Judgments So Righteous
I was listening to an audio recording of Exodus and a verse jumped out at me, Exodus 21:35. This is what it says, "And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide." What surprised me about it is that rather than give the live ox to the owner of the ox that was killed, the judgment is to sell the live ox and divide the money and also divide the dead ox. Why? Well, to answer that fully we must also see the next verse: "Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own." The next verse has a different circumstance and a different judgment. So, since the judgment of v. 36 is for an ox that was not properly kept in even though its dangerous behaviour was known, we can conclude that the ox in verse 35 was not known for prior dangerous behaviour. As