Matthew 5:38

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”

Known as the lex talionis, in ancient days this law was common in many cultures in times far preceding Moses. It is found in the Code of Hammurabi from the 18th century BC, and it was probably old then (and was incorporated within Israel's Law Code, see for it Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21). Its purpose was to prevent blood revenge and to limit the penalty that could be exacted, by making it fit the offence. There was, however, also in it the thought that justice must be satisfied and that sufficient satisfaction should be obtained. However, man being what he is, it became the standard by which many lived. In the way that they interpreted it, it was the exact reverse of ‘do to others as you would that they would do to you'. It said, ‘I will demand of others what they have done to me' (something forbidden by Proverbs 24:29). But at least it was a restraint on crime and prevented worse crimes by satisfying people's sense of justice. On the other hand, as Jesus will point out, it is not the kind of standard that should be followed under the Kingly Rule of a wise and beneficent God Who Himself shows mercy to the undeserving. Nor is in line with the Law of God which said, ‘You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love you neighbour (and the foreigner who is among you - Leviticus 19:34) as yourself' (Leviticus 19:18).