Mishpatim lists a seemingly random set of commandments, but a closer look shows that they are not really so random. The common theme is property rights.
| Exodus 21:1 | Introduction |
| Exodus 21:2-11 | Rights of a master over a slave. |
| Exodus 21:12-36 | Rights of a person over his own life and limb |
| Exodus 22:1-15 | Rights of the owner of livestock, crops, and other property |
| Exodus 22:16-17 | Rights of a father and future husband over a daughter and future bride |
| Exodus 22:18-23:19 | God’s expectations of those to whom he has delegated authority |
| Exodus 23:20-23 | God’s expectations of those under delegated authority |
| Exodus 23:24-33 | Rights of God over his property |
| Exodus 24:1-18 | Closing |
A word about the rights of fathers over their daughters…I wrote in A Commentary on Marriage in the Bible that a father always has the right to veto his daughter’s choice of husband. I no longer believe that to be completely true. Matot (Numbers 30-32) says that a father may annul the vows of his unmarried daughter still living in his house. I have had occasion since then to learn something of the life of an unmarried daughter who is not still living in her father’s house, and it seems to me that Matot should be taken literally on that point. If she left her father’s house with his consent and has lived on her own for many years, then she should probably be accorded the status of a widow or divorcee, responsible for her own finances, decisions, and vows.