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{{Short description|Expression for proportional punishment}}
{{Redirect|Lex talionis|other uses|Eye for an eye (disambiguation)|and|Lex talionis (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

"'''An eye for an eye'''" ({{langx|hbo|עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן}}, {{Transliteration|he|''ʿayīn taḥaṯ ʿayīn''}}){{efn|From [[Exodus 21]]: ''22'' If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. ''23'' And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, ''24'' '''Eye for eye, tooth for tooth,''' hand for hand, foot for foot, ''25'' Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. <br> See also: {{bulleted list|[[Leviticus 24]]: ''19'' And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; ''20'' Breach for breach, '''eye for eye, tooth for tooth:''' as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.|[[Deuteronomy 19]]:21: And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, '''eye for eye, tooth for tooth,''' hand for hand, foot for foot.}}}} is a commandment found in the [[Book of Exodus]] 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The earliest known use of the principle appears in the [[Code of Hammurabi]], which predates the writing of the [[Hebrew Bible]] but not necessarily oral traditions.<ref name="white">{{cite book |last1=White |first1=Mark D. |chapter=Lex Talionis |title=Encyclopedia of Law and Economics |year=2014 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_18-1|isbn=978-1-4614-7883-6 }}</ref>

{{anchor|Lex talionis}}The '''law of exact retaliation''' ({{langx|la|lex talionis}}),{{Sfn | Plaut | 1981 | pp = 571ff}} or '''reciprocal justice''', bears the same principle that a person who has injured another person is to be penalized to a similar degree by the injured party. In softer interpretations, it means the victim receives the estimated value of the injury in compensation.{{Sfn | Plaut | 1981 | p = 572}} The intent behind the principle was to ''restrict'' compensation to the value of the loss.{{Sfn | Plaut | 1981 | pp = 571ff}}

==Definition and methods==
The term ''lex talionis'' does not always refer to literal eye-for-an-eye codes of justice (see [[mirror punishment]]), but rather applies to the broader class of legal systems that formulate penalties for specific crimes, which are thought to be fitting in their severity. Some propose that this was at least in part intended to prevent excessive punishment at the hands of either an avenging private party, or the state.<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Douglas A | last1 = Knight | first2 = Amy-Jill | last2 = Levine | year = 2011 | title = The Meaning of the Bible | publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-06-112175-3 | page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061121753/page/124 124] | url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780061121753 }}</ref> The most common expression of lex talionis is "an eye for an eye", but other interpretations have been given as well.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meese III |first1=Edwin |last2=Larkin, Jr. |first2=Paul J. |year=2013 |title=Reconsidering the Mistake of Law Defense |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7436&context=jclc |journal=Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology |volume=102 |issue=3}}</ref> Legal codes following the principle of ''lex talionis'' have one thing in common -  prescribed 'fitting' counter punishment for a [[felony]]. The simplest example is the "eye for an eye" principle. In that case, the rule was that punishment must be exactly equal to the crime.

==In Babylonian law==
[[File:Code of Hammurabi IMG 1937.JPG|thumb|alt=Cuneiform on the stele. Refer to adjacent text|In the [[laws of Hammurabi]], [[Eye for eye|an eye for an eye]] was applied if a free man (avīlum) gouged out the eye/broke the bone of another free man of equal status; otherwise, a monetary penalty was paid.]]
In the legal [[Code of Hammurabi]], the principle of exact reciprocity is very clearly used. For example, if a person caused the death of another person, the killer would [[Capital punishment|be put to death]].{{Sfn | Hammurabi | 1780 BC | loc = §230}}

Various ideas regarding the origins of this law exist, but a common one is that it developed as early civilizations grew and a less well-established system for retribution of wrongs, [[feud]]s and [[Feud|vendettas]], threatened the social fabric. Despite having been replaced with newer modes of legal theory, ''lex talionis'' systems served a critical purpose in the development of social systems—the establishment of a body whose purpose was to enact the retaliation and ensure that this was the only punishment. This body was the state in one of its earliest forms. The principle can be found in earlier Mesopotamian law codes such as the [[Code of Ur-Nammu|Codes of Ur-Nammu]] of Ur and [[Lipit-Ištar]] of Isín.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lex Talionis: An Ancient Principle Limiting Capital Punishment in Abrahamic Faiths |url=https://www.iranrights.org/library/document/3147 |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Abdorrahman Boroumand Center |language=en}}</ref>

The principle is found in [[Babylonian Law]].{{Sfn | Hammurabi | 1780 BC}}<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Babylonian Law |volume= 3 |last= Johns |first= Claude Hermann Walter |author-link= Claude Hermann Walter Johns | pages = 115–121; see page 120, second para. first sentence |quote=In the criminal law the ruling principle was the ''lex talionis''. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, limb for limb was the penalty for assault upon an amelu. }}</ref> If it is surmised that in societies not bound by the rule of law, if a person was hurt, then the injured person (or their relative) would take [[revenge|vengeful]] retribution on the person who caused the injury. The retribution might be worse than the crime, perhaps even death. Babylonian law put a limit on such actions, restricting the retribution to be no worse than the crime, as long as victim and offender occupied the same status in society. As with [[blasphemy]] or [[lèse-majesté]] (crimes against a god or a monarch), crimes against one's social betters were punished more severely.

==In ancient Greek law==
[[Anaximander]], teacher of [[Pythagoras]]: "The grand periodicities of nature are conceived of enacting cycles of retaliatory retribution."

==In Hebrew law==
The law of the Hebrews rejected{{Clarification needed|reason=Elsewhere it's stated that the principle does not imply exactness, but only reciprocity and proportionality. So it's not in conflict with substitution.|date=December 2024}} this law; the Hebrew Bible allows for ''kofer'' (a monetary payment) to take the place of a bodily punishment for any crime except murder.<ref>Exodus 21:30, Numbers 35:31,35:32, 1 Samuel 12:3; see also usage in non-legal contexts in Exodus 30:12, Amos 5:12, Proverbs 6:35,13:8,21:18; Job 33:24,36:18</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=December 2024}} It is not specified whether the victim, accused, or judge had the authority to choose ''kofer'' in place of bodily punishment.

The idiomatic biblical phrase {{langx|he|עין תחת עין|ayin tachat ayin}} in Exodus and Leviticus literally means 'one eye under/(in place of) one eye' while a slightly different phrase ({{lang|he|עַיִן בְּעַיִן שֵׁן בְּשֵׁן}}, literally 'eye for an eye; tooth for a tooth' ...) is used in another passage (Deuteronomy) in the context of possible reciprocal court sentences for failed false witnesses.<ref name=lev24>{{bibleverse ||Lv|24:19–21|JPS}}</ref><ref name = ex21>{{bibleverse ||Ex|21:22–25|JPS}}</ref><ref name = deut19>{{bibleverse ||Dt|19:16–21|JPS}}</ref> The "only one eye for one eye" was to {{em|restrict}} compensation to the value of the loss.{{Sfn | Plaut | 1981 | pp = 571ff}}

The English translation of a passage in [[Leviticus]] states, ''"And a man who injures his countryman{{snd}}as he has done, so it shall be done to him [namely,] fracture under/for fracture, eye under/for eye, tooth under/for tooth. Just as another person has received injury from him, so it will be given to him."'' (Lev. 24:19–21).<ref name="lev24" /> For an example of {{lang|he|תחת}} being used in its regular sense of 'under', see Lev. 22:27 "A bull, sheep or goat, when it is born shall remain under its mother, and from the eighth day..."

An English translation of Exodus 21:22-24 states: ''"If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."''

