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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
24:10-23 The Case of a Blasphemer. This section interrupts the flow of divine instructions with a narrative; it indicates the way in which many of the case laws in Israel arose, as responses to specific situations. It also shows how to apply these case laws in new situations that come up, by analogy with the existing laws.
24:10-12 The command against blaspheming God's name has already been given, in Ex. 20:7 and 22:28. It is dealt with again in the present passage for two reasons: first, no penalty for it was provided in the previous prohibitions; second, the one who blasphemes in this case is not a full-fledged Israelite. The man is placed under temporary guard until judgment is passed.
24:13-16 The culprit is to be stoned outside the camp (v. 14). The laying on of hands prior to the stoning has been commonly explained in such a way that the congregation, having overheard the curse and become defiled, devolves the guilt onto the culprit, and his death makes atonement for the guilt. Alternatively, it may be taken as a gesture simply to indicate who it is that had cursed the name of the Lord.
24:17-23 These verses deal with the principle of lex talionis (Latin, "the law of retribution"). It is a form of ironic justice in which the punishment for the crime is found in the crime itself. The principle applies to everyone in Israel without exception (see Ex. 21:23-25; Deut. 19:21). It is unlikely that fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth actually implies mutilation as the punishment for the offender; rather, the value of the injured member will be the imposed fine (cf. Ex. 21:18-19). This law, when properly applied, guides the judges in assessing damages and sets a limit on the thirst for revenge. Since this is a rule for judges to follow, it should not be invoked in ordinary daily relationships (cf. Jesus' stance, Matt. 5:38).
