Exodus 21:32
in Exodus 21If the ox gores a manservant or maidservant, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of that servant, and the ox must be stoned.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If the ox gore a man-servant or a maid-servant, there shall be given unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
KJV
If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
⋯
This verse in Exodus 21
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
thirty shekels of silver
A servant killed by the ox is settled at a fixed price paid to the master, and the ox is stoned as in the cases above. Zechariah 11:12 and 11:13 name the same sum as the wages weighed out for the shepherd and then cast to the potter in the house of the LORD. Matthew 26:15 reports thirty pieces of silver paid for Jesus, and Matthew 27:9 and 27:10 quote the prophecy at the moment the money buys the potter's field.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If the ox shall push a manservant, or a maidservant,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused.
Thirty shekels - Each worth about three shillings English; see Gen 20:16; Gen 23:15. So, counting the shekel at its utmost value, the life of a slave was valued at four pounds ten shillings. And at this price these same vile people valued the life of our blessed Lord; see Zec 11:12, Zec 11:13; Mat 26:15. And in return, the justice of God has ordered it so, that they have been sold for slaves into every country of the universe. And yet, strange to tell, they see not the hand of God in so visible a retribution!
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| עֶ֛בֶד | ʾeved | a [male] slave | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יִגַּ֥ח | yigach | it will gore | H5055 → | 11 times |
| הַשּׁ֖וֹר | hashor | the ox | H7794 → | 79 times |
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| אָמָ֑ה | ʾamah | a female slave | H519 → | 56 times |
| כֶּ֣סֶף׀ | kesef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים | sheloshim | thirty | H7970 → | 172 times |
| שְׁקָלִ֗ים | shekalim | shekels | H8255 → | 88 times |
| יִתֵּן֙ | yiten | he will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לַֽאדֹנָ֔יו | ladonav | to master<s> his | H113 → | 333 times |
| וְהַשּׁ֖וֹר | vehashor | and the ox | H7794 → | 79 times |
| יִסָּקֵֽל׃ ס | yisakel | it will be stoned to death | H5619 → | 22 times |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
עֶ֛בֶדa [male] slave
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
יִגַּ֥חit will gore
yigachH5055 →11 times
הַשּׁ֖וֹרthe ox
hashorH7794 →79 times
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
אָמָ֑הa female slave
ʾamahH519 →56 times
כֶּ֣סֶף׀silver
kesefH3701 →403 times
שְׁלֹשִׁ֣יםthirty
sheloshimH7970 →172 times
שְׁקָלִ֗יםshekels
shekalimH8255 →88 times
יִתֵּן֙he will give
yitenH5414 →2011 times
לַֽאדֹנָ֔יוto master<s> his
ladonavH113 →333 times
וְהַשּׁ֖וֹרand the ox
vehashorH7794 →79 times
יִסָּקֵֽל׃ סit will be stoned to death
yisakelH5619 →22 times
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
Philippians 2:7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Matthew 20:28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
- John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Romans 8:3
For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin.…
- Isaiah 53:2–3
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no stately form or majesty to attract us, no beauty that we should desire Him.
- 2 Corinthians 8:9
Through
Matthew 26:15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
it leads to
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Through
Genesis 37:28So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
it leads to
- Acts 7:9
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Psalms 105:17
He sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.
- Acts 7:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).