Exodus 22:14 is the law requiring restitution for borrowed items—this explains why the apprentice panicked at losing the axe head.

Exodus 22:15 adds that no restitution is due if the owner is present—here the owner was absent, sharpening the borrower's liability.

Deuteronomy 19:5 describes an axe head slipping while cutting wood—the same scenario as here, but with a fatal outcome instead of a lost tool.