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Êxodo 22

BLIVRE · Chapter 22/40

1Quando alguém furtar boi ou ovelha, e lhe degolar ou vender, por aquele boi pagará cinco bois, e por aquela ovelha quatro ovelhas.

2Se o ladrão for achado arrombando uma casa, e for ferido e morrer, o que lhe feriu não será culpado de sua morte.

3Se o sol houver sobre ele saído, o matador será réu de homicídio: o ladrão haverá de restituir completamente; se não tiver, será vendido por seu furto.

4Se for achado com o furto na mão, seja boi ou asno ou ovelha vivos, pagará o dobro.

5Se alguém fizer pastar campo ou vinha, e meter seu animal, e comer a terra de outro, do melhor de sua terra e do melhor de sua vinha pagará.

6Quando irromper um fogo, e achar espinhos, e for queimado amontoado, ou plantação, ou campo, o que acendeu o fogo pagará o queimado.

7Quando alguém der a seu próximo prata ou joias a guardar, e for furtado da casa daquele homem, se o ladrão se achar, pagará o dobro.

8Se o ladrão não se achar, então o dono da casa será apresentado aos juízes, para ver se pôs sua mão na riqueza de seu próximo.

9Sobre todo negócio de fraude, sobre boi, sobre asno, sobre ovelha, sobre roupa, sobre toda coisa perdida, quando um disser: Isto é meu, a causa de ambos virá diante dos juízes; e o que os juízes condenarem, pagará o dobro a seu próximo.

10Se alguém houver dado a seu próximo asno, ou boi, ou ovelha, ou qualquer outro animal a guardar, e se morrer ou se for aleijado, ou for levado sem vê-lo ninguém;

11Juramento do SENHOR terá lugar entre ambos de que não lançou sua mão à riqueza de seu próximo: e seu dono o aceitará, e o outro não pagará.

12Mas se lhe houver sido furtado, ressarcirá a seu dono.

13E se lhe houver sido arrebatado por fera, trará a ele testemunho, e não pagará o arrebatado.

14Porém se alguém houver tomado emprestado animal de seu próximo, e for ferido ou morto, ausente seu dono, deverá pagá-lo.

15Se o dono estava presente, não o pagará. Se era alugado, ele virá por seu aluguel.

16E se alguém enganar a alguma virgem que não for desposada, e dormir com ela, deverá pagar o dote por ela e tomá-la por mulher.

17Se seu pai não quiser dá-la a ele, ele lhe pesará prata conforme o dote das virgens.

18À feiticeira não deixarás que viva.

19Qualquer um que tiver ajuntamento com animal, morrerá.

20O que sacrificar a deuses, exceto a somente o SENHOR, será morto.

21E ao estrangeiro não enganarás, nem angustiarás, porque estrangeiros fostes vós na terra do Egito.

22A nenhuma viúva nem órfão afligireis.

23Que se tu chegas a afligir-lhe, e ele a mim clamar, certamente ouvirei eu seu clamor;

24E meu furor se acenderá, e vos matarei a espada, e vossas mulheres serão viúvas, e órfãos vossos filhos.

25Se deres a meu povo dinheiro emprestado, ao pobre que está contigo, não te portarás com ele como agiota, nem lhe imporás juros.

26Se tomares em penhor a roupa de teu próximo, a pôr do sol o devolverás a ele:

27Porque somente aquilo é sua coberta, é aquela a roupa para cobrir suas carnes, no que há de dormir: e será que quando ele a mim clamar, eu então lhe ouvirei, porque sou misericordioso.

28Não insultarás aos juízes, nem amaldiçoarás ao príncipe de teu povo.

29Não adiarás as primícias de tua colheita, nem de teu licor, me darás o primogênito de teus filhos.

30Assim farás com o de teu boi e de tua ovelha: sete dias estará com sua mãe, e ao oitavo dia me o darás.

31E haveis de ser para mim homens santos: e não comereis carne arrebatada das feras no campo; aos cães a lançareis.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The laws of the Book of the Covenant continue, addressing theft, restitution for damages, liability over borrowed property, as well as protections for foreigners, widows, orphans, and the poor.

Explanation

This chapter expands Israel's legal code to cover matters of property, restitution, and social protection, reflecting a deep concern for practical justice in the community's daily life. The laws of restitution for theft (requiring multiple repayment of the stolen value) sought to discourage crime through significant financial consequences, while also setting clear limits on how far self-defense against a thief could go without becoming unjustified homicide. A notable highlight is the explicit protection given to foreigners, widows, and orphans — vulnerable groups who could easily be exploited in an ancient society — with God promising to personally hear the cry of those who were mistreated. The prohibition against charging interest on loans to the poor within the community (v. 25) shows an economic concern not to further burden those already facing financial hardship, a principle of social justice advanced for its time.

