J2. God's Law of Justice. [Make a Comment]
We are to administer justice both in and out of our courts.
This precept is derived from His Word (blessed be He):
Key Scriptures
WE ARE TO OBEY THE DECISIONS OF A COURT
Deuteronomy 17:8-12
(Maimonides RP174, RN312; Meir MN158; Chinuch C495-496)
If a case comes before you at your city gate which is too difficult for you
to judge, concerning bloodshed, civil suit, personal injury or any other
controversial issue; you are to get up, go to the place which ADONAI your
God will choose, and appear before the cohanim, who are L'vi'im,
and the judge in office at the time. Seek their opinion, and they will
render a verdict for you. You will then act according to what they have
told you there in that place which ADONAI will choose; you are to take care
to act according to all their instructions. In accordance with the Torah
they teach you, you are to carry out the judgment they render, not turning
aside to the right or the left from the verdict they declare to you. Anyone
presumptuous enough not to pay attention to the cohen appointed there to
serve ADONAI your God or to the judge - that person must die. Thus you will
exterminate such wickedness from Isra'el
Hebrews 13:17
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your
souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with
grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
1 Peter 2:13-14
Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's
sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are
sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who
do good.
WE ARE TO ADHERE TO THE MAJORITY DECISIONS OF A COURT
Exodus 23:2
(Maimonides RP175; Chinuch 78)
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.
(see notes under "Classical Commentators" below)
WE ARE TO ADHERE TO THE MAJORITY DECISIONS OF A COURT
1 Corinthians 6:1-7
How dare one of you with a complaint against another go to court before
pagan judges and not before God's people? Don't you know that
God's people are going to judge the universe? If you are going to judge
the universe, are you incompetent to judge these minor matters? Don't
you know that we will judge angels, not to mention affairs of everyday life?
So if you require judgments about matters of everyday life, why do you put
them in front of men who have no standing in the Messianic Community? I
say, shame on you! Can it be that there isn't one person among you wise
enough to be able to settle a dispute between brothers? Instead, a brother
brings a lawsuit against another brother, and that before unbelievers!
Actually, if you are bringing lawsuits against each other, it is already a
defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
BELIEVERS ARE TO RESOLVE THEIR DISPUTES VIA MEDIATION OR IN AN ECCLESIASTICAL COURT
Matthew 18:15-17
Moreover, if your brother commits a sin against you, go and show him his
fault - but privately, just between the two of you. If he listens to you,
you have won back your brother. If he doesn't listen, take one or two
others with you so that every accusation can be supported by the testimony
of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to hear them, tell the
congregation; and if he refuses to listen even to the congregation, treat
him as you would a pagan or a tax-collector.
1 Corinthians 6:1-5
How dare one of you with a complaint against another go to court before
pagan judges and not before God's people? Don't you know that
God's people are going to judge the universe? If you are going to judge
the universe, are you incompetent to judge these minor matters? Don't
you know that we will judge angels, not to mention affairs of everyday life?
So if you require judgments about matters of everyday life, why do you put
them in front of men who have no standing in the Messianic Community? I
say, shame on you! Can it be that there isn't one person among you wise
enough to be able to settle a dispute between brothers?
WE ARE NOT TO CURSE A JUDGE
Exodus 22:27(28)
(Maimonides RN315; Meir MN63; Chinuch C69)
You are not to curse God, and you are not to curse a leader of your
people.
WE ARE NOT TO ADD OR SUBTRACT FROM THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD
Deuteronomy 13:1(12:32)
(Maimonides RN313-314; Meir MN159-160; Chinuch C454-455)
Everything I am commanding you, you are to take care to do. Do not add to it
or subtract from it.
JUDGES ARE NOT TO TAKE GIFTS FROM LITIGANTS
Exodus 23:8
(Maimonides RN274; Chinuch C83)
You are not to receive a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clearsighted and
subverts the cause of the righteous.
Leviticus 19:14
(Meir MN71)
Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way
of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I am ADONAI.
