Text: Deuteronomy 19:18-21
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 20:16
Subject: false witness and lex talionis penalty
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Anchor Text: Exod 20 — The Decalogue
Significance: Exodus 20:16 prohibits bearing false witness (עֵד שָׁקֶר, ed shaqer) against one's neighbor, and Deuteronomy 19:18-21 specifies the judicial penalty for violation: "you shall do to the false witness as he intended to do to his brother." The Deuteronomic legislation develops the Decalogue prohibition into an enforceable legal procedure—judges must investigate thoroughly (דָּרַשׁ, darash), and the punishment for perjury follows the lex talionis principle: "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth." This progression from Sinai prohibition to judicial implementation shows how the Decalogue's moral commands were translated into concrete legal statutes that governed Israel's courtroom practice.