===Judaism===
Isaac Kalimi said that the lex talionis was "humanized" by the Rabbis who interpreted "an eye for an eye" to mean reasonable pecuniary compensation. As in the case of the Babylonian ''lex talionis'', ethical Judaism and humane Jewish jurisprudence replaces the ''[[peshat]]'' (literal meaning) of the written Torah.<ref>{{cite book | title = Biblical interpretation in Judaism and Christianity |first1= Isaac |last1= Kalimi | first2= Peter J | last2 = Haas | author2-link = Peter Haas (rabbi) | publisher = Continuum | year = 2006 | page = 2 |isbn= 9780567026828 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h6bSc6ksh0YC&pg=PA2}}</ref> Pasachoff and Littman point to the reinterpretation of the lex talionis as an example of the ability of Pharisaic Judaism to "adapt to changing social and intellectual ideas."<ref>{{cite book | title = A concise history of the Jewish people | first1 = Naomi E | last1 = Pasachoff | first2 = Robert J | last2 = Littman | publisher = Rowman & Littlefield | year = 2005 | page = 64 | isbn = 9780742543669 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=z4eaj09hscAC&pg=PA64}}</ref>

====Talmud====
The [[Talmud]]<ref>{{Citation | title = [[Nezikin|Bava Kamma]] | at = 83b–84a}}.</ref> interprets the verses referring to "an eye for an eye" and similar expressions as mandating monetary compensation in [[tort]] cases and argues against the interpretations by Sadducees that the Bible verses refer to physical retaliation in kind, using the argument that such an interpretation would be inapplicable to blind or eyeless offenders. Since the Torah requires that penalties be universally applicable, the phrase cannot be interpreted in this manner.

{{Blockquote | The 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. − Paraphrased from the [[Union of Orthodox Congregations]].<ref name = "OU">{{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/torah.htm | contribution = Torah | publisher = ou.org | title = About Judaism}}.</ref>}}

However, the Torah also discusses a form of direct reciprocal justice, where the phrase ''ayin tachat ayin'' makes another appearance.<ref>{{bibleverse ||Dt|19:16–21|JPS}}.</ref> Here, the Torah discusses false witnesses who conspire to testify against another person. The Torah requires the court to "do to him as he had conspired to do to his brother".<ref name="bibleverse ||Dt|19:19|JPS">{{bibleverse ||Dt|19:19|JPS}}.</ref> Assuming the fulfillment of certain technical criteria (such as the sentencing of the accused whose punishment was not yet executed), wherever it is possible to punish the conspirators with exactly the same punishment through which they had planned to harm their fellow, the court carries out this direct reciprocal justice (including when the punishment constitutes the death penalty). Otherwise, the offenders receive lashes.<ref>{{Citation | title = [[Nezikin|Makot]] | at = 1:1}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = Bab. Talmud | at = 2a}}, based on critical [[exegesis]] of {{bibleverse ||Dt|25:1–3|JPS}}</ref>

Since there is no form of punishment in the Torah that calls for the maiming of an offender (punitory amputation) there is no case where a conspiratorial false witness could possibly be punished by the court injuring to his eye, tooth, hand, or foot. There is one case where the Torah states "…and you shall cut off her hand…"<ref>{{bibleverse ||Dt|25:11–12|JPS}}.</ref> The sages of the Talmud understood the literal meaning of this verse as referring to a case where the woman is attacking a man in potentially lethal manner. This verse teaches that, although one must intervene to save the victim, one may not kill a lethal attacker if it is possible to neutralize that attacker through non-lethal injury.<ref>[[Sifrei]].</ref><ref>{{Citation | author = Maimonides | author-link = Maimonides | title = Yad}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | title = Nezikin | last = Hillel | contribution = Rotze'ach u'Sh'mirat Nefesh | at = 1:7}}.</ref> Regardless, there is no verse that even appears to mandate injury to the eye, tooth, or foot.

Numbers 35:9–30 discusses the only form of remotely reciprocal justice not carried out directly by the court, where, under very limited circumstances, someone found guilty of negligent manslaughter may be killed by a relative of the deceased who takes on the role of "redeemer of blood". In such cases, the court requires the guilty party to flee to a designated city of refuge. While the guilty party is there, the "redeemer of blood" may not kill him. If, however, the guilty party illegally forgoes his exile, the "redeemer of blood", as an accessory of the court, may kill the guilty party.