Deuteronomy 16:19-20
(Maimonides RN274; Chinuch C83)
You are not to distort justice or show favoritism, and you are not to accept
a bribe, for a gift blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of even
the upright. Justice, only justice, you must pursue; so that you will live
and inherit the land ADONAI your God is giving you.
JUDGES ARE TO TREAT LITIGANTS EQUALLY
Exodus 23:3
(Maimonides RN277; Meir MN66; Chinuch C79)
On the other hand, dont favor a person's lawsuit simply because he is
poor.'
Exodus 23:6
(Maimonides RN278; Meir MN67; Chinuch C81)
Do not deny anyone justice in his lawsuit simply because he is poor.
Leviticus 19:15
(Maimonides RP177, RN273, RN275, RN277, RN280; Meir
MN68-70; Chinuch C79, C233-235, C590)
Do not be unjust in judging - show neither partiality to the poor nor
deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.
Luke 18:1-7
Then Yeshua told his talmidim a parable, in order to impress on them that
they must always keep praying and not lose heart. "In a certain town, there
was a judge who neither feared God nor respected other people. There was
also in that town a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me a
judgment against the man who is trying to ruin me.' For a long time he
refused; but after awhile, he said to himself, 'I don't fear God,
and I don't respect other people; but because this widow is such a
nudnik, I will see to it that she gets justice - otherwise, she'll keep
coming and pestering me till she wears me out!'" Then the Lord
commented, "Notice what this corrupt judge says. Now won't God grant
justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Is he
delaying long over them?
JUDGES ARE NOT TO PERVERT JUSTICE
Exodus 23:1-2
(Maimonides RN281, RN283; Meir MN65, MN77; Chinuch C74)
You are not to repeat false rumors; do not join hands with the wicked by
offering perjured testimony. 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.
Deuteronomy 1:16-17
(Maimonides RN276; Meir MN72; Chinuch C415)
At that time I commissioned your judges, 'Hear the cases that arise
between your brothers; and judge fairly between a man and his brother, and
the foreigner who is with him. You are not to show favoritism when judging,
but give equal attention to the small and to the great. No matter how a
person presents himself, don't be afraid of him; because the decision
is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me and I will
hear it.
Deuteronomy 19:11-13
(Maimonides RN279; Chinuch C521)
However, if someone hates his fellow member of the community, lies in wait
for him, attacks him, strikes him a death blow, and then flees into one of
these cities; then the leaders of his own town are to send and bring him
back from there and hand him over to the next-of-kin avenger, to be put to
death. You are not to pity him. Rather, you must put an end to the shedding
of innocent blood in Isra'el. Then things will go well with you.
Deuteronomy 19:21
(Maimonides RN279; Chinuch C521)
Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot.
Deuteronomy 24:17a
(Maimonides RN280; Meir MN68; Chinuch C590)
You are not to deprive the foreigner or the orphan of the justice which is
his due ...
APPOINTING JUDGES
Numbers 11:16-17
(Maimonides RP176; Chinuch C491)
ADONAI said to Moshe, "Bring me seventy of the leaders of Isra'el,
people you recognize as leaders of the people and officers of theirs. Bring
them to the tent of meeting, and have them stand there with you. I will come
down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit which
rests on you and put it on them. Then they will carry the burden of the
people along with you, so that you won't carry it yourself alone.
Deuteronomy 1:16-17
(Maimonides RN276; Meir MN72; Chinuch C415)
At that time I commissioned your judges, 'Hear the cases that arise
between your brothers; and judge fairly between a man and his brother, and
the foreigner who is with him. You are not to show favoritism when judging,
but give equal attention to the small and to the great. No matter how a
person presents himself, don't be afraid of him; because the decision
is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me and I will
hear it.
Deuteronomy 16:18
(Maimonides RP176; Chinuch C491)
You are to appoint judges and officers for all your gates [in the cities]
ADONAI your God is giving you, tribe by tribe; and they are to judge the
people with righteous judgment.
NO CONVICTION OR PUNISHMENT UNLESS MORE THAN ONE WITNESS TESTIFIES AT A TRIAL
Numbers 35:12
(Maimonides RN292; Chinuch C409)
These cities are to be a refuge for you from the dead person's
next-of-kin, who might otherwise avenge his kinsman's death by slaying
the killer prior to his standing trial before the community.
