Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:1–2)
Within the biblical record we find a concept called middah k’neged middah, or “measure for measure,” quite frequently. The book of Genesis is filled with examples we can clearly see. For instance, just as Jacob used deception and disguises himself in order to receive the blessing from his father Isaac, he is deceived by Laban and Leah is substituted for Rachel. Just as Jacob used the skin of a goat to deceive his father, the skin of a goat is used to deceive him into believing Joseph has died. Just as Judah lead his brothers in selling Joseph, making his father believe he is dead, both Judah’s sons Er and Onan were taken by the LORD allowing Judah to feel the pain of his father’s loss. Just as Pharaoh threw the Hebrew babies into the Nile, the Egyptian army was destroyed by the waters of the Red Sea. The list goes on and on.
We also have this principle explained to us in the light of the compensation for damages within the Torah with the expression “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” If a person is responsible for damaging another’s property, he is liable for restitution to the degree of damage.
