Commentary - Deuteronomy 24:7

Bird's-eye view

This stark and severe command addresses the crime of kidnapping, or man-stealing, within the covenant community of Israel. The law is straightforward: if an Israelite kidnaps a fellow Israelite, treating him as property by either enslaving him or selling him, the penalty is death. This is not a crime against property, like the theft of an ox or a sheep, which required restitution. This is a crime against the image of God. The punishment is absolute because the crime is absolute. It is a fundamental violation of a person's identity as a free man made in God's likeness. The passage concludes with the common refrain in Deuteronomy concerning capital crimes: "so you shall purge the evil from among you." This highlights the corporate responsibility of the people. The execution of the man-stealer was not merely retributive justice for the individual criminal, but a necessary act of communal purification, removing a cancerous evil from the body politic of God's holy nation.

The severity of this law underscores the high value God places on human life and liberty. In the ancient world, people were frequently treated as chattel, but in Israel, God's redeemed people were to be different. To steal a man was to steal the very image of God, to claim ownership over something that belonged exclusively to Him. The New Testament echoes this gravity, listing "enslavers" (or men-stealers) alongside murderers, the sexually immoral, and liars as those whose actions are contrary to the sound doctrine of the gospel (1 Tim. 1:10). This law is a powerful declaration that human beings are not commodities to be bought and sold.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 24 is part of a larger section of the book (chapters 12-26) where Moses is expounding upon the specific statutes and judgments that are to govern Israel's life in the Promised Land. This chapter contains a variety of laws that seem, at first glance, somewhat disconnected. It addresses divorce, exemptions from military service, pledges for loans, and justice for the poor and vulnerable. However, the common thread is the application of covenantal righteousness to the details of everyday life. These laws are designed to create a just, merciful, and holy society that reflects the character of Yahweh. The law against kidnapping is situated among rules that protect the vulnerable and ensure basic human dignity. It stands as a stark reminder that while God cares about fair lending practices and the rights of widows, He reserves the ultimate penalty for crimes that fundamentally assault the personhood of a fellow covenant member.

Key Issues

Theft of a Divine Image

When we read the Mosaic law, it is crucial that we make the distinctions that the law itself makes. If a man steals an ox, he is to restore it fivefold (Ex. 22:1). If he steals a sheep, fourfold. The penalty is restitution, and it is severe, but it is a property crime. But here, the crime is stealing a man. And the penalty is not restitution; it is death. Why the infinite difference?

The difference is that an ox is not made in the image of God. A man is. To steal an ox is to take a man's property. To steal a man is to take God's property. Every human being bears the imago Dei. To kidnap a man, to treat him as a beast of burden, to sell him as a piece of merchandise, is to commit a profound act of blasphemy. It is to look at a living, breathing icon of the living God and slap a price tag on him. It is an assault not just on the man who is stolen, but on the God in whose image he is made. This is why the law treats it with such finality. This is not theft of livestock; this is the theft of a soul, a life, a divine reflection. The kidnapper is, in essence, trying to usurp God's ownership. God's response through the civil magistrate is clear: the one who plays God in this way forfeits his own life.

Verse by Verse Commentary

7 “If a man is caught kidnapping any of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and he mistreats him or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.

The verse lays out the case with legal precision. First, the condition: "If a man is caught kidnapping any of his brothers." The crime is man-stealing, and the victim is a fellow Israelite, a "brother." This emphasizes the covenantal context. This is not just any man, but a member of God's chosen family. To commit this crime is to violate the bonds of kinship and covenant that were to define Israel.

Next, the nature of the crime is specified: "and he mistreats him or sells him." The Hebrew for "mistreats" can also be rendered "deals tyrannically with him" or "makes merchandise of him." The point is that the kidnapper treats the free man as a slave, as property to be exploited or a commodity to be sold. He reduces a person to a thing. This is the heart of the evil. It is the ultimate act of dehumanization.

Then comes the sentence, and it is unambiguous: "then that thief shall die." There are no mitigating circumstances, no options for restitution, no lesser penalties. The life of the thief is required. This is an application of the principle of lex talionis, an eye for an eye. The kidnapper, in effect, sought to bring about a civil death for his victim, removing him from his life, family, and freedom. The just penalty is his own literal death. This is not vengeance; it is holy justice, administered by the lawful authorities of the nation.

Finally, the purpose of the execution is stated: "so you shall purge the evil from among you." The execution of the man-stealer is a corporate act of purification. The sin of kidnapping is not just a private wrong; it is a public evil, a defilement that pollutes the entire community. If left unpunished, it would be a stain on the land and a reproach to the God who dwelt among them. Justice here is not only retributive but also purgative and deterrent. It removes the evil man and his evil influence, and it teaches all Israel to fear such a wicked deed. A community that tolerates the buying and selling of its own people has ceased to be a holy community.

Application

We live in a world where human trafficking, the modern term for man-stealing, is a monstrous and global evil. Millions of people, many of them children, are kidnapped, sold, and forced into slavery, whether for labor or for sexual exploitation. This ancient law from Deuteronomy speaks with a terrifying and righteous clarity into our modern situation. It reminds us that this is not just another crime. It is not a social problem to be managed. It is a profound evil that God hates, and it is an abomination that demands the severest of judgments.

For the Christian, this law should do two things. First, it should fill us with a holy hatred for the sin of human trafficking. We must see it as God sees it: an assault on His image-bearers. This should lead us to pray and work for its abolition, to support ministries that rescue and restore victims, and to demand that our own civil magistrates treat this crime with the gravity it deserves. We cannot be apathetic while our "brothers", and all men are our neighbors, are being bought and sold.

Second, it should drive us to the Gospel. The ultimate man-stealer is Satan, who takes men captive to do his will (2 Tim. 2:26). The ultimate slave market is the domain of sin and death. We were all, by nature, enslaved. But God, in His infinite mercy, did not leave us in bondage. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, not to purchase us as slaves, but to redeem us as sons. He paid the ultimate price, His own blood, to set us free. The kidnapper of Deuteronomy 24:7 sought to turn a free man into a slave. Christ, through the cross, turns slaves into free men. This law shows us the terrible price of sin, and in so doing, it magnifies the glorious grace of our Redeemer who came to proclaim liberty to the captives.