The KJV Holy Bible

 

Exodus Chapter Twenty One

 

1 Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.

2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.

3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him.

4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.

5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.

7 And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.

8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

9 And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.

10 If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.

11 And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

12 He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

13 And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.

14 But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.

15 And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.

16 And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.

17 And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.

18 And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed:

19 If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed.

20 And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.

21 Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

22 If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.

23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,

24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

26 And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye's sake.

27 And if he smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.

28 If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

29 But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

30 If there be laid on him a sum of money, then he shall give for the ransom of his life whatsoever is laid upon him.

31 Whether he have gored a son, or have gored a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done unto him.

32 If the ox shall push a manservant or a maidservant; he shall give unto their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.

33 And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;

34 The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his.

35 And if one man's ox hurt another's, that he die; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money of it; and the dead ox also they shall divide.

36 Or if it be known that the ox hath used to push in time past, and his owner hath not kept him in; he shall surely pay ox for ox; and the dead shall be his own.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Exodus: The Algorithms of Karma and the Governance of the Subordinate Mind

"Exodus Chapter Twenty-One transitions from the Grand, Cosmic Physics of the Ten Commandments to the precise, microscopic application of Universal Law Within the human Psyche. These 'judgments' are not archaic social rules for earthly governance, but Profound Esoteric Algorithms detailing how the Awakened Spiritual Will must regulate and discipline the lower, subservient faculties of the Mind. This chapter explores the Karmic consequences of Internal Violence, the danger of unexamined Psychological Voids, and the Absolute mathematical precision of Cause and Effect—the Law of Exactly Balanced Compensation—demanded by the Great Work."

 

 

Verses 1-6: The Cycle of Service and the Law of Voluntary Release - "Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing... Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever." 

A "Hebrew servant" Represents a Spiritualized but subordinate Mental Faculty—a specific Intellectual discipline or coping mechanism employed by the Conscious Will to navigate the physical world. The Six years of service Represent the Active cycle of labor, while the Seventh year (the Sabbath principle) demands release. No Psychological tool or lower faculty should permanently bind the Soul against its nature. However, if that Faculty (the servant) chooses out of Pure Devotion to remain bound to the Will (the Master), its ear is pierced at the doorpost. The doorpost is the portal of Perception. Piercing the ear symbolizes the Permanent, Voluntary Opening of the Obedient Faculty to the Higher Commands of the Spiritual Will, Sealing it in Eternal, Loving Service to the Divine Center.

 

 

Verses 12-15: The Suppression of the Life Force and the Severing of the Source - "He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death... And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death." 

In Esoteric Anatomy, "killing a man" signifies the Conscious, Malicious Destruction of a Vital, Living aspect of the Psyche, or the aggressive suppression of the Spiritual Spark. The Karmic penalty is Absolute: the offending aspect of the ego must be systematically destroyed ("put to death"). Striking the father or mother Represents a Violent rebellion of the lower Intellect against its Own Divine Origins—the Active Spiritual Will (the father) and the receptive Intuition (the mother). Any lower earthly Faculty that attempts to usurp or destroy its Divine Source immediately severs itself from the flow of Universal Life and is condemned to Alchemical Death.

 

 

Verses 23-25: The Immutable Law of Karma and Perfect Equilibrium - "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." 

Often misunderstood as a primitive Law of physical revenge, this is actually the Supreme Hermetic revelation of Karma—the Absolute, Mathematical Law of Cause and Effect. The Universal Spirit does not punish; it Perfectly Balances. Every Energetic Action generated by the human Mind—whether a Thought/Perception (eye), a Word/Expression (tooth), or a Deed/Manifestation (hand)—Creates an Exact and Equal Reverberation in the Astral and Physical Planes. The Adept is taught that they cannot escape the Consequences of their Internal State; whatever Frequency they Project into the Universe will be Returned to Them with Flawless, Mechanical Precision.

 

 

Verses 33-34: The Danger of the Unconscious Void and Spiritual Negligence - "And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein; The owner of the pit shall make it good, and give money unto the owner of them; and the dead beast shall be his." 

The "pit" Represents an unresolved Psychological trauma, a hidden destructive habit, or an unmonitored void within the Subconscious Mind. Digging a pit and leaving it uncovered symbolizes Extreme Spiritual Negligence. If an "ox or ass" (the vital animal energies or the base carrying-power of the Psyche) falls into this trap and is destroyed, the Conscious Intellect (the owner of the pit) is held entirely responsible for the Loss of that Energy. The Adept must Actively police their Internal landscape, ensuring that no dark, unexamined Psychological voids are left open to accidentally trap and destroy the Vital Life Force necessary to sustain the Great Work.