- James Jordan, The Law of the Covenant 124-125 (1984), at http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/: HTML, DjVu.
11.03.2008
Under Exo. 21:28-32, the ox with a history of goring is in the category of a violent or unclean beast. If he gores a person to death, the owner is liable, even to the death penalty. He should have kept the animal under closer supervision. This will, by extension, be true of any violent animal. If the ox gores, but does not kill, then Exo. 21:19 would apply. The owner would have to pay the medical expenses of the injured man, and his loss of time. Applying these laws, our laws should distinguish between ordinarily vicious animals ("unclean") and ordinarily tame or domestic animals. Certain kinds of dogs, in certain social settings, can be considered potentially vicious. The local laws (specifications of God's law) might read in such cases that the owner is responsible for any harm done by the animal, regardless of the personal history of the animal. People who keep wildcats or other dangerous animals as pets would be under this same law. On the other hand, small dogs and cats and rabbits could be covered by another law which states that the owner is not liable if the animal has no personal history of violence.
