The phrase "an eye for an eye", (Hebrew: עין תחת עין) is a quotation from Exous 21:23–27 in which a person who has taken the eye of another in a fight is instructed to give his own eye in compensation. At the root of the non-Biblical form of this principle is the belief that one of the purposes of the law is to provide equitable retaliation for an offended party. It defined and restricted the extent of retaliation. This early belief is reflected in the Code of Hammurabi and in the laws of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Ex 21:23–25, Lv 24:18–20, Dt 19:21).