Exodus 21:24

Summary

This verse lists four paired body parts — eye, tooth, hand, foot — each connected by the preposition "in place of," establishing a series of equivalences. The structure is purely enumerative, presenting four parallel formulas without verbs or additional clauses.

Key words

• 'Ayin ("an eye", H5869A) — feminine singular noun, appears twice framing the first pair.
• Tachat ("in place of", H8478H) — masculine singular construct noun functioning as a preposition, repeated four times to link each pair; grammatically it means "the underside/place of," here used relationally as "instead of."
• Shen ("a tooth", H8127G) — feminine singular noun, second pair.
• Yad ("a hand", H3027G) — common gender singular noun, third pair.
• Regel ("a foot", H7272) — feminine singular noun, fourth pair, closing the series.

What the text says

The Hebrew consists of four short nominal phrases, each following the identical pattern: noun + tachat + same noun. There is no finite verb in this verse; the sentence relies entirely on juxtaposition and repetition to convey the parallel structure. The construct form of tachat ("in place of", H8478H) is what links each pair, functioning grammatically as a preposition meaning "underneath" or "in exchange for," though here it operates relationally rather than spatially.

The repetition of the same noun in each pair ('ayin... 'ayin, shen... shen, yad... yad, regel... regel) creates a rhythmic, formulaic structure typical of legal or proverbial Hebrew style. Each noun is grammatically singular, and the body parts move in a fixed order — eye, tooth, hand, foot — from head to lower body, a common Hebrew organizational pattern in body-part listings. No first-person or third-person subject is stated; the phrases stand as an independent formula without introductory verb or grammatical subject in this verse itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX uses the preposition anti ("in place of/instead of") to render Hebrew tachat (H8478H), matching the relational sense of the Hebrew construct noun. The Vulgate similarly uses pro ("for/in place of") for each pair. Both the Greek and Latin renderings preserve the four-part parallel structure and the same body-part order found in the Hebrew, with no significant lexical divergence in this verse.