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
Leviticus 19 (26-36) and a general instruction to obey all of God's commands (37). The laws of Leviticus 19 are put in no obvious order, and as a result scholars tend to think that the chapter includes a collection of regulations from various sources. The practice of leaving a portion of crops in the field for poor people or foreigners to use, mentioned in verses 9 and 10, reappears in the second chapter of the book of Ruth. In Judaism, the whole chapter is part of the weekly Torah portion (parashah) "Kedoshim" () which comprises Leviticus 19:1-20:27. Leviticus 19 Leviticus 19 is