Matthew 5:38 known as the principle of "lex talionis", is an ancient statement of the principle of retributive punishment dating back to the Code of Hammurabi. This phrasing appears several times in the Old Testament at Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. This was a moderate rule compared with the blood feuds described in Genesis 4:23-24. The New Testament scholar R. T. France notes that by Jesus' era such punishments were no longer in practice, rather they had been replaced with fines judged to be of equal value to the damage caused. Thus, according to France, Jesus is not here condemning
Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament as a prophecy about a person of the House of David, which would have ruled over one nation in one land, gathered upon the mountains of Israel on evey side of the earth. The narration continues as follows: The "dwelling place" (Hebrew "mishkan") recalls the wilderness tabernacle. The Sanctuary (Hebrew "miqdash") points rather to the Temple, in particular the renewed Temple, which will occupy Ezekiel's attention in the last ch.s of 40-48. Christianity believes that Ezekiel's Temple is more glorious than the Tabernacle of Moses (Exodus 25-40) and the Temple of Solomon (1 Kings 5-8), pointing forward to several beliefs: