Exodus 21:36

Exo 21:36 Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

Ver. 36. Ox for ox.] These were those "right judgments, true laws, good statutes, and commandments." {Neh 9:13}

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.

36. and the dead beast shall be his] as v. 34.

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.

Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past,.... If it is a plain case, and a thing well known in the neighbourhood, and there are witnesses enough to testify it, that it has yesterday, and for two or three days running, pushed with his horns men and cattle, as they have come in his way; see Gill on Exo 21:29.

and his owner hath not kept him in; took no care to prevent his doing mischief by putting him into a barn or out house, or into an enclosure, where he could do no damage to any:

he shall surely pay ox for ox; that is, he shall give as good an ox to him, whose ox has been killed by his, as that was, or pay him the full worth and value of it: and the dead shall be his own; shall not be divided as in the preceding case, but shall be the proprietor's wholly, that is, the sufferer's; because the owner of the vicious ox took no care of him, though it was well known he was mischievous, for which negligence he was punished this way.

Next: Exodus Chapter 22

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

Ox for ox; an ox of equal value with that slain ox, or the price and worth of it.

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

או נודע means, OR it was not a תם but IT IS KNOWN THAT THE OX WAS WONT TO THRUST to-day yesterday and the day before yesterday — thus you have the three acts of goring required to make it a שלם ישלם שור (Bava Kamma 23b)

.מועד HE SHALL SURELY PAY AN OX [FOR THE OX] — i. e. the full damage.

והמת יהיה לו AND THE DEAD SHALL BELONG TO HIM — to the claimant (Bava Kamma 23b) as part of this full payment. In addition to it the defendant has to complete the amount until the claimant has been paid for his entire loss.

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.

OR IF IT BE KNOWN THAT THE OX WAS WONT TO GORE IN TIME PAST, AND ITS OWNER HATH NOT KEPT IT IN, HE SHALL SURELY PAY AN OX FOR AN OX. It is known that if a Tam is an animal which has not injured, or killed [an animal] more than three times and whose owner has not been warned that it is dangerous and must be guarded. For whatever damages a Tam does, its owner pays only half the loss. The Tam is distinguished from a Muad, an animal which has killed or injured at least four times, and whose owner has been warned that it is dangerous and must be guarded. For whatever damage it does, the owner must pay in full. too is properly guarded by its owner, but through an accident it so happened that it went out and caused damage, the owner is certainly not liable., (see Note above) since the same law applies to a Tam as well. Ramban proceeds to remove this difficulty. Thus the reason why He states only with reference to a Muad, is an animal which has not injured, or killed [an animal] more than three times and whose owner has not been warned that it is dangerous and must be guarded. For whatever damages a Tam does, its owner pays only half the loss. The Tam is distinguished from a Muad, an animal which has killed or injured at least four times, and whose owner has been warned that it is dangerous and must be guarded. For whatever damage it does, the owner must pay in full. and its owner hath not kept it in, [when the same principle would apply to a Tam as well] is, according to that Sage in the Talmud who says that a Muad needs better guarding than a Tam, as follows: Scripture states that if the ox was wont to gore and warning had been given to its owner, and he hath not kept it in and guarded it better in view of its dangerous nature, so that it went out and caused damage, the owner must pay the full damage. According to the opinion of that Sage ). who holds that the degree of guarding necessary for both Tam and Muad is an animal which has not injured, or killed [an animal] more than three times and whose owner has not been warned that it is dangerous and must be guarded. For whatever damages a Tam does, its owner pays only half the loss. The Tam is distinguished from a Muad, an animal which has killed or injured at least four times, and whose owner has been warned that it is dangerous and must be guarded. For whatever damage it does, the owner must pay in full. is alike, the meaning of the verse is as follows: If it be known to the owner that the ox was wont to gore and now too [i.e., at the fourth time] he hath not kept it in, he is liable to pay the full damage on account of his grave negligence.

AND THE DEAD BEAST SHALL BELONG TO HIM — “to the one who suffered the damage, and the one who caused the damage adds to it until he completes the amount, so that the one who was damaged will have been paid for his entire loss.” This is Rashi’s language, and is in accordance with the teaching of our Rabbis., 10b. And if so, it is proper that we explain the verse as follows: he shall surely pay ox for ox “with” the dead beast which shall, belong to him. Similarly, and Joseph was in Egypt, means: “with” Joseph who was in Egypt [they were seventy souls]. Likewise, I cannot endure iniquity ‘va’atzarah’ [literally: “and the solemn assembly”] means with the solemn assembly, similar to that which He said, I hate robbery ‘b’olah’ — “with” a burnt-offering., 61:8.According to the simple meaning of Scripture it is possible to explain the expression, and the dead shall belong to him — to the one who caused the damage, the verse thus stating: he shall surely pay ox for ox, but he may keep the carcass, so that in making monetary compensation he can turn it over to the one who suffered the damage as part payment. Thus according to both interpretations the law is alike — the owner of the dead animal attends to the carcass, and its value is determined as at the time of its death, to be taken by him as part payment, according to the words of our Rabbis.

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.