Numbers 35:30
If anyone kills someone, the murderer is to be put to death upon the
testimony of witnesses; but the testimony of only one witness will not
suffice to cause a person to be put to death.
Deuteronomy 19:15
(Maimonides RN288; Meir MN73; Chinuch C523)
One witness alone will not be sufficient to convict a person of any offense
or sin of any kind; the matter will be established only if there are two or
three witnesses testifying against him.
A TRIAL MUST ALLOW FOR THE EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES
Deuteronomy 13:15
(Maimonides RP179; Chinuch C463)
If you hear it told that in one of your cities which ADONAI your God is
giving you to live in, certain scoundrels have sprung up among you and have
drawn away the inhabitants of their city by saying, 'Let's go and
serve other gods, which you haven't known, then you are to investigate
the matter, inquiring and searching diligently. If the rumor is true, if it
is confirmed that such detestable things are being done among you, you must
put the inhabitants of that city to death with the sword, destroying it
completely with the sword, everything in it, including its livestock.
WITNESSES MUST TESTIFY TRUTHFULLY
Exodus 20:13b
(Maimonides RN285; Meir MN39; Chinuch C37)
Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.
Exodus 23:1b-2
(Maimonides RN282, 286; Meir MN75; Chinuch C75-76)
... do not join hands with the wicked by offering perjured testimony. Do not
follow the crowd when it does what is wrong; and dont allow the popular
view to sway you into offering testimony for any cause if the effect will be
to pervert justice.'
Deuteronomy 5:17b
(Maimonides RN285; Meir MN39; Chinuch C37)
Do not give false evidence against your neighbor.
(Deuteronomy 5:17 CJB)
Deuteronomy 19:18-19
(Maimonides RP180, RN285; Meir MN39; Chinuch C37, 524)
The judges are to investigate carefully. If they find that the witness is
lying and has given false testimony against his brother, you are to do to
him what he intended to do to his brother. In this way, you will put an end
to such wickedness among you.
REFUSING TO TESTIFY
Leviticus 5:1
(Maimonides RP178; Chinuch C122)
If a person who is a witness, sworn to testify, sins by refusing to tell
what he has seen or heard about the matter, he must bear the consequences.
NO EXCESSIVE CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
Deuteronomy 25:1-3
(Maimonides RN300; Meir MN43; Chinuch C595)
If people have a dispute, seek its resolution in court, and the judges
render a decision in favor of the righteous one and condemning the wicked
one; then, if the wicked one deserves to be flogged, the judge is to have
him lie down and be flogged in his presence. The number of strokes is to be
proportionate to his offense; but the maximum number is forty. He is not to
exceed this; if he goes over this limit and beats him more than this, your
brother will be humiliated before your eyes.
NO PUNISHMENT FOR SIN COMMITTED WHILE UNDER DURESS
Deuteronomy 22:25-27
(Maimonides RN294; Chinuch C556)
But if the man comes upon the engaged girl out in the countryside, and the
man grabs her and has sexual relations with her, then only the man who had
intercourse with her is to die. You will do nothing to the girl, because
she has done nothing deserving of death. The situation is like the case of
the man who attacks his neighbor and kills him. For he found her in the
countryside, and the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save
her.
NO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IF CIRCUMSTANCIAL EVIDENCE OR ANY CHANCE OF FRAUD
Exodus 23:7
(Maimonides RN290; Chinuch C82)
Keep away from fraud, and do not cause the death of the innocent and
righteous; for I will not justify the wicked.
NO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR THE SINS OF ONE'S RELATIVES
Deuteronomy 24:16
(Maimonides RN287; Meir MN74; Chinuch C589)
Fathers are not to be executed for the children, nor are children to be
executed for the fathers; every person will be executed for his own sin.
NO RANSOM FROM PUNISHMENT FOR COMMITTING MURDER [obsolete]
Numbers 35:31-32
(Maimonides RN295-296; Chinuch C412-413)
Also, you are not to accept a ransom in lieu of the life of a murderer
condemned to death; rather, he must be put to death. Likewise, you are not
to accept for someone who has fled to his city of refuge a ransom that would
allow him to return to his land before the death of the cohen.
