Here are some short quotes I liked:
Exodus 21:23-25 If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
**I guess I didn't realize that this was in the bible. I thought it was just in Hammurabi's code but I see that I am incorrect. Sorry to the numerous people I argued about this quote. My bad!
Exodus 24:10 ...Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness.
**Niiiiiiice. If I ever come into money someday my driveway will sparkle too!
Exodus 31:18 ...he gave him the two tablets of the covenant, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
**He's got more talent in his little finger... ;)
Exodus 23:1-9
You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness. You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.
When you come upon your enemy's ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back. When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you should hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty. You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
I don't have much to say about this except that I just liked it. I think reading that might do some people some good somewhere.
Facebook comments:
ReplyDeleteJack Tobin: actually, heather, the old testament is pretty much a horror story of crime and bloodshed, most of it directly attributable to a vicious and sadistic god who, for his behavior, is deserving of eternal damnation.
Steve Hawkins: Hang in there Heather. The OT all points to the grace and mercy God has for us in Jesus.
Juliana Bucher: The Tanakh is simply many different pictures of humanity in the raw -- the good, the bad, the ugly. The point in reading it is to make you think -- to think about life, to think about the kind of life you want to live, to think about the risks you're willing to take for yourself and others...... it is not a step-by-step instruction book for life 101. often, it's a history of mistakes 101 -- and i think god asks us, "what would You do?"
Chipper, I'm hopeful that you understood that "Eye for an Eye" meant NO MORE than an eye for an eye and that it actually was not intended to be taken literally as the punishment to be imposed. As you noted, the Torah's first mention of the phrase "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot" appears in Ex 21:22–27. The Talmud, based upon a critical interpretation of the original Hebrew text, explains that this biblical concept entails monetary compensation in tort cases. One element of this interpretation notes that "an eye for an eye" understood literally would be inapplicable to blind or eyeless offenders. Since the Torah requires that penalties be universally applicable, the phrase cannot be interpreted literally. The same interpretation applies to this phrase as it appears in Leviticus 24:18–20. Personal retribution is explicitly forbidden by the Torah (Lv 19:18), such reciprocal justice being strictly reserved for the social magistrate (usually in the form of regional courts).
ReplyDeleteThe Oral Law explains, based upon the biblical verses, that the Bible mandates a sophisticated five-part monetary form of compensation, consisting of payment for "Damages, Pain, Medical Expenses, Incapacitation, and Mental Anguish" — which underlies many modern legal codes. Some rabbinic literature explains, moreover, that the expression, "An eye for an eye, etc." suggests that the perpetrator deserves to lose his own eye, but that biblical law treats him leniently.
Sammy did tell me about no more than an eye for an eye but the rest of that information is new. Thanks, Wendy! That was very helpful and interesting! And thanks for reading! :D
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