Bible Strands
Exodus 22:8
If the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has taken his neighbor’s property.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites at Sinai, delivering civil statutes immediately after the laws governing stolen safekeeping goods.
The words — The Hebrew phrase בַּעַל־הַבַּיִת (ba'al ha-bayit) literally means "master of the house," and וְנִקְרַב (ve-nikrav) means "he will be brought near," directing the suspect toward the judicial assembly.
The thread — This unresolved theft procedure aligns with the judicial requirement in Exodus 22:9, where both parties in a property dispute must bring their cases before the judges, and with Deuteronomy 16:18, which mandates appointed officials to adjudicate tribal disputes.
Why it lands — The text states that the accused owner must physically appear before judges to prove his innocence, and interpreters infer that private claims of honesty cannot replace formal judicial verification in unresolved theft cases.
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
If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods.
Cross-references
- Exodus 22:28 You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
- Exodus 21:6 then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.
- Deuteronomy 16:18 You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- Exodus 22:9 In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.
- Deuteronomy 17:8 If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.
- Deuteronomy 19:17 both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.
- 1 Chronicles 23:4 “Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,
- Psalms 82:1 A Psalm of Asaph. God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods: