If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death. The valuation of an enslaved person at thirty shekels of silver is the standard price used in Zechariah 11:12–13 for the valuation of the good shepherd, which Matthew 27:9 applies to the thirty pieces of silver paid for Jesus' betrayal. The price that compensates for the killing of an enslaved person becomes the price paid for the betrayal of the Son of God — the prophetic use of the legal valuation in Zechariah and its fulfillment in Matthew connect the law of Exodus 21:32 to the passion narrative with startling precision. The price of a slave becomes the price of the one who came to free all slaves.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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