What Does Exodus 22:13 Mean in the King James?
If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The torn remains become testimony: evidence of the loss also marks the boundary of the keeper’s responsibility.
THE MEANING
Being entrusted with something does not make every loss yours to repay. The torn animal stands as testimony to what happened, and that evidence releases the keeper from making good the loss. A loss can occur without proving neglect.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that every loss under your care proves your failure. Evidence of what happened can release you from a debt that was never yours to repay.
THE ROOT
הַטְּרֵפָה
haṭṭərēp̄āh
GROWS FROM
טרף
To tear or rend, especially to seize as prey.
“that which was torn” in this verse is haṭṭərēp̄āh. The same root names the tearing and the torn thing, and also gives the word for prey. The remains carry a trace of the act that made the animal prey; brought forward, that trace testifies to a loss the keeper did not cause.
ALSO GROWS
ṭāraph: To tear or rend; to seize as prey.
טָרַף
This verb names the act behind the torn remains presented as evidence.
ṭereph: Prey or food taken by tearing.
טֶרֶף
This noun connects the animal’s torn state with the prey it has become.
THE PATTERN
Accountability follows a steward’s actual care, while evidence distinguishes unavoidable loss from preventable neglect.
Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good.When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.THE THREAD
And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.The root טָרַף (ṭāraph, “tear or rend”) appears twice in the Hebrew behind “rent in pieces,” and the coat becomes testimony to what happened. Beside Exodus, it shows how a visible remnant carries a claim of loss, and why the evidence itself matters.
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