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What is the origin and history of 'An eye for an eye - A tooth for a tooth'?In: Idioms and Slang |
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Answer
This is found in the Holy Bible.
life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand Exodus 21:23, 24
The law of "an eye for an eye" is usually called the law of retribution, or "lex talionis" (Latin, lex [law] and talio [like]; the punishment is like the injury), or the law of equivalency. 1. History of the legislation. The lex talionis is found in three passages in the Old Testament (Ex. 21:23, 24; Lev. 24:19, 20; and Deut. 19:21). A similar law is found in the ancient Mesopotamian code of Hammurabi. Earlier codes legislated financial compensation for bodily injuries, but Hammurabi seems to have been the first to require physical injury for physical injury. This has led some historians to conclude that there was a time when monetary compensation redressed personal injuries because the state did not consider them to be crimes against society. The law of equivalency was a significant development in the history of jurisprudence in the sense that what used to be a private matter between two families was now taken over by the state and considered to be criminal behavior. This fits very well with the Old Testament understanding of offenses against others as offenses against the covenant community and against the God of the covenant. 2. The principle involved. The law of equivalency was an attempt to limit the extent of a punishment and to discourage cruelty. The principle of this legislation is one of equivalency; that is to say, the punishment should correspond to the crime and should be limited to the one involved in the injury (Deut. 19:18-21).
add: i read about this in school it was Hammurabi's law and he made a huge stone in the center of Mesopotamia and it featured all his laws and their punishments.
it was also spoken of in the bible.
PS: dude at the top don't plagiarize a dictionary
First answer by Mechtammy. Last edit by Megamania115. Contributor trust: 31 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 59 [recommend question]
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