Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• 1 Corinthians 6:1-7
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• Hebrews 13:17
• Luke 18:1-7
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• Matthew 18:15-17
• 1 Peter 2:13-14

Key OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 1:16-17
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 5:17
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 13:1
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 13:15
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 16:18-20
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 17:8-12
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 19:11-13
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 19:15
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 19:18-19
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 19:21
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 22:25-27
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 24:16-17
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 25:1-3
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 20:13
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 22:27
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 23:1-3
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 23:6-8
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 5:1
  Jewish Commentary
• Leviticus 19:14-15
  Jewish Commentary
• Numbers 11:16-17
  Jewish Commentary
• Numbers 35:12
  Jewish Commentary
• Numbers 35:30-32
  Jewish Commentary

Supportive NT Scriptures

• Hebrews 10:30
• Matthew 5:38-42
• Romans 12:19

Supportive OT Scriptures

• Amos 5:15
  Jewish Commentary
• Amos 5:23-24
  Jewish Commentary
• Deuteronomy 10:18
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 21:1-22:26
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  Jewish Commentary
• Hosea 12:6-7
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 1:16-17
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 30:18
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 56:1-7
  Click to retrieve Isaiah 56:1-7
  Jewish Commentary
• Isaiah 61:8-9
  Jewish Commentary
• Jeremiah 9:22-23
  Jewish Commentary
• Job 8:3
  Jewish Commentary
• Micah 6:8
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 21:2-3
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 21:15
  Jewish Commentary
• Proverbs 28:5
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 37:27-29
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 101:1-2
  Jewish Commentary
• Psalms 106:3
  Jewish Commentary
• Zechariah 7:9-11
  Jewish Commentary

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

The following is Merriam-Webster's definition of "Justice": 1a. The Maintenance of administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments. 1b. The administration of law; especially the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity. 2a. The quality of being just, impartial, or fair. (1) The principle or ideal of just dealing or right action (2) Conformity to righteousness and law. 3. Conformity to truth, fact, or reason - correctness It is a helpful definition but not dispositive because it self-defines by using the word "just". "Justice" is hard to define. I think of it as fairness that is somehow connected to authority. It has the connotation of a person receiving that which is due him or that which he deserves. In reviewing the Scriptures with the purpose of listing those having to do with justice, it becomes apparent that one would have to list just about the entire Bible. The Scriptures listed in support of this Mitzvah are therefore only a representative sample of those that can be listed, and the Bible;s emphasis on justice is evidence of how important justice is to God. Justice (or the lack of it) exists in all of society, and can broadly be put into one of two categories. First, there is justice that is connected to a court of law or other governmental authority, where what is considered "just" is defined by a rule or statute. The other category is justice that is informal, and has to do with how individuals or groups of individuals treat each other in their daily encounters. There is also a term known as "social justice", that can involve either or both of the aforementioned categories. Exactly what "social justice" comprises is controversial, but it refers to the equality (or lack thereof) of individuals within society, regarding their opportunities, privileges, and the distribution of wealth. It is too great a subject to be dealt with in this Mitzvah . As with all of the Mosaic era commandments, many of those having to do with justice are no longer directly applicable in today's world in which we live. Examples are the commandment establishing sanctuary cities and commandments prescribing punishments for infractions of law - capital punishment in particular. Whereas, capital punishment was the ultimate penalty under the Mosaic Law and still is today under many systems of secular law, it no longer exists under the New Covenant, for which the ultimate penalty is expulsion from the body of believers (see Matthew 18:17 ). We understand that today's legal matters pertaining to persons and things outside of the body of believers are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the secular governments to which we are subject, but we consider the Mosaic Law still relevant in guiding us as to the principles of punishment, restitution, restoration, and God's will in general. In order for a court to have the capacity to adjudicate a case, it must have three kinds of jurisdiction - personal, territorial, and subject-matter. This applies to ecclesiastical courts as well as to secular courts, except that the territorial jurisdictions of ecclesiastical courts are considered to be the entire world. Secular courts get their subject-matter jurisdiction from civil laws (e.g. statutes, ordinances, case law, etc.), whereas ecclesiastical courts usually get their subject-matter jurisdiction from the Bible. 1 Personal jurisdiction is acquired in various ways in each of the court systems. In the secular courts it is sometimes connected to the defendant's domicile, sometimes to where damages sued for have occurred, and sometimes it is defined by statute. Personal jurisdiction in an ecclesiastical court is a debated matter. It should be over all believers - Jews (Messianic & non-Messianic) if it is a rabbinical court ( beit din ) and over all Messianic Jews and Gentile believers in Yeshua if it is a court convened by a Christian church or Messianic synagogue. Sometimes, personal jurisdiction is acquired by the defendant being a member of a congregation, denomination, network of congregations, or organization; plaintiffs are automatically subject to the jurisdiction of the court to which they apply for relief. 1. Sometimes also from extra-biblical writings such as the Talmud.

Classical commentators

Maimonides' mitzvah RP175 and Chinuch's C78 are worthy of special mention because of how Maimonides and HaChinuch translate Exodus 23:2 . Both of their mitzvot follow TB Hullin 112 2 in declaring that the majority should rule in a legal case when there is a dispute among judges. Not contrary but different, the Complete Jewish Bible (in basic agreement with Christian translations) states: Do not follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and don't allow the popular view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be to pervert justice. That notwithstanding, the following English translation of the Tanakh 3 supports Maimonides and HaChinuch by translating Exodus 23:2 : Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment. Clearly, this second translation is quite opposite in that its phrase "to decline after many to wrest judgment" supports Maimonides' and HaChinuch's mitzvot RP175 and C78 respectively, whereas the CJB translation does not. It is important to note that even when a mitzvah of Mosaic vintage appears to have application today, the application may have to be adjusted. An example would be the mitzvah to not convict a person on the testimony of only one witness. The caution is still observed, but today's forensic technologies (e.g. ballistic and DNA testing, photographs, voice recordings, etc.) allow very great certainty in connecting suspects to crimes without their being even a single eyewitness. A word is needed regarding Maimonides' departure from Meir and HaChinuch concerning the meaning of Deuteronomy 17:11 . Meir and HaChinuch interpret " the place which ADONAI your God will choose " as the Sanhedrin . Maimonides, on the other hand, in his RN312, interprets the Scripture to mean that we are not to disagree with the authorized conveyors of tradition. 2. This reference is to tractate Hullin of the Babylonian Talmud. 3. "The Holy Scriptures: Hebrew & English," The Society for Distributing Hebrew Scriptures (no publishing date).

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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