Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 21:12

"He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall surely be put to death." — Exodus 21:12 (ASV)

The case of murder of a free man and of a slave. See (Exodus 21:20) note. The law was afterward expressly declared to relate also to foreigners, (Leviticus 24:17), (Leviticus 24:21–22); compare the marginal references.