Exodus 22:2

Exodus 22:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him.
• New International Version (NIV)“If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of bloodshed;
• English Standard Version (ESV)If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him,
• New King James Version (NKJV)If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.

Context of Exodus 22:2

1“If a man steals an ox or sheep and kills or sells it, he shall make restitution of five oxen for an ox or four sheep for a sheep. “If a thief is caught breaking in [after dark] and is struck [by the owner] so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him. 3But if the sun has risen, there will be bloodguilt for him. The thief [if he lives] must make [full] restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold [as a slave to make restitution] for his theft. 4If the animal that he stole is found alive in his possession, whether it is ox or donkey or sheep, he shall pay double [for it].

Exodus 22:2 word by word

אִם־בַּמַּחְתֶּ֛רֶת יִמָּצֵ֥א הַגַּנָּ֖ב וְהֻכָּ֣ה וָמֵ֑ת אֵ֥ין ל֖וֹ דָּמִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If a thiefגַּנָּבgannâb · thiefH1590
• be foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• breaking upמַחְתֶּ֫רֶתmachtereth · breakingH4290
• and be smittenנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• that he dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• no bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818

Cross-references for Exodus 22:2

• Job 24:14The murderer rises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he becomes a thief.
• Job 30:5They are driven from the community; They shout after them as after a thief.
• Hosea 7:1When I would heal Israel, The sin (guilt) of Ephraim is uncovered, And the wickedness of Samaria, Because they practice false dealing; The thief enters, Bandits ravage and raid outside.
• Joel 2:9They rush over the city, They run on the wall; They climb up into the houses, They enter at the windows like a thief.
• Matthew 6:19“Do not store up for yourselves [material] treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
• Matthew 24:43But understand this: If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:2For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord is coming just as a thief [comes unexpectedly and suddenly] in the night.
• Numbers 35:27and the blood avenger finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills the offender, the blood avenger will not be guilty of murder,

Commentaries on Exodus 22:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2If a thief be found - If a thief was found breaking into a house in the night season, he might be killed; but not if the sun had risen, for then he might be known and taken, and the restitution made which is mentioned in the succeeding verse. So by the law of England it is a burglary to break and enter a house by night; and "anciently the day was accounted to begin only from sunrising, and to end immediately upon sunset: but it is now generally agreed…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-4Verses 2-4 If a thief, in breaking into a dwelling in the night, was slain, the person who slew him did not incur the guilt of blood; but if the same occurred in daylight, the slayer was guilty in accordance with Exodus 21:12. The distinction may have been based on the fact that in the light of day there was a fair chance of identifying and apprehending the thief.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-15In cases involving loss of property, the responsible person had to pay compensation equal to the value of what was lost. If the person had actually stolen the property, the compensation was multiplied (22:1, 4, 7). Where there was a question of responsibility, the parties were to appear before God for adjudication (22:8). The means by which the judgment was reached is not reported.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311-4. If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep--The law respects the theft of cattle which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold, was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in labor; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because it was presumable he (the thief) was not a practised adept in dishonesty…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 22:2

• Animals
• Bullock
• Restitution
• Theft and Thieves

In the dictionaries

• Book
• Cause
• Curse
• Feed
• God
• Put
• Restore
• Revile
• Theft
• Torn

Commentaries on Exodus 22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings