With that said, let’s take a look at what 1 Corinthians 6 has to say when it comes down to other believers. The Bible not only instituted court systems for the Israelites to receive proper retribution, but it also mentions taking people to court for wrongdoings. Does this negate going to court, or bringing to light the wrongdoings of other people-even believers? Not necessarily. We should not go out and seek revenge ourselves, but rather, wait on the Lord.
The Old and New Testaments make it clear that vengeance belongs to God. Proverbs 20:22: “ Do not say, “I will repay evil” wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you. In other words, a form of capital punishment in the eyes of Old Testament court law. For instance, in the above passage, we learn what happens if someone kills the baby of a pregnant woman. It also looks out for those who would’ve been considered second-class citizens in Ancient Israel such as women and slaves. This entire chapter falls under the heading of “personal injuries.” It lists several specific examples of what punishments fit the crime in Old Testament law. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” So for Exodus 21:24, let’s include some surrounding verses, to better understand the context of this passage:Įxodus 21:22-24: “ If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. This is how we ended up misconstruing Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13. It often never helps to take one single verse and never read it without surrounding chapters for context. If someone took out your eye (literally) you would, in Old Testament culture, bring them to a court of law to receive fair compensation for the pain they inflicted.īut let’s take a look at the verse in context to better understand what it means. In other words, they did not want someone to carry out the punishment literally. “An eye for an eye” was thus intended to be a guiding ethic for legislators and judges it was not meant to advocate personal vengeance.” According to this Crosswalk article, “For both passages, the phrase is used in the circumstance of a court case before a civil authority such as a judge. That if someone harms you in a certain way, they receive a punishment to repay for the damages.įirst, we have to examine what this means when the Old Testament writers included it. In many Middle Eastern cultures (and some lands beyond) during the Old and New Testament, people operated off of a Karma-esque principle.
#AN EYE FOR AN EYE MEANING CODE#
Or at least, archeological evidence can trace nothing further back than the Code of Hammurabi. The phrase actually originates in the Mesopotamian Empire under Hammurabi. In other words, if someone wrongs you in the sight of the law, justice needs to be served and consequences often occur. Where Does the Phrase Eye for an Eye Come From?Īccording to John Gill’s commentary, retribution law existed long before the phrase “eye for an eye” occurs in the Old Testament. So where did this concept of an eye for an eye come from? Does God actually mean for his people to seek revenge and then later changes his mind? Or have we been seeing (buh dum tssh) this the wrong way? Let’s dive into the meaning of this phrase found in Exodus 21:24. And if they don’t, it probably was not caused by wronging another believer. At least, most Christians appear to have their eyes in their forehead.
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