Exodus 21:19

Exo 21:19 If 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.

Ver. 19. Upon his staff.] See 2Sa 3:29 Zec 8:4.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By the civil Justice.

Or, losing of his time.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 19. Shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.] This was a wise and excellent institution, and most courts of justice still regulate their decisions on such cases by this Mosaic precept.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(19) If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff.—The charge of murder was not to be kept hanging over a man indefinitely. If the injured person recovered sufficiently to leave his bed, and get about by the help of a stick, the injurer was to pay his fine and be quit of his offence, whatever might happen afterwards.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. walk abroad upon his staff] a proof of convalescence. The ‘staff’ (lit. something to lean upon) was used for help in walking (2Ki_4:29,—by Elisha): in Zec_8:4 a characteristic of old age.

be quit (lit. innocent)] If he died in his bed, the person who injured him might reasonably be held responsible for his death: if he died after the had taken his first walk, he might himself have met with some farther accident, or imprudently ventured out too soon.

only, &c.] Though he is no longer in danger of suffering the capital penalty, he must still compensate his victim for his loss of time, and pay his doctor’s bill. Cf. Ḥamm. 206; and Manu, viii. 287 (Cook, p. 254).

the loss of his time] a necessary paraphrase of the Heb. shibtô, which may be derived from either yâshab, to ‘sit down,’ or shâbath, to ‘desist,’ ‘cease’ (viz. from toil): hence the two margins.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If he rise again,.... From his bed, or from his disease, as the last mentioned Targum, recovers again, at least so far as to be able to do what follows:

and walk abroad upon his staff; if he is able to get out of his bed, and especially out of his house, and can be seen walking about in the street or in the field, though he is obliged to make use of a staff, and lean upon it, being yet weak and sickly:

then shall he that smote him be quit; from the judgment of slaying, as the Targum, he shall not be charged with manslaughter, or be found guilty of a capital crime, but discharged from that:

only shall he pay for the loss of his time; as much as he could have got in that time by his labour, from which he was obliged to cease: the Jewish writers add other things also he was to pay for, as the Targum of Jonathan, particularly; as for his pain, and for his loss of any member, and for his shame and disgrace, as well as the physician's fee, which is supposed to be included in the next clause:

and cause him to be thoroughly healed; take care that he has a physician or surgeon, and that the proper medicines be applied, and those continued until he is quite well; all which must be at the expense of the smiter.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Quit - i. e. if one man injured another in a quarrel so as to oblige him to keep his bed, he was free from the liability to a criminal charge (such as might be based upon Exo 21:12): but he was required to compensate the latter for the loss of his time, and for the cost of his healing.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Staff, as people in health do, or even as a convalescent. In the mean time the other person was confined, and subjected to the law of retaliation, if the sick man lost either limb or life, ver. 24. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The loss of his time, i.e. of the profit which he could or commonly did make of his time in the way of his calling.

Cause him to be thoroughly healed, i.e. pay the charges of the cure.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

If he rise again and walk upon his staff. If he recovered sufficiently to leave his bed, and get about with a stick to lean on, his hurt was not to be brought up against the injurer, though he died soon afterwards. Compensation was to be received, and the score regarded as wiped off.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

על משענתו (lit., with that on which he relies) — i. e. his former healthy state and vigour (Mekhilta; cf. Onkelos).

ונקה המכה [WHEN HE RISES AGAIN…] HE THAT SMOTE HIM SHALL BE FREED — But could it enter your mind that this person who has not killed anyone at all should be subject to the death penalty? Why, then, is it necessary to state this? But it is intended to teach you that he is kept in prison until we discover whether the other is completely healed or not, and what the verse implies is this: when this man rises again (אם יקום) and walks in the street in his former vigour, then he who smote him shall be freed from prison, but so long as the other has not risen from the sick-bed etc. the man who smote him is not freed (Ketubot 33b; Sanhedrin 78b).

רק שבתו ONLY [HE SHALL PAY FOR] THE LOSS OF HIS TIME — i. e. for the interruption of his labour due to this illness. If, for instance, he cut off his hand or his foot, we regard the interruption of labour caused by this illness as though his occupation were that of a watchman in a cucumber field (which work can be done even by a man lacking a hand or a foot), for even after he has recovered from the illness he will not be able to do work which requires hands or feet, and indeed the value of his hand or his foot that was cut off the other has already paid to him as “damages” (נזק), as it is said, (v. 24) “hand for hand, foot for foot”. (Having compensated him already for loss of capacity as a wage-earner whole in body, it would not be right if this man has again to pay him for loss of time as though he were of full-earning capacity) (Bava Kamma 85b).

ורפא ירפא — Translate it as the Targum does: he shall pay the physician’s fee.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

IF HE RISE AGAIN, AND WALKS ABROAD ‘AL MISH’ANTO’ — “in his former healthy state and vigor.” This is Rashi’s language. And Rabbi ibn Ezra said that the reason why this word [which means literally: “support”] is used, is to tell us that he must not be dependant upon others for the ability to walk, like an invalid, but must walk by himself; is “his physical strength;” according to Ibn Ezra, it is “his leaning” or “support.” Ramban will proceed to explain it in its literal sense — “on his staff.” Almost all translations follow Ramban’s interpretation. only then shall he that smote him be quit from prison.In my opinion, mish’anto is to be understood in its literal sense, [a staff], just as in the verses: every man with ‘mish’anto’ (his staff) in his hand for old age; ‘mish’eneth’ (the staff) of this bruised reed. Scripture is thus stating that if the injured person’s health improves sufficiently to enable him to go out walking as he wishes in the streets and in the broad ways with his staff, like those healed from some prolonged disabling injury, then shall he that smote him be quit; and it further teaches us that even if the injured man is careless later about his health and dies after that in his weakness, the assailant is free from the death penalty. Scripture says and he walketh abroad because it speaks of the customary way of life, for injured men who were laid up in bed do not go out walking again until their wounds have healed and they are out of danger, this being the sense of the phrase, and he walketh abroad, because if he just gets up and walks in his house on his staff, and then dies, the assailant is not free [from the death penalty].In the words of the Mechilta: “If he rise again and walketh. I might think this means within the house; Scripture therefore says, abroad. But from the word abroad I might think that even if he was wasting away [the assailant is still free from punishment]; Scripture therefore says, if he rise again.” This explanation too is very correct, that Scripture should be saying that if the injured man gets up completely from his bed and goes steadily outside — without having to go back to his bed when returning from outside, as is the way of those who continue to waste away — even though he is weak and has to lean upon a staff, the assailant shall be let off. In general all this is to be interpreted as being figurative, language expressing people’s practical conduct, and the basic rule is that he must have been assessed as being capable of recovery. This is why Onkelos translated al mish’anto: al boryeih (in his healthy state).

Scripture states, only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed, but it does not say, “he shall pay for the loss of his time and his medical care.” in order to tell us that he must pay the money for the doctors to heal him, and the injured person cannot demand that he should give him the compensation and he will do other things with it. Instead, the assailant must heal him under all circumstances.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.