No sacred text in any religion is truly interpretted literally. It's simply impossible. I can't speak for other religions, but in Judaism there is the concept of Oral Law and Written Law. Written Law is the five books of Moses. Tradition holds that God taught the Oral Law to Moses on Mount Sinai as a commentary to - and embellishment of - the Written Law.
This Oral Law was passed down orally from generation to generation (until about 400AD, long story), always framed in the current language and using familiar examples. This kept it dynamic and flexible.
The two Laws complement each other; neither can be fully understood without the other. For example, the bible says that for an animal to be kosher, it must be killed "In the way that I have showed you" (paraphrase). It's only in the Oral Law where those details are explained.
Another example is the phrase "An eye for an eye"; literally that sounds like a horrible form of punishment. However, in the Oral Law it is explained that this meant that personal injuries must be compensated in an adequate way; for instance if you injure someone and they lose an eye, you must pay them the financial value of an eye, however that is calculated.
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Spending as long as I do here, it's easy to forget that Oddworld has actual fans.
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