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
The Brick Testament The site now contains over 400 illustrated stories, from both the Old and New Testaments, and over 4,500 images. It had an Alexa traffic rank of 53,191 in April 2007. Each story is tagged if it contains nudity, sexual content, violence and/or cursing. The website has had over two million visitors. Several hardcover Brick Testament books have been published, "The Brick Testament: Stories from the Book of Genesis", "The Brick Testament: The Story of Christmas", "The Brick Testament: The Ten Commandments"., and "The Brick Bible: A New Spin on the Old Testament". The US retailer Sam's Club withdrew "The Brick