The Torah states ‘an eye for an eye, yet the halacha mandates monetary compensation. Why would the Torah express a law so differently from its intended application?
I think the Torah expresses the law in this way to highlight the moral equivalence of the crime and its consequence—injuring someone is as severe as losing that limb oneself.
I think the Torah expresses the law in this way to highlight the moral equivalence of the crime and its consequence—injuring someone is as severe as losing that limb oneself.