“If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.”
If a fire breaks out and spreads into thornbushes so that it burns shocks of grain or standing grain or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make restitution. The fire that spreads beyond its intended boundary creates liability for the harm it causes. The one who started the fire is responsible for controlling it. If it spreads and destroys another person's crop, the arsonist — even if unintentional — must make restitution. The principle of responsibility for foreseeable consequences of one's actions runs throughout this section of the law. James 3:5 says the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts; consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The spreading fire is James' metaphor precisely because of its legal resonance in the Torah.
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