shall pay thirty shekels of silver to the slave's master, and the ox shall be stoned.

If a man opens a pit, or digs one and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

the owner of the pit shall make restitution; he shall pay the animal's owner in silver, and the dead animal shall be his.

If one man's ox injures another's so that it dies, they shall sell the live ox and divide the money, and they shall also divide the dead animal.

But if it was known that the ox had been in the habit of goring and its owner did not keep it penned up, he must make restitution, ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his.

If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he shall repay five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

Nachschlagen

Zusammenfassung2

Kapitel 21

Main Theme: The chapter provides detailed laws (מִשְׁפָּטִים) to regulate social relationships, justice, and compensation in Israel's community.

Content: The chapter opens with rules for Hebrew slaves, including release after six years and rights for female slaves. This is followed by laws concerning punishment for violence and killing, distinguishing between intentional and unintentional killing. The lex talionis principle ("eye for eye") is established as the basis for proportional justice. The chapter concludes with compensation rules for damage caused by animals and negligence.

Key Terms/Images:

Hebrew slave (עֶבֶד עִבְרִי): An Israelite who serves another but has a legally guaranteed right to freedom after six years.
Lex talionis ("eye for eye"): The principle of proportional retribution that ensures fair punishment corresponding to the harm done.
City of refuge (מָקוֹם): A place appointed by God for someone who kills unintentionally, providing protection from blood vengeance.
Ransom (כֹּפֶר): Financial compensation that may replace the death penalty in certain cases.

Historischer Kontext

Historical and Cultural Context for Exodus 21

Events and Customs

Exodus 21 opens with the words וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים ("and these are the ordinances"), which directly link these laws to the preceding Ten Commandments. The chapter contains what is called mishpatim (מִשְׁפָּטִים) – "ordinances" or "judgments" – forming the first part of the Book of the Covenant. These laws regulate legal matters in daily life and represent one of the oldest law codes in the Bible. The chapter covers three main areas: slave legislation (vv. 2–11), laws concerning violence, murder, and bodily injury (vv. 12–27), and liability for damage caused by livestock – especially the ox (שׁוֹר) – or negligence (vv. 28–37).

The slavery described here was primarily debt slavery – a way to handle financial ruin in a time without bankruptcy laws or social safety nets. A person unable to pay debts could sell their labor for a limited period. The six-year service period (שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים) with release in the seventh year (וּבַשְּׁבִעִת, v. 2) reflects the Sabbath principle that permeates Israelite law. The ritual of piercing the ear at the door or doorpost (v. 6) marked voluntary lifelong service and was a public, legally binding act performed "before God" – likely at a sanctuary or in the presence of judges.

Female slaves (אָמָה) have special provisions in vv. 7–11. If a woman is sold as a female slave, she shall not be released in the same way as male slaves. If she is designated (יְעָדָהּ) for her master himself, or if he gives her to his son, she retains rights to food, clothing, and marital obligations (שְׁאֵרָהּ כְּסוּתָהּ וְעֹנָתָהּ, v. 10). These provisions gave women legal protection in a vulnerable situation.

The laws concerning murder (vv. 12–14) make an important distinction between intentional murder with premeditation (בְעָרְמָה, "with cunning", v. 14) and unintentional killing. For the latter, a place of refuge (מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יָנוּס שָׁמָּה, v. 13) is established where the guilty party may seek protection.

Key Terms

The expression עֶבֶד עִבְרִי (eved ivri, "Hebrew slave/servant", v. 2) has been the subject of extensive discussion. While traditionally understood as an Israelite, some scholars have linked it to habiru/apiru – a social class of marginalized people known from texts throughout the ancient Near East. Regardless of origin, the law protects this group with a time limit on service.

The term לַֽחָפְשִׁי (lachofshi, "as free", v. 2) describes the status of a released person. This is a legal technical term indicating full restoration of civil rights. The expression אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִים (v. 6, "to God/gods") can mean either "to the sanctuary" or "to the judges", since Hebrew elohim can refer to both God and human authorities acting on His behalf.

The famous principle עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן (ayin tachat ayin, "eye for eye", v. 24) is called lex talionis – the law of retaliation. In practice, this was probably never interpreted literally in Israelite law but functioned as a principle of proportional compensation. The context of this chapter, surrounded by provisions for monetary restitution in silver, supports that it concerns fair economic compensation rather than physical retribution.

Chapter-Specific Findings

The Laws of Hammurabi from Babylon (ca. 1792–1750 BC) contain striking parallels to the laws in Exodus 21. For example, Hammurabi §196–197 literally sets "eye for eye", while §250–252 deals with liability for goring oxen in almost identical fashion to Exodus 21:28–32. The Babylonian law sets the compensation for a slave killed by an ox at 20 shekels of silver, while the biblical law sets it at 30 shekels (שְׁלֹשִׁים שְׁקָלִים, v. 32) – a remarkable similarity suggesting a common legal tradition in the ancient Near East.

At the same time, there are significant differences: The Laws of Hammurabi operate with a class-based system where punishment varies according to the victim's social status (free man, mushkenum, or slave). The biblical laws are more egalitarian – for example, Exodus 21:20–21 and 26–27 give slaves legal protection against abuse without parallel in other ancient Near Eastern legislation. That a slave is automatically freed if the master injures their eye or knocks out a tooth represents a radical limitation of the owner's power over their slave.

Personen

Keine bekannten Personen in diesem Kapitel.

Schlüsselwörter8

Servant — A person who works for another, often in a subordinate position and without freedom to leave the service.
Hebrews — Members of the ancient Israelite people, descendants of the patriarch Jacob and his son Joseph.
Buy — To acquire ownership of something by paying a price or compensation.
Release — To set someone free from service, slavery, or captivity; to let go.
Eye for eye — An Old Testament principle of just retribution, where the punishment should match the harm inflicted on the victim.
Life — Here it refers to human life and the principle that human life is sacred and valuable.
Atonement — To make amends for a sin, fault, or wrong by providing some form of compensation or through acts of repentance.
Donkey — A domestic animal closely related to the horse, used as a beast of burden and for transportation.