Returning What Is Lost

To not steal is not enough to be fully righteous in all situations regarding the property of others according to the Torah.  Whether it is an animal or clothing or something else that belongs to another person, one is to help restore lost belongings to their rightful owner.  This is addressed twice in Mosaic Law, once in Exodus 23 and once in Deuteronomy 22 in a broadened manner.  While Deuteronomy expands its wording to account for all lost property, even if it is that of someone unfamiliar or far away, such statements would be unnecessary for the obligation exist in all such cases if what Exodus says on the matter is true.

It does not matter if you do not have a positive relationship with the owner of, say, a lost animal.  Whether frustration or sheer hatred is harbored towards them or by them towards you, for they are called your enemy in Exodus 23:4-5, you are to not allow their animal to continue wandering off, just as one is to give them assistance if their animal has fallen down under its load.  In this way, there is an obligation to both the animal, to protect or care for it, and for the owner, whether they are friend or enemy, stranger or acquaintance.  Yes, if one has this obligation to one's enemy, it would have to be the case that it would exist towards a friend or spouse.

If one stumbles upon a lost animal and one does not know who the owner is or if they live a great distance away, one is to hold onto the lost creature, with Deuteronomy 22:3 specifying, though it would already follow that a different kind of property would not be exempt from this obligation just because it is not listed, that this is applicable to anything that belongs to one's neighbor.  It does not have to specifically be an ox or donkey or sheep.  Any other belonging is to be returned or safely held until it can be passed on.  The final words of Deuteronomy 22:3 literally say to not ignore whatever is lost.  Short of returning a weapon to a sinner like a murder or not having the physical capacity to stop and help, it is moral error to not do so.

Returning what is lost is Biblically more than a supererogatory act, one which is good but not obligatory.  Examples within this category of morally good but optional things would be miscellaneous, spontaneous behaviors of kindness like holding the door open for an able-bodied man or woman.  Giving back a stranded animal or a lost article of clothing, among many other things, as well as holding it in your possession as needed until the owner can be identified, is prescribed.  It is not enough to not take for yourself what is found when it is clear it seems to belong to a particular companion or neighbor.