death penalty when it is patently unethical; see in P Num. 35:9–33. 18: Restitution can always be made for destruction of livestock; see Exod. 21:33–37. 19–20: On the law of talion, or “eye-for-eye” principle, for bodily harm, see Exod. 21:23–25, where monetary compensation equivalent to the damages is meant (see v. 22). Rabbinic law interprets our text and Deut. 19:21 in the same fashion, but from the formulation of v. 20 it would seem that in Leviticus the literal sense is intended. 21: The recapitulation
Page 269