If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.
If a man shall steal. The law respects the theft of cattle, which constituted the chief part of their property. The penalty for the theft of a sheep which was slain or sold was fourfold; for an ox fivefold, because of its greater utility in agricultural labour; but, should the stolen animal have been recovered alive, a double compensation was all that was required, because it was presumable he (the thief) was not a practiced adept in dishonesty; and the necessity of having to make such amends for his crime might operate in deterring him for the future. A robber breaking into a house at midnight might, in self-defense, be slain with impunity; but if he was slain after sunrise it would be considered murder; because it was not thought likely an assault would then be made upon the lives of the inmates. In every case where a thief could not make restitution he was sold -
i.e., judicially given in compensation as a slave-to the party whom he had robbed, for the usual term.