Hire

The umbrella treats one specific case in the Mosaic civil code: the law governing borrowed and rented property, and how liability shifts depending on whether the owner is present and whether a rental fee has been paid. Closely connected topics — wages, hireling laborers, masters, and servants — sit in their own umbrellas.

Law Concerning Hired Property

The case-law in Exodus distinguishes between borrowing and hiring on the question of who absorbs the loss when the property is damaged. If a man borrows from his neighbor and the animal or item is hurt or killed while the owner is absent, full restitution is required: "And if a man borrows anything of his fellow man, and it is hurt, or dies, its owner not being with it, he will surely make restitution" (Ex 22:14). Two conditions can release the borrower from that obligation. The first is the owner's presence: if he was on hand when the loss occurred, he bears it himself. The second is rental — paying the fee already covers the risk: "If its owner is with it, he will not make it good: if it is rented, it is included in its rental payment" (Ex 22:15). The hiring fee, in other words, is treated as a rolled-in insurance: damage is part of what the renter has already paid for.

Related Topics

For wages owed to a laborer, the duty of timely payment, and the figure of the hireling, see Wages. For the relationship between an employer and the workers under him, see Employer. For the broader household law of master and servant, see Master and Servant.