Supportive Scriptures
JUSTICE IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Deuteronomy 10:18
He secures justice for the orphan and the widow; he loves the foreigner,
giving him food and clothing.
Isaiah 1:16-17
Wash yourselves clean! Get your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing evil,
learn to do good! Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, defend orphans, plead
for the widow.
Isaiah 30:18
Yet ADONAI is just waiting to show you favor, he will have pity on you from
on high; for ADONAI is a God of justice; happy are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 56:1-7
Here is what ADONAI says: "Observe justice, do what is right, for my
salvation is close to coming, my righteousness to being revealed. Happy is
the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps Shabbat and
does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. A foreigner
joining ADONAI should not say, "ADONAI will separate me from his people";
likewise the eunuch should not say, "I am only a dried-up tree." For here
is what ADONAI says: "As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats, who choose
what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant: in my house, within my walls,
I will give them power and a name greater than sons and daughters; I will
give him an everlasting name that will not be cut off. And the foreigners
who join themselves to ADONAI to serve him, to love the name of ADONAI, and
to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it, and hold fast
to my covenant, I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful
in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted
on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all
peoples."
Isaiah 61:8-9
For I, ADONAI, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offerings. So I will
be faithful to reward them and make an eternal covenant with them. Their
descendants will be known among the nations, their offspring among the
peoples; all who see them will acknowledge that they are the seed ADONAI has
blessed.
Jeremiah 9:22-23(23-24)
Here is what ADONAI says: "The wise man should not boast of his wisdom, the
powerful should not boast of his power, the wealthy should not boast of his
wealth; instead, let the boaster boast about this: that he understands and
knows me - that I am ADONAI, practicing grace, justice and righteousness in
the land; for in these things I take pleasure," says ADONAI.
Hosea 12:6-7(5-6)
Adonai ELOHEI-Tzva'ot; ADONAI is his name! So you, return to your God;
hold fast to grace and justice; and always put your hope in your God.
Amos 5:15
Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD
God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
Amos 5:23-24
Spare me the noise of your songs! I don't want to hear the strumming
of your lutes! Instead, let justice well up like water, and righteousness
like an ever-flowing stream.
Micah 6:8
Human being, you have already been told what is good, what ADONAI demands
of you - no more than to act justly, love grace and walk in purity with
your God.
Zechariah 7:9-11
In the past ADONAI-Tzva'ot said, 'Administer true justice. Let
everyone show mercy and compassion to his brother. Don't oppress
widows, orphans, foreigners or poor people. Don't plot evil against
each other.' But they wouldn't listen, they stubbornly turned
their shoulder away and stopped up their ears, so that they wouldn't
have to hear it.
Psalm 37:27-29
If you turn from evil and do good, you will live safely forever. For ADONAI
loves justice and will not abandon his faithful; they are preserved forever.
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. The righteous will
inherit the land and live in it forever.
Psalm 101:1-2
I am singing of grace and justice; I am singing to you, ADONAI. I will
follow the path of integrity; when will you come to me? I will run my life
with a sincere heart inside my own house.
Psalm 106:3
How happy are those who act justly, who always do what is right!
Proverbs 21:2-3
All a person's ways are right in his own view, but ADONAI weighs the
heart. To do what is right and just is more pleasing to ADONAI than
sacrifice.
Proverbs 21:15
Acting justly is a joy for the righteous but it terrifies evildoers.
Proverbs 28:5
Evil people don't understand justice, but those who seek ADONAI
understand everything.
Job 8:3
Does God distort judgment? Does Shaddai pervert justice?
Matthew 5:38-42
You have heard that our fathers were told, 'Eye for eye and tooth for
tooth.' But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you
wrong. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit
you on the left cheek too! If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let
him have your coat as well! And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack
for one mile, carry it for two! When someone asks you for something, give
it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to
him.
Romans 12:19
Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God's anger; for
in the Tanakh it is written, "ADONAI says, 'Vengeance is my
responsibility; I will repay.'"
