Leviticus 24:17-20 reads as follows:
Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. . . .If anyone injures his neighbour, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him.
Man, that Old Testament sense of justice was tough, eh? Let’s see.
On October 7th, according to Israeli data, 1,139 Israelis were killed.
Since then, news reports estimate 27,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza.
That means that almost 24 Palestinians have been killed for every Israeli killed on October 7th.
If we round that number down to 20, we can revise Leviticus as follows:
Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death, along with 19 of his friends, neighbours, and family members. . . . If anyone injures his neighbour, as he has done it shall be done to him, 20 fractures for every fracture, 20 eyes for every eye, 20 teeth for every tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him, 20 times over.
Makes you glad you weren’t born into that primitive Old Testament world, don’t it?