21:12-17

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Concerning violence and injury

(Ex 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 (Ex 21:12-17; Num 35:9-15; Deut 19:1-6).

A person had to pay compensation for injuries done to others, the amount paid depending on the nature of the injury and the loss or inconvenience it caused (Ex 21:18-19). A master could not treat a slave brutally and could not beat him to death.

If he did, he was punished. If there was no proof that the slave’s death was the result of the beating, the master was not punished; but neither could he replace the slave. He had to bear the cost of the loss (Ex 21:20-21).

The basic principle of justice was ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’; that is, the punishment had to fit the crime. A heavy penalty was required for a major offence, a light penalty for a minor offence. This principle also restricted vengeance, as people often take revenge far in excess of the wrong done to them (Ex 21:22-25).

If a slave suffered serious injury through cruel treatment, he was compensated by being freed unconditionally (Ex 21:26-27).

Jesus, in his reference to ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ (see Matthew 5:38-42), did not contradict the principle of fair punishment for wrongdoing, a principle that is a basic element in civil government.

Jesus was not laying down laws for civil administrators as was the case with Moses, but was reminding his disciples that they must not always stand on their rights.

In personal relationships they must be guided by a spirit of forgiveness, self-denial and active love towards the offender. The spirit ruling in the hearts of Christians is not the same as that which rules in the code of legal justice.