Exodus 21:26
“And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.”
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish; he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
And if he smite out his manservant’s tooth, or his maidservant’s tooth; he shall let him go free for his tooth’s sake.
If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.
Counter-Arguments
The strongest case that this verse does not belong in this theme.
Cross-References
“And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished.”
“Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,”
“Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.”
“To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.”
“When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.”