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CompensationInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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COMPENSATION
An equivalent given or received for services, loss, or injury. The Hebrew verb rendered “make compensation” (sha·lemʹ) is related to sha·lohmʹ, meaning “peace.” (Ex 21:36; 1Ki 5:12) Thus the verb implies a restoration of peace through payment or restitution. Under the Law given to Israel through Moses, compensation was demanded where there was injury or loss in any field of human relations.
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CompensationInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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If, in the process of a fight between men, a pregnant woman was injured or her child(ren) ‘came out,’ but no fatal accident occurred, the guilty man was to have damages imposed on him by the owner of the woman. (In case the husband made an exorbitant claim, the judges would fix the sum to be paid.)—Ex 21:22.
If a bull was in the habit of goring and its owner had been warned of this fact but did not keep the animal under guard, then, in the event that it gored a slave to death, the slave’s master was to receive a 30-shekel ($66) compensation from the bull’s owner. This applied to foreign slaves, not Hebrews, according to Jewish commentators. If the bull gored a free person, the owner was to die. However, if, in the eyes of the judges, circumstances or other factors allowed for a more lenient penalty, a ransom could be imposed on him. In such a case the owner of the goring bull had to pay whatever amount the judges imposed. Additionally, the owner suffered the loss of the bull, which was stoned to death. Its flesh could not be eaten. (Ex 21:28-32) This law also evidently applied in the case of other animals able to inflict mortal wounds.
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CompensationInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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Injuries and Property Damages. A man who killed another’s animal was required to pay for it. (Le 24:18, 21) When one bull killed another, the live one was sold, and both the price of it and the dead animal were equally divided between the owners. However, if the bull was known to be a vicious one, the owner compensated the other by giving the other a live bull and taking the dead and, consequently, much less valuable one.—Ex 21:35, 36.
The best of one’s own field or vineyard was to be given up as compensation for the damage done by an animal’s trespassing and grazing on another’s field. If one started a fire that got into another person’s field and caused damage, the owner had to be compensated equally. The heavier judgment for damage by the trespassing animal was because animals are easier to control than fire, also because the grazing animal was receiving gain unjustly like a thief; therefore, more than equal compensation was required.—Ex 22:5, 6.
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CompensationInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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If an animal died of itself, was torn by a wild beast, or was taken by a band of marauders, the bailee was free from blame. The loss was beyond his control.
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CompensationInsight on the Scriptures, Volume 1
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A man who borrowed an animal from another person for his own use had to compensate for any damages incurred. (Ex 22:14) If its owner was with it, no compensation was required, on the principle that the individual would be watching his own property. If it was a hired item, the owner would stand the loss because he supposedly would consider the risk in setting a hiring price.—Ex 22:15.
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