Exodus 21:23-25

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:23-24

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc. Aristotle says in the Nicomachean Ethics, that this was the rule of justice which Rhadamanthus was supposed to act on in the judgment after death (book 5, see. 3), and that it had the approval of the Pythagoreans. Solon admitted it to a certain extent into the laws of Athens, and at Rome it found its way. into the Twelve Tables. There is a prima facie appearance of exact equality in it, which would captivate rude minds and cause the principle to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:23-25

The rule of retaliation. "To suffer that a man has done is strictest, straightest right," was a line which passed into a proverb in ancient Greece. The administration of justice is rendered very simple and easy by the adoption of the principle, which approves itself to simple minds, and might work well in a simple state of society. The law of "life for life" ( Exodus 21:23 ) remains, and must always remain, the basis on which society justifies the execution of the murderer. If "eve for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 21:23-26

An eye for an eye, etc. (cf. Matthew 5:38-43 ). The principle here enunciated is that of the jus talionis . Stripped of its concrete form, it is simply the assertion of the dictate of justice, that when a wrong has been done to anyone, and through him to society, an adequate compensation ought to be rendered. So rendered, it is the principle underlying every system of criminal jurisprudence. We need not suppose that (in Jewish society) it was ever literally acted upon. Commutations of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 21:22-25

The rule would seem to refer to a case in which the wife of a man interfered in a quarrel. This law, “the jus talionis,” is elsewhere repeated in substance, compare the marginal references. and Genesis 9:6. It has its root in a simple conception of justice, and is found in the laws of many ancient nations. It serves in this place as a maxim for the magistrate in awarding the amount of compensation to be paid for the infliction of personal injury. The sum was to be as nearly as possible the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 21:22-23

Exodus 21:22-23. And yet no mischief follow That is, if the woman die not, as appears from the next verse, or the child was not formed and alive in the womb; he shall be surely punished The woman’s husband shall impose the fine, and if it be unreasonable, the judges shall have a power to moderate it. If any mischief follow If the woman die, or if the child was formed and alive, the offender was to be punished with death. Thou shalt give life for life By the judgment of the magistrate. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 21:24-25

Exodus 21:24-25. Eye for eye, &c. This is termed the law of retaliation; and from hence heathen lawgivers took it, and put it among their other laws. It seems probable, that it was not necessary always to take it strictly and literally, but that it might in some cases be satisfied with pecuniary mulcts, or with such satisfaction as the injuring party would give, and the injured accept. Indeed, the injustice of the literal execution of it, in many cases, is apparent; as, when a man... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 21:12-27

Concerning violence and injury (21:12-27)Death was the penalty for wilful murder, violence to parents and kidnapping for slavery. Israelite law did not allow the widespread ancient practice of a murderer trying to escape punishment by clinging to the horns of the altar and pleading for mercy. But cases of manslaughter were different. When the Israelites settled in their new homeland, they were to appoint certain places as cities of refuge, where a person guilty of manslaughter could find safety... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 21:23

life = soul. Hebrew. nephesh. See App-13 . read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 21:24

Eye for eye , &c. Lex talionis, eight particulars for completeness ( App-10 ), seven in separate category (verses: Exodus 21:24 , Exodus 21:26 ). These laws made prisons unnecessary, and prevented crime. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 21:22-25

"And if men strive together, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm follow; he shall be surely fined, according as the woman's husband. shall lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."They are grossly in error who find this law harsh or unjust. Let it be remembered that this... read more

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