Exodus 21:22
in Exodus 21If men who are fighting strike a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no further injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband demands and as the court allows.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow; he shall be surely fined, according as the woman’s husband shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
KJV
If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
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This verse in Exodus 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd hurt a woman with child - As a posterity among the Jews was among the peculiar promises of their covenant, and as every man had some reason to think that the Messiah should spring from his family, therefore any injury done to a woman with child, by which the fruit of her womb might be destroyed, was considered a very heavy offense; and as the crime was committed principally against the husband, the degree of punishment was left to his discretion.
This site's exposition
hurt a woman with child
on Exodus 21:22-23
This is the most argued pair of verses in the chapter, and the whole question is what mischief covers. One reading takes mischief as harm to the mother alone, so the loss of the child is settled by the fine the husband lays and the judges determine, and the Septuagint's distinction between a formed and an unformed child carried a version of that reading into the early church through Philo and others. The other reading takes mischief as harm to either the mother or the child, so life for life at verse 23 reaches the child, and Keil and Delitzsch argue it that way. The Hebrew at verse 22 says her children come out, using the ordinary verb for going out with the ordinary noun for a child rather than a word for miscarriage, which is why the dispute has never closed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If men strive,....
God often executes it in the course of his providence, making the punishment, in many cases, to answer to the sin, as Judg. i. Magistrates ought to have an eye to this rule in punishing offenders, and doing right to those that are injured.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The rule would seem to refer to a case in which the wife of a man interfered in a quarrel. This law, “the jus talionis,” is elsewhere repeated in substance, compare the marginal references. and Gen 9:6. It has its root in a simple conception of justice, and is found in the laws of many ancient nations. It serves in this place as a maxim for the magistrate in awarding the amount of compensation to be paid for the infliction of personal injury. The sum was to be as nearly as possible the worth in money of the power lost by the injured person. Our Lord quotes Exo 21:24 as representing the form of the law, in order to illustrate the distinction between the letter and the spirit Mat 5:38. The tendency of the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees was to confound the obligations of the conscience with the external requirements of the law. The law, in its place, was still to be “holy and just and good,” Rom 7:12, but its direct purpose was to protect the community, not to guide the heart of the believer, who was not to exact eye for eye, tooth for tooth, but to love his enemies, and to forgive all injuries.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִֽי־ | vekhi- | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִנָּצ֣וּ | yinatzu | they will struggle together | H5327 → | |
| אֲנָשִׁ֗ים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| וְנָ֨גְפ֜וּ | venagefu | and they will strike | H5062 → | 49 times |
| אִשָּׁ֤ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| הָרָה֙ | harah | pregnant | H2030 → | |
| וְיָצְא֣וּ | veyatzeu | and they will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| יְלָדֶ֔יהָ | yeladeiha | children her | H3206 → | 89 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִהְיֶ֖ה | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אָס֑וֹן | ʾason | harm | H611 → | |
| עָנ֣וֹשׁ | anoosh | certainly <to fine> | H6064 → | |
| יֵעָנֵ֗שׁ | yeanesh | he will be fined | H6064 → | |
| כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָשִׁ֤ית | yashit | he will impose | H7896 → | 83 times |
| עָלָיו֙ | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בַּ֣עַל | baal | [the] husband of | H1167 → | 84 times |
| הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| וְנָתַ֖ן | venatan | and he will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| בִּפְלִלִֽים׃ | biflilim | for [the] estimate | H6414 → |
וְכִֽי־and if
vekhi-H3588 →4482 times
יִנָּצ֣וּthey will struggle together
yinatzuH5327 →
אֲנָשִׁ֗יםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
וְנָ֨גְפ֜וּand they will strike
venagefuH5062 →49 times
אִשָּׁ֤הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
הָרָה֙pregnant
harahH2030 →
וְיָצְא֣וּand they will come out
veyatzeuH3318 →1067 times
יְלָדֶ֔יהָchildren her
yeladeihaH3206 →89 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִהְיֶ֖הit will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
אָס֑וֹןharm
ʾasonH611 →
עָנ֣וֹשׁcertainly <to fine>
anooshH6064 →
יֵעָנֵ֗שׁhe will be fined
yeaneshH6064 →
כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יָשִׁ֤יתhe will impose
yashitH7896 →83 times
עָלָיו֙on him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
בַּ֣עַל[the] husband of
baalH1167 →84 times
הָֽאִשָּׁ֔הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
וְנָתַ֖ןand he will give
venatanH5414 →2011 times
בִּפְלִלִֽים׃for [the] estimate
biflilimH6414 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 16:18You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 23:4
“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,
- Deuteronomy 17:9
You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
- Romans 13:1–6
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
- 1 Chronicles 26:29
From the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons had the outside duties as officers and judges over Israel.
- Deuteronomy 1:15–17
So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your…
- 1 Chronicles 23:4
Through
Exodus 21:30If payment is demanded of him instead, he may redeem his life by paying the full amount demanded of him.
it leads to
- Exodus 30:12
“When you take a census of the Israelites to number them, each man must pay the LORD a ransom for his life when he is counted. Then no plague will come upon them when…
- Numbers 35:31–33
You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who deserves to die; he must surely be put to death.
- Proverbs 13:8
Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.
- Exodus 30:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.