According to traditional Jewish Law, application of these laws requires the presence and maintenance of the biblically designated cities of refuge, as well as a conviction in an eligible court of 23 judges as delineated by the Torah and Talmud. The latter condition is also applicable for any capital punishment. These circumstances have not existed for approximately 2,000 years.

====Objective of reciprocal justice in Judaism====
The Talmud discusses the concept of justice as measure-for-measure retribution (''middah k'neged middah'') in the context of divinely implemented justice. Regarding reciprocal justice by court, however, the Torah states that punishments serve to remove dangerous elements from society ("…and you shall eliminate the evil from your midst"<ref name="bibleverse ||Dt|19:19|JPS"/>) and to deter potential criminals from violating the law ("And the rest shall hear and be daunted, and they shall no longer commit anything like this evil deed in your midst"<ref>{{bibleverse ||Dt|19:20|JPS}}.</ref>). Additionally, reciprocal justice in tort cases serves to compensate the victim (see above).

The ideal of vengeance for the sake of assuaging the distress of the victim plays no role in the Torah's conception of court justice, as victims are cautioned against even hating or bearing a grudge against those who have harmed them. The Torah makes no distinction between whether or not the potential object of hatred or a grudge has been brought to justice, and all people are taught to love their fellow Israelites.<ref>{{bibleverse ||Lv|19:17–18|JPS}}.</ref>

====Social hierarchy and reciprocal justice====
In Exodus 21, as in the [[Code of Hammurabi]], the concept of reciprocal justice seemingly applies to social equals; the statement of reciprocal justice "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe"<ref>{{bibleverse ||Ex|21:23–25|JPS}}.</ref> is followed by an example of a different law: if a slave-owner blinds the eye or knocks out the tooth of a slave, the slave is freed but the owner pays no other consequence. On the other hand, the slave would probably be put to death for the injury of the eye of the slave-owner.<ref name = "Coogan">{{cite book| last = Coogan | first = Michael D | author-link = Michael Coogan | title = A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]| location = New York| year = 2009| page = 112 | isbn = 978-0-19-533272-8}}</ref>

However the reciprocal justice applies across social boundaries: the "eye for eye" principle is directly followed by the proclamation "You are to have one law for the alien and the citizen."<ref>{{Bibleverse ||Lv|24:19–22}}.</ref> This shows a much more meaningful principle for social justice, in that the marginalized in society were given the same rights under the social structure. In this context, the reciprocal justice in an ideal functioning setting, according to [[Harvard Divinity School]] lecturer Michael Coogan, "to prevent people from taking the law into their own hands and exacting disproportionate vengeance for offenses committed against them."<ref name = "Coogan" />

==In Roman law==
Classical texts advocating the retributive view include [[Cicero]]'s ''[[De Legibus]]'', written in the 1st century BC.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[Roman law]] moved toward monetary compensation as a substitute for vengeance. In cases of assault, fixed penalties were set for various injuries, although ''talio'' was still permitted if one person broke another's limb.<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/507759/Roman-law/41328/Delict-and-contract#ref469137 | title = Roman law: Delict and contract | publisher =Britannica.com}}</ref>

==In Islamic law==
{{Main|Qisas}}

The [[Quran]] ([[Q5:45]]) mentions the "eye for an eye" concept as being ordained for the [[Children of Israel]].<ref>{{Citation | title = Qur'an | at = V: 45}}.</ref> The principle of Lex talionis in Islam is Qiṣāṣ ({{Langx|ar|قصاص|rtl=yes}}) as mentioned in [[Al-Baqara|{{Citation | title = Qur'an | at = 2:178}}]]: "O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution (''Qisas'') for those murdered – the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him with good conduct. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment." Muslim countries that use Islamic ''[[Sharia]]'' law, such as [[Iran]] or Saudi Arabia, apply the "eye for an eye" rule literally.<ref>{{Citation | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7754756.stm | title = Court orders Iranian man blinded | publisher = BBC | date = 28 November 2008}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/14/acid-blinding-postponed-iran-outcry | title = Acid blinding sentence postponed by Iran after international outcry | newspaper = The Guardian | place = UK | date = 14 May 2011}}.</ref>

