--- title: "Exodus 22 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary" description: "Read Exodus 22 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2 ¶ If a thief be fou" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22" --- [ Read](/kjv/exodus/22)[ Commentary](/study/exodus/22)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/exodus/22) Audio 1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.* 2 ¶ If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, *there shall* no blood *be shed* for him. 3 If the sun be risen upon him, *there shall be* blood *shed* for him; *for* he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. 5 ¶ If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. 6 ¶ 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. 7 ¶ If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double. 8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, *to see* whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods. 9 For all manner of trespass, *whether it be* for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, *or* for any manner of lost thing, which *another* challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; *and* whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. 10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing *it:* 11 *Then* shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept *thereof*, and he shall not make *it* good. 12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13 If it be torn in pieces, *then* let him bring it *for* witness, *and* he shall not make good that which was torn. 14 ¶ And if a man borrow *ought* of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof *being* not with it, he shall surely make *it* good. 15 *But* if the owner thereof *be* with it, he shall not make *it* good: if it *be* an hired *thing*, it came for his hire. 16 ¶ And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.* 18 ¶ Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 19 ¶ Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. 20 ¶ He that sacrificeth unto *any* god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 21 ¶ Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 ¶ Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless. 25 ¶ If thou lend money to *any of* my people *that is* poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27 For that *is* his covering only, it *is* his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I *am* gracious. 28 ¶ Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.* 29 ¶ Thou shalt not delay *to offer* the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.** 30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, *and* with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. 31 ¶ And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat *any* flesh *that is* torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs. [Exodus 21](/study/exodus/21) [Exodus 23](/study/exodus/23) ## Commentary To verse 1 Verse [Exodus 22:1](/kjv/exodus/22/1). ***If a man shall steal*** — This chapter consists chiefly of *judicial* laws, as the preceding chapter does of *political*; and in it the same good sense, and well-marked attention to the welfare of the community and the moral improvement of each individual, are equally evident. In our translation of this verse, by rendering different Hebrew words by the same term in English, we have greatly obscured the sense. I shall produce the verse with the original words which I think improperly translated, because *one English* term is used for *two Hebrew* words, which in this place certainly do not mean the same thing. *If a man shall steal an ox* (שור shor) *or a* *sheep*, (שה seh), *and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore* *five oxen* (בקר bakar) *for an ox*, (שור shor), *and* *four sheep* (צאן tson) *for a sheep* (שה seh). I think it must appear evident that the sacred writer did not intend that these words should be understood as above. A *shor* certainly is different from a *bakar*, and a *seh* from a *tson*. Where the difference in every case lies, wherever these words occur, it is difficult to say. The *shor* and the *bakar* are doubtless creatures of the *beeve* kind, and are used in different parts of the sacred writings to signify the *bull*, the *ox*, the *heifer*, the *steer*, and the *calf*. The *seh* and the *tson* are used to signify the *ram*, the *wether*, the *ewe*, the *lamb*, the *he-goat*, the *she-goat*, and the *kid*. And the latter word צאן *tson* seems frequently to signify the *flock*, composed of either of these lesser cattle, or both sorts conjoined. As שור *shor* is used, [Job 21:10](/kjv/job/21/10), for a *bull* probably it may mean so here. *If a man steal a* BULL *he* *shall give five* OXEN *for him*, which we may presume was no more than his real value, as very few bulls could be kept in a country destitute of *horses*, where *oxen* were so necessary to till the ground. For though some have imagined that there were no castrated cattle among the Jews, yet this cannot be admitted on the above reason; for as they had no horses, and bulls would have been unmanageable and dangerous, they must have had *oxen* for the purposes of agriculture. צאן *Tson* is used for a flock either of *sheep* or *goats*, and *seh* שה for an individual of either species. For every *seh*, four, taken indifferently from the *tson* or flock must be given; i.e., a sheep stolen might be recompensed with four out of the *flock*, whether of sheep or goats: so that a *goat* might be compensated with four *sheep*, or a *sheep* with four *goats*. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22","name":"Exodus 22 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Exodus 22 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2 ¶ If a thief be fou","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","name":"clarkes commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus","name":"Exodus"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/exodus/22","name":"22"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```