Exodus 22:4

Summary

The verse establishes that if a stolen animal is found alive in the possession of the thief — whether ox, donkey, or sheep — the thief must repay double the value. The Hebrew syntax emphasizes certainty of discovery through a doubled verbal construction and specifies "alive" as a condition distinct from other restitution cases in the surrounding law.

Key words

• hi.ma.Tze' ("actually ", H4672) — niphal infinitive absolute, paired with the following finite verb of the same root to intensify the conditional clause ("if it is indeed found").
• ti.ma.Tze' ("it will be found", H4672) — niphal imperfect, passive voice ("be found" rather than "one finds"), completing the infinitive-absolute + finite-verb pair.
• ge.ne.Vah ("thing stolen", H1591) — feminine singular noun with definite article ha- (H9009), naming the object of the search as "the stolen thing" itself, not merely "a theft."
• chai.Yim ("alive", H2416A) — masculine plural adjective modifying the preceding list of animals, marking the specific condition (the animal found living) that triggers this restitution rule.
• ye.sha.Lem ("he will make restitution", H7999A) — piel imperfect, intensive stem conveying full/active payment, agreeing with she.Na.yim ("twofold", H8147) as the required amount.

What the text says

The clause opens with the conditional particle 'im- ("if", H0518A) followed by the construction hi.ma.Tze' ti.ma.Tze' — an infinitive absolute of matza ("to find", H4672) reinforcing the finite niphal imperfect of the same root. This doubling is a common Biblical Hebrew device to stress certainty or emphasis in the condition: the concern is specifically the case where the stolen item is actually found, as opposed to cases of uncertainty. The passive niphal voice throughout means the text speaks of the item being found, not of someone finding it — the grammatical subject is the stolen article, not the finder.

The phrase be.yad.o ("in his hand", H3027H + H9023) uses the construct "hand" idiomatically for possession, indicating the thief currently holds the item. The list mi.Shor 'ad-cha.Mor 'ad-seh ("from ox unto donkey unto sheep") names three animal categories using the prepositions min ("from", H9006) and 'ad ("unto", H5704) to span the range of livestock covered. The adjective chai.Yim ("alive") stands after the list, modifying all three animals collectively and marking the condition — the animal recovered alive — that distinguishes this case from other provisions in the passage dealing with animals not found alive. The final verb ye.sha.Lem, paired with she.Na.yim ("twofold", H8147, a dual cardinal number), specifies that restitution is double the value, using the piel stem to denote the active, intensive completion of payment.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew list names three animals — shor ("ox"), chamor ("donkey"), seh ("sheep"). The LXX renders only two, "ἀπό τε ὄνου ἕως προβάτου" ("from donkey to sheep"), omitting an equivalent for shor ("ox"). The Vulgate preserves all three terms, "sive bos, sive asinus, sive ovis" ("whether ox, or donkey, or sheep"), matching the Hebrew list. The LXX also renders the Hebrew's doubled verb (hi.ma.Tze' ti.ma.Tze') with two distinct Greek verbs, "καταλημφθῇ καὶ εὑρεθῇ" ("be caught and be found"), rather than repeating a single root as the Hebrew does.