> Exodus 22:2-3 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft.

It is sometimes argued that the time of day would have little relevance to whether or not a killing was manslaughter, implying that Old Testament teachings are at odds with justice.

If one imagines an age in which flashlights, personal handguns, emergency services, and home security systems did not exist, a different story emerges. If the OT is at odds with justice, then so likewise were other ancient law codes that distinguished between crimes committed in the daylight and at night, including the Code of Hammurabi and the Roman law of Twelve Tables.

If we put ourselves in the shoes of the ancient property owner, J.P. Hyatt explains: 'At night, when the intruder's intentions could not be judged (he might be intending to murder someone) and the property-owner could not clearly identify the intruder and take care only to restrain him, there was no bloodguilt.'

Nahum Sarna adds: 'Because the burglar is likely to encounter the occupants and must anticipate that they will use force, his nocturnal timing causes a presumption of homicidal intent.'

We speak of people today who 'take the law into their own hands' when they shoot intruders; but there was no formalized police force to call upon in these perilous times. Add this to the lack of modern lighting implements, and therefore the extra vulnerability of the property-owner at night, and we now see why these laws were practically tuned to ancient justice and self-defense.

Exodus 22:2-3 states that if a thief is killed breaking in at night, there is no bloodguilt for the defender. But if it happens after sunrise, there is bloodguilt. Critics question this, stating that the time of day has little relevance to whether a killing is justified self-defense.

This applies a modern lens—complete with electricity, flashlights, and immediate police response—to an ancient agrarian society. At night in antiquity, a homeowner in pitch blackness could not judge an intruder's intent (they might be armed and homicidal) nor clearly identify them to safely restrain them. Because the nocturnal burglar anticipates the occupants are home and asleep, his timing creates a reasonable legal presumption of homicidal intent. In daylight, the homeowner has visibility to assess the threat and identify the thief for later restitution, making lethal force an unjustified escalation. This distinction was a hallmark of justice, found similarly in the Code of Hammurabi and the Roman Twelve Tables.