Eye for an eye
expression supporting proportional punishment; no more and no less
"An eye for an eye" (Biblical Hebrew: עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, ʿayin taḥaṯ ʿayin) 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.
The law of exact retaliation (Latin: lex talionis), 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. The intent behind the principle was to restrict compensation to the value of the loss.
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. The most common expression of lex talionis is "an eye for an eye", but other interpretations have been given as well. 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.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Eye for an eye” is expression supporting proportional punishment; no more and no less. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through expression, supporting and proportional, not as a finished interpretation.
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The phrase “expression supporting proportional punishment; no more and no less” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q312718. The Library of Congress control number is sh85076352. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Eye for an eye” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.