Exodus 22:1, commentary and pictures

This law belongs to the instruction given to Moses on the mount in Exodus 19-24, written in a book, and that direction was given on Mount Sinai by Christ Jesus, the same Teacher who afterward spoke in human flesh. If a man steals an ox and then kills it or sells it, he must restore five oxen for the ox. If a man steals a sheep and then kills it or sells it, he must restore four sheep for the sheep.

The requirement is repayment of more than the value of the animal taken, and it stands as a specific example of restitution for theft. It guards against doing injustice and guides dealings with one another. It is among the directions that show impartial care for the people and concern for the poor.

It must be studied, presented before the people, and obeyed now just as verily as by Israel in the days of Moses, and its statutes and judgments were to be strictly obeyed and are not of a lower order than the requirements given in this age. The fourfold repayment for a sheep applies to repentance for fraud, as when Zaccheus restored fourfold to those he had defrauded. Restitution should include not only what was taken but also what it could have earned through wise and rightful use while it was withheld. The same rule applies to business theft, so one who has committed robbery must humbly seek the Lord and make restitution.