What Does Exodus 21:24 Mean in the King James?

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

Exodus 21:24 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

Each “for” means “under” and “in place of,” binding the answer to the measure of its matching injury.

THE MEANING

This verse sets a boundary around the answer to harm: each consequence corresponds to the injury named. The repeated pairings keep the measure from growing beyond its match.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

An injury gives the injured person unlimited permission to answer with greater harm.

THE ROOT

תַּחַת

taḥat

GROWS FROM

ת־ח־ת

t-ḥ-t

Beneath or below; also used to mean in place of or in exchange for.

The Hebrew ⁨תַּחַת⁩ (taḥat, “under; in place of”) repeats where English says “for.” Each consequence takes the place of its counterpart, tying the response to the injury’s measure rather than letting it grow beyond it.

ALSO GROWS

taḥat: Under, beneath; in place of

תַּחַת

The verse repeats this word in every pair, giving “for” the sense of one thing standing in the place of its match.

taḥton: Lower; lower part

תַּחְתּוֹן

This form keeps the root’s sense of what lies beneath, echoing the spatial image behind the repeated pairing.

taḥtit: Bottom; underside

תַּחְתִּית

This word also names what lies beneath, while the verse extends that relation to an equivalent in place of an injury.

THE PATTERN

A response is measured against the harm it answers, keeping the measure from expanding without limit.

Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.

Leviticus 24:20 · KJVThe repeated pairings make the correspondence explicit: the consequence matches the injury.

And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

Deuteronomy 19:21 · KJVThe verse applies the same measured return across several kinds of harm.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Matthew 7:2 · KJVThe same measure-for-measure structure appears in judgment: the measure applied returns to the one applying it.

THE THREAD

Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.

Leviticus 24:20 · KJV

Leviticus repeats the same “under, in place of” pairing and adds “breach for breach.” Its fuller wording makes the correspondence plain: the consequence is measured to match the injury.

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