Hebrews 10:30
For the One we know is the One who said, "Vengeance is my responsibility; I
will repay," and then said, "ADONAI will judge his people."
STATUTES PERTAINING TO JUSTICE THAT ARE OF VARYING CONTEMPORARY APPLICABILITY
Exodus 21:1-22:26
"These are the rulings you are to present to them: If you purchase a Hebrew
slave, he is to work six years; but in the seventh, he is to be given his
freedom without having to pay anything. If he came single, he is to leave
single; if he was married when he came, his wife is to go with him when he
leaves. But if his master gave him a wife, and she bore him sons or
daughters, then the wife and her children will belong to her master, and he
will leave by himself. Nevertheless, if the slave declares, 'I love my
master, my wife and my children, so I don't want to go free,' then
his master is to bring him before God; and there at the door or doorpost,
his master is to pierce his ear with an awl; and the man will be his slave
for life. If a man sells his daughter as a slave, she is not to go free
like the men-slaves. If her master married her but decides she no longer
pleases him, then he is to allow her to be redeemed. He is not allowed to
sell her to a foreign people, because he has treated her unfairly. If he
has her marry his son, then he is to treat her like a daughter. If he
marries another wife, he is not to reduce her food, clothing or marital
rights. If he fails to provide her with these three things, she is to be
given her freedom without having to pay anything. Whoever attacks a person
and causes his death must be put to death. If it was not premeditated but
an act of God, then I will designate for you a place to which he can flee.
But if someone willfully kills another after deliberate planning, you are to
take him even from my altar and put him to death. Whoever attacks his
father or mother must be put to death. Whoever kidnaps someone must be put
to death, regardless of whether he has already sold him or the person is
found still in his possession. Whoever curses his father or mother must be
put to death. If two people fight, and one hits the other with a stone or
with his fist, and the injured party doesn't die but is confined to his
bed; then, if he recovers enough to be able to walk around outside, even if
with a cane, the attacker will be free of liability, except to compensate
him for his loss of time and take responsibility for his care until his
recovery is complete. If a person beats his male or female slave with a
stick so severely that he dies, he is to be punished; except that if the
slave lives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is
his property. If people are fighting with each other and happen to hurt a
pregnant woman so badly that her unborn child dies, then, even if no other
harm follows, he must be fined. He must pay the amount set by the
woman's husband and confirmed by judges. But if any harm follows, then
you are to give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,
foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound and bruise for bruise. If a
person hits his male or female slave's eye and destroys it, he must let
him go free in compensation for his eye. If he knocks out his male or
female slave's tooth, he must let him go free in compensation for his
tooth. If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and
its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability.
However, if the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner was
warned but did not confine it, so that it ended up killing a man or a woman;
then the ox is to be stoned, and its owner too is to be put to death.
However, a ransom may be imposed on him; and the death penalty will be
commuted if he pays the amount imposed. If the ox gores a son or daughter,
the same rule applies. If the ox gores a male or female slave, its owner
must give their master twelve ounces of silver; and the ox is to be stoned
to death. If someone removes the cover from a cistern or digs one and fails
to cover it, and an ox or donkey falls in, the owner of the cistern must
make good the loss by compensating the animal's owner; but the dead
animal will be his. If one person's ox hurts another's, so that
it dies, they are to sell the live ox and divide the revenue from the sale;
and they are also to divide the dead animal. But if it is known that the ox
was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner did not confine it; he
must pay ox for ox, but the dead animal will be his. If someone steals an
ox or a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he is to pay five oxen for an ox
and four sheep for a sheep. pens after sunrise, in which case it is murder.
A thief must make restitution; so if he has nothing, he himself is to be
sold to make good the loss from the theft. If what he stole is found alive
in his possession, he is to pay double, no matter whether it is an ox, a
donkey or a sheep. If a person causes a field or vineyard to be grazed over
or lets his animal loose to graze in someone elses field
(he is to make
restitution from the best produce of his own field and vineyard. If a fire
is started and spreads to thorns)
Commentary
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 1122 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 Tanakh3 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).
NCLA: JMm JFm KMm KFm GMm GFm