The eighth commandment

Exodus 21.18, 19

“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.”

Luke 10.25-37

God’s people ought to be able to disagree without rancor or violence. However, if a disagreement leads to one party being harmed, then Hebrew Law held the other party responsible for opportunity costs and expenses involved with the injured man’s healing. The transgressor would have to lay out a not inconsiderable amount of his own money to restore the man he had injured. Here is another example of restorative justice, the responsibility laid upon a transgressor to restore the just state of things which was upset by his sin.

These stiff penalties also, we might suppose, would serve to keep tempers in check during a dispute. We can also see how a statute like this could be employed for harm inflicted against one’s reputation. Laws today protecting against libel and slander are ultimately grounded in the principle contained in this statute.

One thing more: We are our neighbor’s keeper, as the parable of the good Samaritan demonstrates. He was not the cause of this man’s affliction, but he took up the responsibility to see to his healing with his own resources. Jesus commended him for this, thus elaborating the spirit of this statute beyond the mere letter of it.

This series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.ailbe.org and click on our Book Store.