2006-07-19 08:05:41 · 20 answers · asked by noggle4 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It means the punishment should fight the crime. Usually it was a monetary punishment.
2006-07-19 08:10:48 · answer #1 · answered by Quantrill 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It refers to having the punishment being equal to the crime in severity. I once took an Institute class on the Old Testament, but it's been a while. Usually an eye for an eye wasn't taken that literally. You would be required to pay something like four times the value of whatever was stolen or damaged. There were cities of refuge for people who had killed someone accidentally. In the case of deliberate murder, etc. the punishment was more severe - usually stoning to death. I think some of these principles would be good to apply today - why not have the perpetrators of crimes work to pay back four times the value of what was stolen? It would make them think long and hard about doing it ever again.
2006-07-19 10:37:50 · answer #2 · answered by Cookie777 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If somebody gives you an evil look with their eyes, you do the same. If some dentist extracts your tooth, you do the same to your dentist. If somebody pokes your eye out, you poke that person's eye out. If someone socks you in the face and your tooth falls off, you sock that person in the face so hard that their tooth falls off.
2006-07-19 08:09:33 · answer #3 · answered by oranjeesoccer 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
in jewish law, the exact translation clarifies -- the word used is not "for" but "tachat" which means under, or in place of, and is a technical word meaning "monetary value that stands in for" so the law requires the person who took out the eye to pay the monetary equivalent as part of the punishment. Same for the life, but there are additional punishments which go beyond the money.
2006-07-19 08:14:55 · answer #4 · answered by rosends 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's a Bible passage that mirrors the code of Hammurabi from ancient Mesopotmia... It means that justice shall be taken in the form of the crime... Ghandi once said "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind..." We should really reflect on such wisdom!
2006-07-19 08:10:21 · answer #5 · answered by The Ang 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means if you knock someone's eye or tooth out, you must pay for it with your own eye or tooth. I don't agree with this motto. My motto is, "An eye for an eye will render the world blind."
2006-07-19 08:18:12 · answer #6 · answered by Maria Isabel 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Gandhi said that An Eye for An Eye will make the whole world blind.
2006-07-19 08:16:45 · answer #7 · answered by GratefulDad 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
IT means to make sure that the punishment fits the crime.
You certainly wouldnt want a death or life sentance for littering?
2006-07-19 08:12:01 · answer #8 · answered by cindy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It refers to the Law of Moses as outlined in the Bible. It meant, basically, that if someone did something to you, you had the right to do it back to them. For example, if someone punches you in the mouth and knocks out three of your teeth, under the Law of Moses you than had the right to knock out three of their teeth.
2006-07-19 08:10:29 · answer #9 · answered by Chronos 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's the main principle of punishment in Hammurapi Law (Ancient Babilon, 18th century BC), - principle of talion, means equal for equal, this principle was introduced instead of blood feud
2006-07-19 08:56:02 · answer #10 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