CHAPTER XXII in a thief to cany off an ox than a sheep or goat; and so the crime was visited with a THE Boo:s: OF THE CoVENANT, continued. heavier penalty. Laws C04"1.nected 'IDita rights oj property, Ver. 2.-If e. thief be folll1d breaking up. Rather," Breaking in "--i.e., ma.king forcible continued (vers. 1-15). The first section- entry into a hoUJle. The ordinary mode of vers. 1-6-is upon theft. The general prin- "breaking in" seems to have been by a ciple le.id down is, that theft she.ll be pun- breach in the we.ll. Hence the word here ished if possible, by a fine. There is e. more.I. used, which is derived from 'kluitha-r, "to fitness in this, since a me.n's desire to get whs,t dig." There ■hall no blood be llhed for !rim. Rather, "the blood-feud she.ll not lie upon wu his neighbour's would lead to the loss of him "-i.e., the e.venger of olood shell not be what wu his own. In ordinary cases the entitled to proceed against his slayer. The thief WIIS to restore to the man robbed double principle here laid down bas had the sanction of whe.t he had stolen (ver. 4) but, if he of Solon, of the Rome.n law, and of the law of bad shewn persistence in WTOng doing by England. It rests upon the probability that those who break into e. house by night have selling the property, or (if it were e.n e.nimal) a murderous intent, or at least have the killing it, he was to pe.y more-fourfold in the design, if occasion arise, to comm.it murder. case of a sheep, fivefold in that of e.n ox. If Ver. 8.-If the sun be riaen upon him. lf the criminal could not pay the fine, then he the entry is attempted after daybreak. In was to b\l sold as e. slave (ver. 3). Burglary, this case it is charitably assumed that the thief does not contemplate Illlll"der. There or breaking into e. house at night, might be lhal.J be blood shed for !rim. Or, "the blood- resisted by force, e.nd if the burglar were feud shall hold good in his case "-i.e., his k.il!ed1 the me.n who killed him incurred no slayer she.ll be liable to be put to deuth by the legal guilt (ver. 2); but, if the house were next of kin. For he should me.ke full resti- entered by de.y, the proviso did not hold tution. Rather, "He sbe.ll make full restitu- tion." The punishment of the housebreaker, (ver. 3). who enters a house by day, shall be like that Vers. 1-4.-Laws about theft Ver. I.- of other thieves-to restore double. If he have If e. man ■hall ■teal an ox. The principal nothing. Rather," if he have not enough"- property possessed by the Israelites in the i.e., if he CBilnot make the restitubon required, wilderness was their cattle ; whence this theu he ■hall be sold for his theft. It is l'l_ccurs to the legislator as the thing most somewhat fanciful to suppose, that this pun- likely (o bo stolen It required more k·ilc\ucss ishment aUJ..:d 11-t enforcing labour on :110118 186 THE BOOK 01? EXODUS. lCR. XXII, 4-0. who prefe!Tt'd Rtee.ling to working for their "whether it be ox, or BSB, or small cattle,•· be o"-n li,·ing (Ke.liscb). Probe.bi)· the idee. "'118 Rhttll restore double. The law of theft in the simpl)· the rompenRe.tion o{ the injured pe.rty, Mosaic legisle.tion ie altogether of a mild wh, no doubt received the proceeds of the character, as compared with the Ron11m, or man 1r; ee..le. e,•en with the English law, until the present Yer. 4.-Ir the theft be oert&l.nly found in century. Donhle restitution was a eort of Dill hand. If he be ce.ught ifljlagrant,e delioto., " retaliation "-it involved a man losing tht with the thing stolen in his poS&ession, exact amonnt which he had expected to gain
HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-4.-Punishment, even for one CJna the 111Jme offence, should be graduated. Some code~ treat a crime which can be given a single definite name, e.g., theft, as if it were in all 08l!8S uniform, and prescribe a single penalty-death, the bastinado, a month's imprisonment. The Mose.ic Law, with greater refinement and greater R,ropriety, graduated the punishment according to the special character of the offence, 'Ihe worst form of theft proper is burglary. Burglary destroys the repo!'I! of the household, intro- duces a fueling of insecurity, trenches upon the sacredness of the hearth, endangers life, affrights tender women and children. By permitting the destruction of the burglar, the law pronounced him worthy of death. Other forms of ihievii:g were punished in pro- portion to the audacity and persistence of the thief. A man who had stolen without oonverting the property, was to pay back double. If he had converted it to his own use, or sold it, the penalty was heavier-fourfold for a sheep or goat, fivefold for an ox. There was especial audacity in stealing an 01,_n animal so large that it could not readily be converted; so powerful that ii could not easily be carried off. 'l'he gradua- tion of punishment for all crimes is desirable-- I. BECAUSE THE SAIIE OUTWARD OFFENCE D.'VOLVES VARIOUS DEGREES OF INWARD WICKEDNESS; e.g., homicide varies between absolute blamelessness (ver. 2) and the high~t degree of culpability (eh. xxi. 14). .Assault may be the lightest possible matter or approach closely to murder. False witness may arise from imperfect memory, oi- from a deliberat.e desi,,,"ll to effect a man's ruin. Lies may be " white," or the blackest falsehoods which it is possible for the soul of man to inl"ent. Punishment is, and ought to be, in the ma.in retributive; and as the moral guilt varies, so should the penalty. ll BECAUSE: TBE OUTWARD OFFENCE ITSELF IS MORE OB LESS INJURIOUS. By an act of st.ea.ling we may rob a man of a trifle, or reduce him to beggary. By a blow of a. certain force we may in.fl.ict on him a slight pain, or render him a cripple for life. By a false st.aiement in a court of justice we may do him no harm at all, or we may ruin his character. All crimes short of homicide vary in the extent to which they injure a man; and it is reasonable that the amount of injury received should be taken into considera- tion when punishment is apportioned. Therefore, a rigid unbending law, assigning to each head of crime a uniform penalty would be unsuitable to the conditions of human lift: e.nd the varying motives of criminals. A wise legislator will leave a wide discretion to those who administer justice, trusnng them to apportion to each offence the punishment which under the circumsiances it deserves.