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RESPONSIBILITY TO ONE’S BROTHER

EYE FOR EYE, TOOTH FOR TOOTH

  1. Ex.21:24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth*, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, and lash for lash.

* Unfortunately, this command is interpreted by many as a revenge for the lost… “Tooth for a tooth” – it is your responsibility to your brother to compensate him for what was lost because you were at fault. In doing so, we express the love for one’s neighbor.

Mtt.7:12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law (Torah) and the Prophets (do for others what you would like them to do for you).

1Jn.3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Jn.15:13 No one has greater love than a person who lays down his life for his friends.

Jn.3:16 For YHWH so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Mtt.5:29 So if your eye – even if it is your good eye – causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your hand – even if it is your stronger hand – causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

 

PENALTIES AND COMPENSATIONS

  1. Ex.21:18 If men contend (quarrel) with each other, and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist, and he does not die but is confined to his bed, if he rises again and walks about outside with his staff, then he who struck him shall be acquitted. He shall only pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for him to be thoroughly healed.
  1. Ex.21:22 If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
  1. Lev.24:18 Anyone who kills another person’s animal must pay it back in full – a live animal for the animal that was killed.

 

PUNISHMENT FOR THE DISRESPECTFUL RELATION TO A MAN

  1. Deut.25:11 If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall not pity her. 

This is a matter of respecting men.

 

ENTRUSTING, USING AND LOANS

  1. Ex.22:7 If a person entrusts a neighbor with money or goods, and they are stolen from the trustee’s house, then, if the thief is found, he must pay double. But if the thief is not found, then the trustee must state before YHWH that he did not take the person’s goods himself.
  1. Ex.22:10 If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, then an oath of YHWH shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor’s goods. And the owner of it shall accept that (accept his word), and not require him to make good the loss (no damages are assessed). But if it turns out it was stolen, the owner must be compensated. If it is torn to pieces by a beast, then he shall bring it as evidence, and he shall not make good what was torn.
  1. Ex.22:14 If someone borrows an animal from a neighbor and it gets injured or dies while the owner is not present, he must pay for it. But if the owner was with it, he doesn’t have to pay. If the animal was hired, the payment covers the loss.

 

SELF-DEFENCE

  1. Ex.22:2 If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguiltiness for him. If the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguiltiness for him.

 

KIDNAPPING A BROTHER

  1. Deut.24:7 If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him or sells him (as a servant) then that thief shall die. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee. Ex.21:16 Whoever kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or is found with him in his possession, shall surely be put to death.

 

THEFT

  1. Ex.22:3 The thief must make full restitution. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold* for his theft.

* ‘shall be sold’ – his labour shall be sold to compensate the loss.

  1. Ex.22:1 If A man steals an ox or sheep and slaughters or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, or four sheep for a sheep.

2Sam.12:6 “For doing such a thing, he has to pay back four times the value of the lamb – and also because he had no pity.”

Lk.19:8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Yeshua, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

  1. Ex.22:4 If what he stole is found alive in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a donkey or a sheep.

 

DISPUTES

  1. Ex.22:9 In every case of dispute over ownership, whether of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, clothing, or any missing property, where one person says, “This is mine,” Both parties must come before Elohim for a decision (the judges), and the person whom Elohim declares guilty must pay double to the other.

Mtt.5:25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

 

REALIZING THE GUILT

  1. Lev.6:2 Suppose some of the people sin against YHWH by falsely telling their neighbor that an item entrusted to their safekeeping has been lost or stolen. Or suppose they have been dishonest with regard to a security deposit, or they have taken something by theft or extortion. Or suppose they find a lost item and lie about it, or they deny something while under oath, or they commit any other similar sin. If they have sinned in any of these ways and are guilty, they must give back whatever they have taken by theft or extortion, whether a security deposit, or property entrusted to them, or a lost object that they claimed as their own, or anything gained by swearing falsely. When they realize their guilt, they must restore the principal amount plus a penalty of 20 percent to the person they have harmed.

It is interesting that sin against one’s neighbour is named here as ‘sin before YHWH’. This is exactly what John was talking about: “If someone says, ‘I love YHWH’, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love YHWH whom he has not seen?” (1John 4:20).

  1. Num.5:6 Speak unto the children of Israel: when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to commit a trespass against YHWH, and that soul be guilty. Then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof (20%), and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty. But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to YHWH for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him.

Prov.28:13 People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will obtain mercy.

 

NEGLIGENCE

  1. Ex.21:28 If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be acquitted. But if the ox has a history of goring and the owner knew it and did nothing to guard against it, then if the ox kills a man or a woman, the ox is to be stoned and the owner given the death penalty. However, the dead person’s relatives may accept payment from the owner of the bull to compensate for the loss of life. The owner will have to pay whatever is demanded. If a son or daughter is gored, the same judgment holds.
  1. Ex.21:35 If one man’s ox hurts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and divide the money from it. And the dead ox they shall also divide. Or if it was known that the ox tended to thrust in time past, and its owner has not kept it confined, he shall surely pay ox for ox, and the dead animal shall be his own.
  1. Lev.5:4 If they make a rash vow of any kind, whether its purpose is for good or bad, they will be considered guilty even if they were not fully aware of what they were doing at the time. When any of the people become aware of their guilt in any of these ways, they must confess their sin and bring to YHWH as their penalty a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This will be a sin offering* to remove their sin, and the priest will make atonement for them.

* It is clear that nowadays we are not obligated to bring any sacrifices (and this is why the authors did not provide any details). In this commandment the emphasis is on the responsibility for what one says and promises. This principle still works today.

Jam.1:26 If any one thinks that he worships Elohim and does not subdue his tongue, but his heart deceives him; his worship is desolate.

1Pet.3:10 He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.

  1. Lev.5:1 If anyone sins in that he is sworn to testify and has knowledge of the matter, either by refusing to tell what he has seen or heard about the matter, then he shall bear his iniquity and willfulness (he will be held responsible).
  1. Deut.22:8 When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof (must have a barrier around the edge) to make it safe so that someone doesn’t fall off and die and your family become responsible for the death.

If getting to any beginnings (building a house), a man ought to take care of his actions so that no dangerous consequences follow him or others. 

  1. Ex.21:33 And if a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and does not cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls in it, the owner of the pit shall make it good; he shall give money to their owner, but the dead animal shall be his.
  1. Ex.22:5 If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed, and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard.
  1. Ex.22:6 If a fire gets out of control and goes into another person’s field, destroying the sheaves or the standing grain, then the one who started the fire must pay for the lost crops.

 

LENDING AND PAYING OFF DEBT 

  1. Ex.22:25 If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him. You shall not charge him interest.
  1. Deut.23:19 Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether it is money, food, or anything else that may be loaned with interest. You may charge interest to foreigners, but not to Israelites, so YHWH your Elohim may bless you in everything you do in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 
  1. Lev.25:36 Do not charge him interest or otherwise profit from him, but fear your YHWH, so that your brother can continue living with you. Do not take interest when you loan him money or take a profit when you sell him food.

Ps.15:5 He who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

  1. Deut.24:6 No man shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge*.

* ‘taking a life in pledge’ means deprivation of necessary things for survival. Lender should be depriving the debtor of the most basic things that he needs for survival.

  1. Deut.24:10 When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you.
  1. Deut.24:12 (22:26) And if the man is poor, you shall not keep his pledge overnight. You shall in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you. And it shall be righteousness to you before YHWH your Elohim.
  1. Lev.19:13 You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.
  1. Lev.24:14 You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates. Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it (he’s living from hand to mouth and needs it now). Lest he cry out against you to YHWH, and it be sin to you.
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