Damaged property is not to be treated the same as stolen property.
Leviticus 24.21a
“Whoever kills an animal shall make it good…”
Leviticus 24.18
“Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life.”
These statutes seem to address a situation in which one person is responsible for the death of another’s animal, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Stealing does not appear to be in view, only the death of an animal. In this case, the requirement of justice is only that the dead animal be replaced, whereas, had stealing been involved, more restoration would be required.
We may assume that these statutes apply to other forms of property where damage is done, with or without intent – a child’s baseball through a neighbor’s window, for example, or even in the case of an automobile accident.
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