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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Exodus, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
God’s Identity and Power
Redemption and Deliverance
The Covenant
Mediators and the Priesthood
Summary
Analysis
Laws are given for the restitution of a stolen ox or sheep. In cases where a thief is unable to make restitution for the theft, then the thief himself should be sold. Restitution should also be made in cases where livestock is let loose in someone else’s field, where someone sets fire to a field, or where someone’s goods are stolen from a neighbor’s home. In cases of disputed ownership, or when an animal is killed or lost in another’s safekeeping, the case should be brought before God, and “an oath” will determine which party must make restitution.
These laws deal with matters like damage and theft. Again, livestock are key to people’s livelihood and survival, hence the emphasis on things like wandering animals and rightful ownership. Laws often include the reminder that God is the lawgiver; indeed, God is even viewed as the judge of disputes. This reminds Israelites that they’re supposed to take their obligation to holiness seriously.
Themes
Next various social and religious laws are given. If a man has sex with a woman who’s a virgin, he must give her father the bride-price for the couple to be married. Female sorcerers, or anyone who commits bestiality, must be put to death. Anyone who sacrifices to a god other than the LORD must be “devoted to destruction” (killed).
It's worth remembering that all the laws in the Book of the Covenant are applications of the Ten Commandments. They were intended to help the Israelites live holy lives—rejecting the practices (like sorcery or worshipping other deities) of surrounding nations that didn’t honor Israel’s God. Some laws are specifically meant to protect the vulnerable (like a situation where a woman’s sexual consent isn’t clear).
Themes
Israelites must not oppress resident foreigners, because they, too, were aliens in Egypt. They also must not abuse widows or orphans, whose cries God will hear and heed—their oppressors will face deadly wrath. When lending money to the poor, Israelites must not exact interest, and if they pawn their neighbor’s cloak, they must restore it by sundown. God is compassionate and will hear the cries of the oppressed. Israelites must also refrain from reviling God or cursing their leaders.
God demands that his people remember their affliction while living in Egypt. This should lead them to treat vulnerable people, like foreigners and the poor, with justice and compassion. By acting this way, the Israelites will reflect God’s own care for the oppressed.
Themes
