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How Jews Interpret Eye for Eye in the Bible. (Exodus 21:24)

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adam613:
Thought I would share this one. IN Exodus, Chapter 21 verse 22 it talks about men accidental cause a miscarriage they have to be a fine. However, after that it says that they should pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, This is interpreted as paying the value of the damage to these parts of the body both in terms of the actual physical damage and other economic losses due to the injury. I guess with a miscarriage you can't cause the man to have a miscarriage but still it could've still said to pay the value. So, the answer that is given is that we really should be penalized in that way but g-d has mercy on us and we only have to pay the lost value for the injury. Also, interestingly since the Hebrew is eye under eye and one letter earlier (making a c a b for example) then the Hebrew word for eye comes out to the word money with these 3 letters. Although, you have to rearrange the three letters. But anyway this is a case where the Torah did not intend for it be literally eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth.

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