Exodus 22:6
in Exodus 22If a fire breaks out and spreads to thornbushes so that it consumes stacked or standing grain, or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are consumed; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
KJV
If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.
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This verse in Exodus 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIf fire break out - Mr. Harmer observes that it is a common custom in the east to set the dry herbage on fire before the autumnal rains, which fires, for want of care, often do great damage: and in countries where great drought prevails, and the herbage is generally parched, great caution was peculiarly necessary; and a law to guard against such evils, and to punish inattention and neglect, was highly expedient. See Harmer’s Observat., vol. iii., p. 310, etc.
This site's exposition
shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten
on Exodus 22:5-6
Two cases of damage done without stealing anything, a beast let into a neighbour's crop and a fire that runs from thorns into standing corn. Restitution comes out of the best of the offender's own field, so carelessness costs him better produce than the produce he ruined. Matthew Henry draws the principle plainly, that a man answers for the harm he occasions and not only for the harm he means.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If fire break out,....
It will make us very careful of ourselves, if we consider that we are accountable, not only for the hurt we do, but for the hurt we occasion through inadvertency.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The very parched state of the herbage and the long droughts of summer, make the kindling of a fire an operation often dangerous, and always requiring caution from its liability to spread rapidly. stacks--or as it is rendered "shocks" (Jud 15:5; Job 5:26), means simply a bundle of loose sheaves.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֵצֵ֨א | tetze' | it will go forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֵ֜שׁ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| וּמָצְאָ֤ה | umatzeah | and it will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| קֹצִים֙ | kotzim | thornbushes | H6975 → | |
| וְנֶאֱכַ֣ל | veneekhal | and it will be consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| גָּדִ֔ישׁ | gadish | a heap of sheaves | H1430 → | |
| א֥וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| הַקָּמָ֖ה | hakamah | the standing grain | H7054 → | |
| א֣וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| שַׁלֵּ֣ם | shalem | certainly <make compensation> | H7999 → | 116 times |
| יְשַׁלֵּ֔ם | yeshalem | he will make compensation | H7999 → | 116 times |
| הַמַּבְעִ֖ר | hamavir | the [one who] kindled | H1197 → | 94 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַבְּעֵרָֽה׃ ס | habeerah | the fire | H1200 → |
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תֵצֵ֨אit will go forth
tetze'H3318 →1067 times
אֵ֜שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
וּמָצְאָ֤הand it will find
umatzeahH4672 →455 times
קֹצִים֙thornbushes
kotzimH6975 →
וְנֶאֱכַ֣לand it will be consumed
veneekhalH398 →810 times
גָּדִ֔ישׁa heap of sheaves
gadishH1430 →
א֥וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
הַקָּמָ֖הthe standing grain
hakamahH7054 →
א֣וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֑הthe field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
שַׁלֵּ֣םcertainly <make compensation>
shalemH7999 →116 times
יְשַׁלֵּ֔םhe will make compensation
yeshalemH7999 →116 times
הַמַּבְעִ֖רthe [one who] kindled
hamavirH1197 →94 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַבְּעֵרָֽה׃ סthe fire
habeerahH1200 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
Exodus 22:9In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges.…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 25:1
If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.
- Exodus 22:4
If what was stolen is actually found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.
- Exodus 23:6–8
You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
- Numbers 5:6–7
“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty
- 1 Kings 8:31
When a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath, and he comes to take an oath before Your altar in this temple,
- Deuteronomy 25:1
Through
Exodus 22:12But if the animal was actually stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.
it leads to
- Genesis 31:39
I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
- Exodus 22:7
If a man gives his neighbor money or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.
- Genesis 31:39
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.