June 19, 2018 - Day 72 - Exodus 22
I am writing from my hotel room in Salt Lake City, UT.
Exodus 22:
MORE RULES!
Steal a sheep or ox (and kill it or sell it)? Pay back 5x for the cattle and 4x for the sheep.
Someone breaks in your house and you kill them? Not guilty of bloodshed if it happens at night, guilty if it happens after sunrise.
Steal? Make restitution, but if you're poor, you sell yourself.
If the animal is found alive, then you pay back 2x.
This word "restitution" appears a few times and is translated from the world "shalam" and means to make peace. It is also translated as "pay" or "restore" or "repay," among a few others. This word appears often and is translated quite a few different ways.
Don't let your animals graze in someone else's field or you must make restitution from your field. I guess that means you give up whatever crops they eat?
If you start a fire and it burns some bushes or whatever, just make restitution.
Hold on to someone else's silver or gold for safekeeping and then someone steals it? The thief must pay back double.
If you're watching someone else's animals and they get devoured by a wild animal, you have to bring back some pieces to prove it happened so you don't have to pay for it.
Now on to some social rules! There's some wild stuff in the OT that we've found so far, but there's some wisdom coming up.
Seduce a virgin? You have to pay for her and marry her. If her dad doesn't want you to marry her, then you gotta pay anyway.
Make sure you kill a sorceress. How the hell did they determine someone was a sorceress? This certainly sucks for the person accused of being a sorceress, since that isn't a real thing lol.
Bang it out with an animal? death penalty
Sacrifice to another god? death penalty
This rule is interesting because we miss the meaning if its literal. Remember that a "god" isn't necessarily a being like Zeus, it can be something worshipped. Do we destroy ourselves when we worship "things" or people? I think maybe.
THIS NEXT ONE.
"Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt."
This makes me think about those families separated at the border. How often are we treating foreigners as though they are beneath us?
Don't take advantage of the widow or fatherless. Do this, and God will kill you. God says that their cries will be heard. Well we know this (the murdering) doesn't happen, so there must be a deeper meaning. Perhaps this is a way of reminding us to protect the vulnerable. Considering the prior verse, this would make sense.
Lend money to a needy person? Don't charge interest. The banks should read this one.
Be sure to give your neighbor's cloak back to them by sunset if you borrow it, so they have something to sleep in. We are again reminded that God will hear their cries, and that God is compassionate.
This seems to be antithetical to the megalomaniacal character of God we've seen earlier in Exodus. Hmm.
No blaspheming God (reviling the judges) or cursing the ruler of your people.
Okay. So I've heard people try to say what they think blaspheming means over the years, but this actually pretty confusing if you look up the meaning. I'd be interested in some thoughts on this word.
Do not hold back offerings from granaries or vats. It also says the meaning of the Hebrew here is uncertain. So, not sure.
Give the firstborns to God. This obviously isn't literal, as we cannot literally give a child or animal to God. It can also mean 'dedicate.'
Last but not least for this chapter, don't eat the meat of an animal that has been torn up by a wild animal. Throw it to the dogs!
Exodus 22:
MORE RULES!
Steal a sheep or ox (and kill it or sell it)? Pay back 5x for the cattle and 4x for the sheep.
Someone breaks in your house and you kill them? Not guilty of bloodshed if it happens at night, guilty if it happens after sunrise.
Steal? Make restitution, but if you're poor, you sell yourself.
If the animal is found alive, then you pay back 2x.
This word "restitution" appears a few times and is translated from the world "shalam" and means to make peace. It is also translated as "pay" or "restore" or "repay," among a few others. This word appears often and is translated quite a few different ways.
Don't let your animals graze in someone else's field or you must make restitution from your field. I guess that means you give up whatever crops they eat?
If you start a fire and it burns some bushes or whatever, just make restitution.
Hold on to someone else's silver or gold for safekeeping and then someone steals it? The thief must pay back double.
If you're watching someone else's animals and they get devoured by a wild animal, you have to bring back some pieces to prove it happened so you don't have to pay for it.
Now on to some social rules! There's some wild stuff in the OT that we've found so far, but there's some wisdom coming up.
Seduce a virgin? You have to pay for her and marry her. If her dad doesn't want you to marry her, then you gotta pay anyway.
Make sure you kill a sorceress. How the hell did they determine someone was a sorceress? This certainly sucks for the person accused of being a sorceress, since that isn't a real thing lol.
Bang it out with an animal? death penalty
Sacrifice to another god? death penalty
This rule is interesting because we miss the meaning if its literal. Remember that a "god" isn't necessarily a being like Zeus, it can be something worshipped. Do we destroy ourselves when we worship "things" or people? I think maybe.
THIS NEXT ONE.
"Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt."
This makes me think about those families separated at the border. How often are we treating foreigners as though they are beneath us?
Don't take advantage of the widow or fatherless. Do this, and God will kill you. God says that their cries will be heard. Well we know this (the murdering) doesn't happen, so there must be a deeper meaning. Perhaps this is a way of reminding us to protect the vulnerable. Considering the prior verse, this would make sense.
Lend money to a needy person? Don't charge interest. The banks should read this one.
Be sure to give your neighbor's cloak back to them by sunset if you borrow it, so they have something to sleep in. We are again reminded that God will hear their cries, and that God is compassionate.
This seems to be antithetical to the megalomaniacal character of God we've seen earlier in Exodus. Hmm.
No blaspheming God (reviling the judges) or cursing the ruler of your people.
Okay. So I've heard people try to say what they think blaspheming means over the years, but this actually pretty confusing if you look up the meaning. I'd be interested in some thoughts on this word.
Do not hold back offerings from granaries or vats. It also says the meaning of the Hebrew here is uncertain. So, not sure.
Give the firstborns to God. This obviously isn't literal, as we cannot literally give a child or animal to God. It can also mean 'dedicate.'
Last but not least for this chapter, don't eat the meat of an animal that has been torn up by a wild animal. Throw it to the dogs!
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