- Book: [[Exodus]] - Previous chapter: [[Exodus 20]] - Next chapter: [[Exodus 22]] > [!summary] Summary > - The [[Book of the Covenant]] begins with laws governing [[Hebrew]] servants and female servants > - Personal injury laws establish proportional justice: life for life, eye for eye — calibrated to the severity of harm > - Property liability laws address animals and property damage > [!info] Why is this here? > - The covenant law is not abstract — it immediately addresses the most common areas of conflict in community life > - The servant laws reform ancient Near Eastern practice by protecting [[Hebrew]] slaves and giving female servants specific rights > - "Eye for eye" establishes proportionality — a cap on vengeance, not a mandate for literal retaliation # Overview ## v. 1-11: Servant laws - [[Hebrew]] male servants serve six years and go free in the seventh, with their wife if she came with them - A servant who loves his master may choose permanent service — marked by an awl through the ear at the doorpost - Female servants (daughters sold into service): protected from arbitrary dismissal, entitled to food, clothing, and marital rights if married; freed if denied these ## v. 12-17: Capital offenses - Intentional murder: death - Unintentional killing: [[cities of refuge]] implied ("a place I will designate") - Attacking or cursing parents: death - Kidnapping: death ## v. 18-27: Personal injuries and restitution - Non-fatal assault: guilty party pays for lost time and medical care - Slave killed by a rod: the master is punished - Slave whose eye or tooth is destroyed is freed as compensation - "Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth" — proportional response to harm > [!note] Eye for eye as limitation > In a culture where vengeance could escalate far beyond the original harm (cf. [[Lamech]], [[Genesis 4]]:23-24), "eye for eye" is a ceiling on retaliation. The punishment must fit — not exceed — the crime. ## v. 28-36: Animal and property liability - A goring bull: if the owner knew the animal's habit and failed to confine it, the owner bears responsibility - Uncovered pits: the opener pays for animals that fall in - Bulls injuring other bulls: equal sharing of the loss unless negligence is proven