Fun facts

  • The protection of foreigners in this chapter is explicitly justified by Israel's own historical experience ('for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt', v. 21) — one of the earliest biblical examples of using the memory of one's own suffering as ethical motivation for treating others well.
  • The prohibition against charging interest on loans to the poor (v. 25) would become a central economic principle in Mosaic Law, discussed extensively in later books such as Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and would influence ethical and religious debates about usury centuries later in the Middle Ages.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 22:1Sets a much larger penalty for stealing an animal that has already been killed or sold than for stealing one still alive, which is addressed in the next verse.
  2. Êxodo 22:2“Breaking up” means during a break-in of the house, at night, in the dark — the contrast comes in the next verse, “if the sun be risen upon him.” If the homeowner killed the thief during that nighttime break-in, it was not considered murder, because at night there was no way to know whether the intruder only meant to steal or also to kill. By day, with the thief already identifiable, killing him became a crime.
  3. Êxodo 22:3If the thief killed during a break-in was killed by day, when he could already be identified, killing him counted as a crime, requiring full restitution for the theft.
  4. Êxodo 22:4If the stolen animal was found still alive in the thief’s possession, the penalty was lighter: double the value, not the larger multiples set in the first verse.
  5. Êxodo 22:5Addresses damage caused by a loose animal grazing in someone else’s field: the animal’s owner had to compensate with the best produce of his own land.
  6. Êxodo 22:6Regulates the case of a fire that spreads and destroys someone else’s crop: whoever started the fire was responsible for the entire loss caused.
  7. Êxodo 22:7Addresses valuables left in someone else’s keeping and then stolen: if the thief was identified, he paid double the value stolen.
  8. Êxodo 22:8If the thief was not found, the keeper of the goods himself had to appear before the judges to prove that he had not kept the items for himself.
  9. Êxodo 22:9Establishes a general principle for property disputes with no clear resolution: the judges decide, and whoever is found guilty pays double the value in dispute.
  10. Êxodo 22:10Addresses animals left in someone else’s care that die, are injured, or disappear with no witnesses, opening up the solution detailed in the next verse.
  11. Êxodo 22:11In these cases with no witness, an oath before God was enough to settle the dispute, trusting the keeper’s word about his own innocence.
  12. Êxodo 22:12If, however, the animal had in fact been stolen while in someone else’s care, the keeper was required to compensate the owner.
  13. Êxodo 22:13If the animal had been killed by a predator, the keeper only needed to present the remains as proof, without having to pay for the loss.
  14. Êxodo 22:14Addresses borrowed items that are damaged or die while the original owner is absent: whoever borrowed them is responsible for compensation.
  15. Êxodo 22:15If the owner was present when the damage happened, or if the item had been rented, the loss was already covered by the rental fee itself.
  16. Êxodo 22:16In the ancient world, an unmarried woman who had relations before marriage lost much of her chance of marrying afterward, leaving her socially and economically vulnerable. That is why the law required the man to marry her and pay the agreed dowry, securing her support; the next verse shows that her father could still refuse that marriage.
  17. Êxodo 22:17If the young woman’s father refused to allow the marriage described in the previous verse, the man still had to pay the amount equal to the usual dowry.
  18. Êxodo 22:18Sorcery was associated with the rituals of Israel’s neighboring nations, seen as a threat to the people’s faithfulness to their God. The penalty set here reflects how much weight these laws gave to keeping the people separate from such practices; it is a law from the context of ancient Israel, not guidance on how to treat someone today.
  19. Êxodo 22:19This law condemns to death anyone who had sexual relations with an animal, treated in the laws of the Old Testament as a grave violation of the order of creation. It appears alongside other laws on sexual and religious purity that set Israel apart from the customs of the surrounding nations.
  20. Êxodo 22:20Forbids any sacrifice to gods other than the LORD, treating that practice with the same gravity as a capital crime within the Israelite community.
  21. Êxodo 22:21Forbids mistreating foreigners, directly recalling Israel’s own experience as an oppressed foreigner in Egypt, a moral basis used several times in the law.
  22. Êxodo 22:22Extends this special protection to widows and orphans, the most vulnerable groups in ancient society, lacking the traditional protection of family.
  23. Êxodo 22:23Warns that God Himself will hear the cry of anyone mistreated this way, treating the oppression of the vulnerable as a direct offense against Him.
  24. Êxodo 22:24The threatened punishment is severe: the oppressors themselves would risk dying, leaving their own families in the same vulnerable situation they had caused.
  25. Êxodo 22:25“Usury” here means charging interest on a loan. The law forbids charging interest to a poor Israelite who needed to borrow money, because that kind of loan was meant to be help between neighbors, not a business for profiting off someone’s need.
  26. Êxodo 22:26If someone took another person’s garment as security for a loan, the law required returning it before nightfall, since it was often the only covering the person had.
  27. Êxodo 22:27Explains the human reason behind the previous rule: without that garment, the person would be cold at night, and God promises to hear the cry of anyone treated this way.
  28. Êxodo 22:28Forbids publicly insulting both judges and political leaders, protecting the authority of the institutions responsible for justice in Israel.
  29. Êxodo 22:29“Firstfruits” are the first crops of the harvest, offered to God before any other use. The part about the firstborn of sons does not mean human sacrifice: the biblical text itself, later in 34:20, explains that the human firstborn had to be redeemed, that is, an offering was given in his place.
  30. Êxodo 22:30Determines that the firstborn of animals should only be offered to God after spending a full week with their own mother.
  31. Êxodo 22:31This concerns the meat of an animal found already dead or torn by another animal in the field, without having been slaughtered in the ritual way, with the blood properly drained. That is why this meat was considered unfit for the people to eat and had to be discarded.

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