Digest of Biblical Civil Law

Some crimes required payment of four (Exo. 22:1; 2 Sam. 12:6) or five (Exo. 22:1) times the loss or injury. Multiple restitution was usually mandated for items that had extended value. Sheep reproduce at a high rate and their wool can be made into clothing. To steal a sheep is to rob its owner of present and future productivity. An ox has similar value plus the added ability to pull plows and carts, essential functions in an agrarian society.
- Gary DeMar, The Biblical Doctrine of Restitution (May 12, 2010), at http://americanvision.org/2480/the-biblical-doctrine-of-restitution/.