Text: Deuteronomy 19:18-21
OT Text Referred to: Exodus 21:24
Subject: lex talionis restated for false witnesses
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Significance: Exodus 21:24 establishes the lex talionis principle: "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן שֵׁן תַּחַת שֵׁן, ayin tachat ayin shen tachat shen). Deuteronomy 19:18-21 applies this identical formula specifically to the punishment of false witnesses: "you shall do to him as he intended to do to his brother... life for life, eye for eye." The Deuteronomic application narrows the lex talionis from a general injury principle to a specific judicial context—perjury. By assigning the perjurer the exact penalty he sought to inflict on the accused, Deuteronomy demonstrates that proportional justice (תַּחַת, tachat, "in place of") operates both in personal injury cases and in the protection of judicial integrity.