Leviticus 24 Footnotes

24:10-14 Blasphemy brings guilt on those who hear it as well as on the blasphemer. To rid themselves of this guilt the hearers had to lay their hands on the blasphemer’s head.

24:19-20 The goal of the penal system in the Bible is compensation, or restitution. The phrase “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” was an illustration of the principle, not to be applied literally. The punishment must be proportionate to the offense (cp. Ex 21:23-25; Dt 19:21), not disproportionately severe. Only in the case of premeditated murder was such compensation forbidden (Nm 35:16-21). The principle of “life for life” (Lv 24:18) must be literally enforced, because man bears the image of God (Gn 9:5-6). Jesus’s statement, “Whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them” (Mt 7:12; Lk 6:31), is a reflection of the lex talionis in this broader sense (Dt 19:19).