Shoftim 19:21 · unit 2
TT #272 · Parashas Shoftim · Sixth Aliyah · Passuk 19:21
The Complete Passuk
וְלֹ֥א תָח֖וֹס עֵינֶ֑ךָ נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּנֶ֗פֶשׁ עַ֤יִן בְּעַ֙יִן֙ שֵׁ֣ן בְּשֵׁ֔ן יָ֥ד בְּיָ֖ד רֶ֥גֶל בְּרָֽגֶל׃
And your eye shall not pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Chabad / Judaica Press
Source Citation
Torah Temimah points to Bava Kamma 83b–84a.
TT lemma: עַיִן בְּעַיִן.
Sefaria — Bava Kamma 83b–84a
Core Text of Chazal
Core Text
עַיִן בְּעַיִן – מָמוֹן.
English: ‘Eye for eye’ – monetary compensation.
On the daf / in context: In ordinary injury cases the phrase is interpreted as monetary payment, not literal mutilation.
Type of Learning
Derash interpreting ‘eye for eye’ as money (Bavli) — the oral tradition reads the phrase as requiring payment of the value of the eye.
What Is Learned
In the law of damages, ‘eye for eye’ means the monetary value of the eye, not the physical removal of the offender’s eye.