Exodus 21:37

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

If a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, he must repay five cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כִּי יִגְנֹב־אִישׁ שׁוֹר אוֹ־שֶׂה וּטְבָחוֹ אוֹ מְכָרוֹ חֲמִשָּׁה בָקָר יְשַׁלֵּם תַּחַת הַשּׁוֹר וְאַרְבַּע־צֹאן תַּחַת הַשֶּׂה

Transliteration

kî yignōb-ʾîsh shôr ʾô-śeh û-ṭəbāchô ʾô məkhārô chamishāh bāqār yəshallēm tachat the shôr wə-ʾarbaʿ-ṣōʾn tachat the śeh

Grammar Details

• *kî*: conjunction - if
• *yignōb*: qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - he steals
• *ʾîsh*: masculine singular noun - a man
• *shôr*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the ox
• *ʾô*: conjunction - or
• *śeh*: masculine singular noun with definite article - the sheep
• *û-ṭəbāchô*: conjunction *wə* + qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - and slaughters it
• *məkhārô*: qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - sells it
• *chamishāh*: cardinal number, feminine - five
• *bāqār*: collective noun - cattle/oxen
• *yəshallēm*: piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular - he shall repay
• *tachat*: preposition - in place of
• *wə-ʾarbaʿ*: conjunction *wə* + cardinal number, feminine - and four
• *ṣōʾn*: collective noun - sheep/flock

Word Meanings

• *yignōb*: he steals/he takes illegally
• *ṭəbāchô*: slaughters it/butchers it
• *məkhārô*: sells it/disposes of it by sale
• *yəshallēm*: he shall repay/he shall restore/he shall compensate
• *tachat*: in place of/as payment for/instead of