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Full Idea
Where other codes provided the death penalty for offences against property, in Mosaic law no property offence is capital; human life is too sacred, where the rights of property alone are violated.
Gist of Idea
Because human life is what is sacred, Mosaic law has no death penalty for property violations
Source
Paul Johnson (The History of the Jews [1987], Pt I)
Book Ref
Johnson,Paul: 'A History of the Jews' [Phoenix 1993], p.34
A Reaction
We still preserve this idea in our law, and also in our culture, where we are keen to insist that catastrophes like earthquakes or major fires are measured almost entirely by the loss of life, not the loss of property. I approve.
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