“When men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone or with his fist and the man does not die but takes to his bed, then if the man rises again and walks outdoors with his staff, he who struck him shall be clear, only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall have him thoroughly healed.” Exodus 21.18, 19

The Law of God describes a system of justice which was designed to maintain the balance of neighbor-love within the communities of ancient Israel. The words of the civil codes of God’s Law are not meant to be exhaustive; they are, rather, designed to illustrate applications of the Ten Commandments in various situations, so that local judges and authorities could reason on the basis of the words of the Law concerning what the spirit of the Law required in any particular situation.

In the American legal system, those who are found to have caused injury to others can expect that they or their insurance company will be liable for compensatory payments. This is as it should be in order to restore the balance of, if not neighbor-love, at least justice, and to discourage the use of violence against one’s neighbor.

Such an approach to justice did not originate with American or English law.

In the incident described in the text above, justice would be achieved when the wounded party was restored to health, including payment of opportunity costs to cover his expenses and lost income while recuperating. The Law of God thus encouraged the people of Israel to check their anger and to eschew violence toward their neighbors. When they failed in this, justice required retribution.

T. M. Moore

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