“When one man’s ox butts another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live ox and share its price, and the dead beast also they shall share. Or if it is known that the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall repay ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his.” Exodus 21.35, 36

This statute reflects the third facet of the Biblical teaching on justice, restorative justice. When injustice has occurred, whoever is responsible for it must take steps to set things right again.

This statute shows how the practice of restorative justice was nuanced in order to encourage the practice of preventive justice. If the ox simply, without warning or provocation, killed a neighbor’s ox, the owner of the goring ox had to sell it and share the proceeds with the owner of the dead ox. Also, the two would share the dead ox, whether the proceeds of its sale or its meat. However, if the goring ox was known to do this, and the owner did not keep it in, then a greater injustice would have been committed requiring a greater act of restoration. In this case the owner of the goring ox comes away with only the dead ox, while the owner of the gored ox receives a new beast.

Whenever someone was injured by the neglect or indifference of a neighbor, restoration was required in order to return justice to the community. Once restoration was made the injured party was satisfied and the guilty party was exonerated. Neighbors could quickly get on with being neighbors without grudges building up against one another. No prison time was involved, and no revenge was needed. Restoration could include money paid to return an injured person to health or for lost opportunity costs (Ex. 21.18, 19), borrowed things that become broken or lost (Ex. 22.14, 15), or even lost items that one might find (Deut. 22.1-4).

As Jesus made clear in the parable of the good Samaritan, restoration is a community responsibility as well as an individual one. Two Jews, seeing their injured neighbor, but not being culpable, simply crossed to the other side and went on. Perhaps they paused to pray for him, but they had no statutory obligation to restore his wellbeing. The Samaritan was not responsible for the injuries to the Jew, but, in the absence of the guilty parties to make restoration, he took it upon himself. This man, Jesus explained, was truly neighbor to the injured one, and everyone listening readily discerned that this was so. Thus Jesus affirmed the spirit of the Law as being the true intent of the Lord, even beyond the letter of the Law.

Justice is so important because it reflects the character and presence of God within a community. Public policies should exist which promote the practice of restorative justice according the spirit and not merely the letter of the Law of God.

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