If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.
If the sun has risen when this happens, then bloodshed would be murder and the person would be guilty; the thief must pay back everything in full; if he has nothing to pay with, then he must be sold as a slave to pay for what he stole.
This verse is saying that killing a thief in daylight would be murder, and that thieves must fully repay what they stole, even if it means being sold into slavery to pay the debt.
📚 Historical Context
This law was part of God's instructions to Moses for governing the Israelites after they left Egypt. It deals with the rights of property owners to defend themselves against thieves, but makes a distinction between nighttime break-ins (when deadly force was allowed) and daytime theft (when it was not). The practice of selling someone into temporary slavery to pay debts was common in the ancient Near East and provided a way for restitution when someone couldn't pay.
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