What Does Exodus 22:4 Mean in the King James?
If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double.
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 word translated “restore” shares a root with “wholeness”: even when the stolen animal is found alive, the account still has to be made good twice over.
THE MEANING
When what is stolen is found still alive in the taker’s hand, the account remains open: he must repay double. The animal’s recovery does not erase the taking.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
“If the stolen thing is recovered, nothing more is owed.”
THE ROOT
יְשַׁלֵּם
yeshallēm
GROWS FROM
שלם
sh-l-m
Be whole or complete; make good, repay.
“restore” in this verse is yeshallēm. Alongside the concrete payment, this root carries the sense of completing or making good. Its kinship with the word for wholeness lets repayment here resonate as an account brought toward completion.
ALSO GROWS
shalēm: Whole, complete.
שָׁלֵם
This form makes completeness visible in the same root family as the verb for repaying the theft.
shalom: Wholeness, well-being.
שָׁלוֹם
The shared root links repayment with the language of wholeness, revealing a connection that the English words “restore” and “peace” do not show.
THE PATTERN
Scripture answers a taking with measured restitution beyond the thing taken.
If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house.And Zacchæus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.THE THREAD
If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.The verb translated “restore” comes from the same root as “repay” in Exodus 22:4. Here the animal is killed or sold and the repayment is greater; in the present verse it is found alive, and the account is still settled through double repayment.
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