21:28-36

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Injuries caused by animals

(Ex 21:28-36)

Laws were laid down both to protect and to punish the owners of animals that injured or killed people. In determining how much the owner was at fault and what compensation he should pay, the main consideration was how much he could be held responsible for control of the animal.

If the person killed by the animal was a slave, compensation was paid to the master, since he owned the slave.

But the slave was acknowledged as a human being, not treated as a mere ‘thing’, and the animal that killed him was destroyed as in the case of an animal that killed a free person. This destruction of the animal was a recognition of the sanctity of human life (Ex 21:28-32).

The principles for assessing responsibility and compensation for injury to animals were similar to those outlined above for injury to people. All parties received fair treatment (Ex 21:33-36).