Bible Strands
Exodus 21:16
Whoever kidnaps another man must be put to death, whether he sells him or the man is found in his possession.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God issues this statute to the Israelite community at Mount Sinai within a block of case laws addressing capital crimes. It stands directly between commands punishing those who strike or curse their parents.
The words — The passage hinges on גֹנֵב (go.Nev), meaning one who steals or kidnaps, and יוּמָֽת (yu.Mat), meaning he will be put to death. These terms define the criminal act and its non-negotiable penalty.
The thread — The law reappears in Deuteronomy 24:7, which mandates execution for kidnapping an Israelite brother, and 1 Timothy 1:10, which classifies slave traders among the lawless. Genesis 37:28 records the historical practice of brothers selling a captive into slavery.
Why it lands — The text states that abduction and the sale or retention of a person warrant death, establishing human life as non-commodifiable. It requires readers to treat kidnapping with the same absolute severity as violence against parents, leaving no room for economic justification.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 24:7 If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- 1 Timothy 1:10 for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
- Genesis 37:28 So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
- Exodus 22:4 If what was stolen is actually found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.
- Genesis 40:15 For I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which they should have put me in this dungeon.”
- Revelation 18:12 cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;