{{Blockquote | In the Torah We prescribed for them a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, an equal wound for a wound: if anyone forgoes this out of charity, it will serve as atonement for his bad deeds. Those who do not judge according to what God has revealed are doing grave wrong.|Al-Ma'ida {{Citation | title = Qurʾān | at = 5:45}}}}

In 2017, an Iranian woman wounded in an [[acid attack]] was given the opportunity to have her attacker blinded with acid per Sharia law.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Moss |first1=Candida |title=Justice Is Blind: Why 'An Eye for an Eye' Never Dies In Iran |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/justice-is-blind-why-an-eye-for-an-eye-never-dies-in-iran |access-date=5 September 2019 |date=12 February 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

==Applications==
* The [[Capital punishment|death penalty]] is applied to murderers in some jurisdictions.
* The paramilitary group [[Nakam]] sought to kill six million Germans as revenge for the six million Jews killed during the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite news |title='An eye for an eye': The Jews who sought to poison six million Germans to avenge the Holocaust |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-an-eye-for-an-eye-jews-who-sought-to-kill-germans-in-revenge-for-the-holocaust-1.8094962 |access-date=6 May 2021 |work=Haaretz.com |language=en}}</ref>
* U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] has described "an eye for an eye" as his favorite Bible verse.<ref name=trump>{{cite web|url= https://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/04/trump-favorite-bible-verse-221954|title=Trump's favorite Bible verse: 'Eye for an eye'}}</ref>
* In the videogame [[Baldur's Gate 3]] one of the trials of Balduran references Lex Talionis explicitly as the answer to a legal riddle.

== Criticism ==
=== An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind ===
The phrase "an eye for an eye makes the (whole) world blind" and other similar phrases has been conveyed by, but not limited to [[George Perry Graham]] (1914) on capital punishment debate argument,<ref>{{cite report |date=5 February 1914 |title=Official Report of the Debates of the House of Commons of the Dominion of Canada, Third Session-Twelfth Parliament |url=https://parl.canadiana.ca/view/oop.debates_HOC1203_01/508 |location=[[Ottawa]] |publisher=[[Library of Parliament]] |page=496 |volume=CXIII |access-date=12 March 2024 |quote=If in the present age we were to go back to the old time of 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' there would be very few hon. gentlemen [''[[sic]]'':Honourable Gentlemen] in this House who would not, metaphorically speaking, be blind and toothless.}}</ref> [[Louis Fischer]] (1951) describing philosophy of [[Mahatma Gandhi]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Louis |author-link=Louis Fischer |date=January 1951 |title=The Life of Mahatma Gandhi |url=https://archive.org/download/lifeofmahatmagan00loui/lifeofmahatmagan00loui.pdf |location=London |publisher=Lowe & Brydone |page=93 |chapter=Chapter XI &ndash; Gandhi Goes to Jail |quote=[[Satyagraha]] is the exact opposite of the policy of an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye-for-an-eye which ends in making everybody blind.}}</ref> and [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] (1958) in the context of racial violence.<ref>{{cite book |last=King Jr. |first=Martin Luther |author-link=Martin Luther King Jr. |date=1958 |title=Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story |url=https://archive.org/details/stridetowardfree0000king/mode/2up |location=New York, [[Evanston, Illinois|Evanston]], and London |publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Row]] |quote=The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Live by the sword, die by the sword]]
* [[Compensatory damages]] – the modern interpretation of ''lex talionis'' in Anglo-American law
* [[Punitive damages]] ([[tort law]]) – the converse of ''lex talionis''
* [[Golden Rule]]
* ''[[Nakam]]''
* [[Retorsion]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references  ==
* {{Citation | last = Hammurabi | title = [[Code of Hammurabi|Code of 1780 BC]]|ref={{harvid|Hammurabi|1780 BC}} }}.
* {{Citation | last = Plaut | year = 1981 | title = The Torah: A Modern Commentary | publisher = Union of American Hebrew Congregations | place = New York}}.

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