Eye for an Eye and Tooth for a Tooth

When I read through Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, one phrase jumps out every time I read it, "But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe" (Exodus 21:23-25, ESV). Immediately my brain thinks of Jesus' statement in the Sermon on the Mount, "You have heard it said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:38-39, ESV).

My memory is subsequently filled with the stammering and stumbling attempts of lay people and bible study leaders attempting to explain how the God of Israel who gave this commandment in Exodus could say what he says in the person of Jesus in Matthew.

There are a few things in play here:

1) It seems important to distinguish the different situations of the covenant people of God in each of these passages. In Exodus, God is speaking the intentions he has for those that agree to abide by the same set of rules. In other words, someone can demand repayment from someone only if both parties have agreed to a prior stipulation. Thus, in the passage of Exodus quoted above, the offender and the wronged party are both governed by the same contractual agreement by which they are both held accountable. Alternately, in the context of the Sermon on the Mount, the word of God is issuing forth from the context of exile. As such, I would contend that Jesus is informing the Jews who are listening that, should they be wronged by Gentiles, they cannot and should not demand appropriate retribution because Gentiles have not agreed to the covenant that God had made with Israel.

2) Even with this said, the apparent distance between Jesus' statement from the mount in Matthew and God's statement from the mount in Exodus seems insurmountable (all pun intended). How can we say that these two, the God of Israel and Jesus, are, in fact, one and the same? Our translations do us a great disservice when they insert a paragraph change between verses 25 and 26 of chapter 21. Listen to the two verses that follow the passage quoted above from Exodus: "When a man strikes the eye of his slave, male or female, and destroys it, he shall let the slave go free because of his [or her] eye. If he knocks out the tooth of his slave, male or female, he shall let the slave go free because of his tooth" (Exodus 21:26-27, ESV). Suddenly, Jesus' statement does not sound so different does it? Apparently, what God meant by "eye for a eye and tooth for a tooth" was "eye for freedom and tooth for freedom." Or perhaps it would more aptly stated as "eye for appropriate compensation and tooth for appropriate compensation."

It may be that Jesus was redirecting a wrongful interpretation that had issued from the Jewish leadership, we cannot be sure. However, we can say with some certainty that Jesus is by no means taking a statute from the Torah and disclaiming it as barbaric (a Greek term which would translate as Gentile-like). Rather, he is taking a barbaric (Gentile-like) interpretation and nullifying its validity for the covenant community.

The Fourth Reading

Well, the third reading has come and gone. I hope you are continuing to develop and expand resources for yourself. If not, I hope the experience of reading has been fruitful for you all.

Here are the instructions for the fourth reading:

 

Fourth Read-Through: Critical Engagement

                  Supplies:

1.     Notebook

2.     Pen/Pencil

3.     Your Fabulous Brain

                  Instructions:

1.     You are a veteran now. It is probably safe to say that you have read through the Torah more times than a majority of Christians. Congratulations! Now you have some hard work to do. As a burgeoning expert, you are qualified to begin asking some tough questions. So, as you read, with all of your notes and maps of the text close at hand, keep a running tab of any questions that continue to surface.

a.     For example: In Genesis 37:12-36, we read the story of the brothers selling Joseph into slavery, a plot cooked up by Judah (which in turn thwarts the plot of Reuben) to save Joseph from murder. We later observe that Judah is exonerated, not just by Joseph, but ultimately by God as he is the origin of the line of David. Yet later on in Exodus, a law is communicated that forbids the selling of a brother into slavery. Is Judah guilty of violating Torah retroactively? Why or why not?

2.     Not all questions need to be elaborate. They can be simple questions that need historical or cultural information to be answered.

a.     For example: Why did Judah give Tamar his staff and seal (Genesis 39)? Are those things important?

3.     Finally, please note that these questions do not need to be answered. However, on reflection days, you should think about how you might answer them. Are they things you could look up online? Perhaps you will need a commentary from your pastor. Perhaps you will need your pastor’s or mentor’s advice as you process more theologically significant questions.

The critical questions stage can be difficult, but it is a good process practice as you read Scripture. It changes the way you interact with the text and deepens your relationship with the Spirit who inspired it. Be patient and be honest. Seek deeper understanding and the Torah will come to life in more ways than you thought possible.

ON ANOTHER NOTE: For those of you who may have fallen off of the wagon at some point, I have included a link to an alternate reading schedule. Instead of reading through the Torah two more times by the end of the year, it is designed to get you through once. This is for those who need the opportunity to slow down a bit in order to accomplish authentic critical engagement. I hope it will allow for you to grow in your knowledge and practice. Here is the link:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B299gXozAaDrcGZTZFRpcmhNTVE

Blessings

I Am Not Dead...Yet

Once again, a great deal of time has passed since I posted last. Teaching two graduate level classes alongside a full-time job has been rather demanding. I hope you are enjoying your third reading of the Torah. Also, I hope you are finding this month to be much less demanding on the note-taking front.

I thought I would share a quick insight that I found intriguing as I read with my attention focused on repeated geography and character names. As I read through Numbers, I was struck by a few details in chapter 13, the story of the twelve spies. (Insert old Sunday School song: "Twelve men went to spy on Canaan ten were bad and two were good"...and so on.) Three keywords seemed notable: Eschol, Negeb, and Hebron.

Each of these words occur throughout Genesis 13-23. We are told here and there throughout these chapters that Abram was dwelling in Hebron (13:18) near "the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eschol and Aner (ESV, 14:13). Later on, in chapter 20, Abraham flees Hebron due to famine and travels through the Negeb to Gerar, eventually setting up shop, so to speak, in Beersheba. We are informed in 23:1 that Abraham had migrated back to Hebron (Kiriath-Arba), which was where Sarah died. He purchased the field of Machpelah to the east of Mamre (which has now changed from a person's name to a geographical location) as a burial site.

In Numbers 13, the spies take a reverse path, traveling from Paran/Kadesh through the Negeb to Hebron, namely, the Valley of Eschol. Here we are told that the name of this Valley is due the to "clusters" (eschol in Hebrew) of grapes. However, one cannot help but wonder if this is connected to Eschol, the brother of Mamre, friend to Abram the Hebrew so long ago. Suffice it to say that it seems that the Israelites found themselves in the place where two of the major covenants and promises (chapters 15 and 17) were made with and to Abram/Abraham.

It is my conviction that these details give us some warrant to consider these stories in parallel (in good Hebrew narrative fashion). In doing so, what struck me was the fact that the story in Numbers throws the reader right back to Abraham, traversing the ground on which he walked and lived. The land they were spying out was the land in which Abraham and his clan dwelt as foreigners and where God set the groundwork for the people of Israel through the covenant of circumcision. Further, it was the place of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and many others' burial.

What is the possible significance of this? We might say that the site of Abraham's peace was the site of these Israelites' anxiety. In Genesis 14, Abram is informed of a situation that will require him to raid a band of warring kings to rescue his nephew Lot. In Numbers 13, the spies are tasked with reporting the situation in the land. Whereas Abram responds with familial loyalty and bravery (for lack of a better term), the spies (or the majority of them) respond with cowardice and disloyalty, shrinking before the inhabitants. Abram's overall response to God's call (represented in microcosm in chapter 14) that he should move into the land of Canaan is resolute. The Israelites are fearful despite the promise of God to provide them victory.

What connections have you seen as you read?