Text: Deuteronomy 25:11
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 21:22
Subject: if two men fight
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Both Exodus 21:22 and Deuteronomy 25:11 open with the same scenario formula: "If men fight" (כִּי יִנָּצוּ אֲנָשִׁים, ki yinnatsu anashim). Exodus addresses collateral harm to a pregnant bystander, while Deuteronomy addresses an inappropriate intervention by a combatant's wife. The shared opening formula links these as companion rulings within Israel's casuistic law tradition—both regulate the consequences of brawling when third parties are affected. The verbal parallel signals that Israelite legislators recognized these as related cases requiring coordinated legal treatment, with each text addressing a distinct dimension of the same social problem: violence between men and its unintended consequences for others.