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Exodus 21:16

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Exodus 21:16 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Exodus 21:16 — American Standard Version

Context — Exodus 21

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
13And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver [him] into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.
14And if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
16And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
18And if men contend, and one smite the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his bed;
19if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.
← Exodus 21:15Exodus 21:17 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, etc.] One of the children of Israel, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and so the Septuagint version: but though this law was given to the Israelites primarily, yet was made for men stealers in general, as the apostle observes, who plainly has reference to it, (<540109>1 Timothy 1:9,10): or if he be found in his hand; before the selling of him, as Jarchi notes, since he stole him in order to sell him, he was guilty of death, as follows: he shall surely be put to death; with strangling, as the same Jewish writer remarks, as on the preceding verse; and Jarchi sets it down as a rule, that all death in the law, simply expressed, is strangling.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The following offences were to be punished with death: Striking a parent, compare Deuteronomy 27:16. Cursing a parent, compare the marginal references. Kidnapping, whether with a view to retain the person stolen, or to sell him, compare the marginal references. return to 'Top of Page'”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“stealeth: Gen 40:15; Deu 24:7; Ti1 1:10; Rev 18:12 selleth him: Gen 37:28 found in: Exo 22:4 Exodus 21:17”
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Related study paths

Read Exodus 21 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification