Exodus 21:26

And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
man	אִ֜ישׁ 'ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · noun, common masculine singular absolute
smite	יַכֶּ֨ה ya.Keh	H5221	to strike (lightly or severely · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
eye	עֵ֥ין 'ein	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine singular construct
servant	עַבְדּ֛וֹ av.Do	H5650	a servant · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
eye	עֵ֥ין 'ein	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine singular construct
maid	אֲמָת֖וֹ 'a.ma.To	H519	a maidservant or female slave · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
perish	וְשִֽׁחֲתָ֑הּ ve.shi.cha.Tah	H7843	to decay · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
go	יְשַׁלְּחֶ֖נּוּ ye.shal.le.Che.nu	H7971	to send away · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
free	לַֽחָפְשִׁ֥י la.cha.fe.Shi	H2670	exempt (from bondage · preposition with the article + adjective, masculine singular absolute
for	תַּ֥חַת Ta.chat	H8478	the bottom (as depressed) · noun, common masculine singular construct
eye’s	עֵינֽוֹ ei.No	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Exodus 21:20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
Deuteronomy 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert…
Nehemiah 5:5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters…
Job 31:13-15 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;
Psalms 9:12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
Psalms 10:14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the h…
Psalms 10:18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
Psalms 72:12-14 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 21:22–end

Observe here, I. The particular care which the law took of women with child, that no hurt should be done them which might occasion their mis-carrying. The law of nature obliges us to be very tender in that case, lest the tree and fruit be destroyed together, Exo 21:22, Exo 21:23. Women with child, who are thus taken under the special protection of the law of God, if they live in his fear, may still believe themselves under the special protection of the providence of God, and hope that they shall be saved in child-bearing. On this occasion comes in that general law of retaliation which our Saviour refers to, Mat 5:38, An eye for an eye. Now, 1. The execution of this law is not hereby put into…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:23

eye for eye--The law which authorized retaliation (a principle acted upon by all primitive people) was a civil one. It was given to regulate the procedure of the public magistrate in determining the amount of compensation in every case of injury, but did not encourage feelings of private revenge. The later Jews, however, mistook it for a moral precept, and were corrected by our Lord (Mat 5:38-42).

Adam Clarke on Exodus 21:26

If a man smite the eye, etc. - See the following verse.

John Gill on Exodus 21:26

If a man smite the eye of his servant,.... Give him a blow on the eye in a passion, as a correction for some fault he has committed: or the eye of his maid, that it perish; strike her on that part in like manner, so that the eye is beaten or drops out, or however loses its sight, and "is blinded", as the Septuagint version; or "corrupts" it (k), it turns black and blue, and gathers corrupt matter, and becomes a sore eye; yet if the sight is not lost, or corrupts so as to perish, this law does not take place; the Targum of Jonathan, and to Jarchi restrain this to a Canaanitish servant or maid: he shall let him go free for his eye's sake; or "them", as the Septuagint; his right to them as a…

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Dictionary and topics

Crucifixion — A common mode of punishment among heathen nations in early times. It is not certain whether it was known among the ancient Jews; probably it was not. The modes of capital punishment according to the…
Law of Moses — Is the whole body of the Mosaic legislation (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called by way of eminence simply “the Law” (Heb. Torah, Deut. 1:5; 4:8, 44; 17:18, 19; 27:3, 8). As a written…
Punishments — The earliest theory of punishment current among mankind is doubtless the one of simple retaliation, “blood for blood.” Viewed historically, the first case of punishment for crime mentioned in…
Slave — Jer. 2:14 (A.V.), but not there found in the original. In Rev. 18:13 the word “slaves” is the rendering of a Greek word meaning “bodies.” The Hebrew and Greek words for slave are usually rendered…
Assault And Battery · LAWS CONCERNING — LAWS CONCERNING
Eye, The · Punishment for injuring — Punishment for injuring
Master · SCRIPTURES RELATING TO MASTERS OF SERVANTS — SCRIPTURES RELATING TO MASTERS OF SERVANTS
Servant · .Laws of Moses concerning — .Laws of Moses concerning
Servants · Slaves or bond: Maimed of injured by masters to have their freedom — Slaves or bond: Maimed of injured by masters to have their freedom

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 21:26

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 21:22–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:23

Adam Clarke on Exodus 21:26

John Gill on Exodus 21:26

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 21:26

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 21:22–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 21:23

Adam Clarke on Exodus 21:26

John Gill on Exodus 21:26

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Exodus 21:15-32

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 21:18-32

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 21:22-25

Rashi on Exodus 21:26