Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Exodus 21:22-27
Regulations Concerning the Causing of Injury (Exodus 21:22).
This may be analysed as follows:
a Where a pregnant woman loses her child in a fight but the woman is not brought close to death (no mischief follows) then the man will be fined as determined by the court.
b If the woman is badly hurt or dies the punishment will be in accordance with the injury life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth (Exodus 21:22).
a Where a bondservant or bondmaid are fairly badly injured, for example by losing an eye or losing a tooth, they must be given their freedom (Exodus 21:26).
Here the two examples in ‘a' and its parallel, where there is injury but not injury that brings close to death, are both built around ‘b'.
“And if men strive together and hurt a woman with child so that she has a miscarriage, and yet nothing serious follows, he will surely be fined if the woman's husband lays a charge against him and he will pay as the judges determine. But if anything serious follows then you will give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
A man who is deemed to cause a miscarriage in a woman who is not his wife, as a result of a tussle with another man, is liable to a fine, the amount of which will be decided by the judges on the facts of the case. But only if nothing more serious develops. The hurt is seemingly physical so somehow she must have become involved in the fight, either deliberately or accidentally.
“Lays a charge against him.” Literally ‘according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him'. This could mean the husband helps to decide the penalty (compare Exodus 21:30). But the judges have the final say.
But if the injury is more serious then he will be punished according to the level of the injury. The purpose of this law is to ensure people pay special attention to pregnant women and are more careful when they are around, and reminds them of their special vulnerability. It teaches us concern for pregnant women.
“Eye for eye, ------ stripe for stripe.” This is clearly a technical statement, regularly quoted, covering all situations. It is thus quoted here in full even though only a part could apply to the case. Deuteronomy 19:21 quotes the first part only, while Leviticus 24:20 applies a part specifically to the case in question.
The principle (called later ‘the lex talionis') was widespread in early societies and widely accepted. It put a limit on how far people could go in seeking revenge for injury while satisfying their sense for justice. It was not always strictly carried out and often other compensation was accepted instead. But it did act as a brake on excessive revenge.
The principle behind all these laws is the recognition of the sacredness of human life in God's eyes, and the concern that punishment be in accordance with the seriousness of the crime and not be based on revenge. The circumstances under which we live may be different but the same principles of justice can be applied.
‘And if a man smite the eye of his bondman, or the eye of his bondmaid, and destroy it, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And if he knock out his bondman's tooth or his bondmaid's tooth, the shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.'
The punishment for permanent injury to a bondman or bondwoman is the cancellation of the bond. The man or woman goes free.