שופטים

Near the edge of the land they were about to enter, Moses spoke to the people: “Appoint judges and officials in every settlement God is giving you.” The judges had to rule with fairness. They could not twist a case, favor a friend, or accept a bribe, because bribes can “blind the eyes of the discerning.” Moses repeated the command like a drumbeat: “Justice, justice shall you pursue,” so the people could thrive in the land.

Moses also warned them not to copy the worship they might see around them. If anyone secretly turned to bow to the sun, moon, or other powers, the community had to investigate carefully. A person could not be punished on the word of only one witness; it took two or more witnesses to prove a charge. The goal was to keep the courts honest and the people faithful to God.

Some problems, Moses said, would feel too hard for local judges, questions about injury, property, or even death. In those cases, the people were to go to the place God would choose and ask the levitical priests and the judge there. Once a decision was announced, everyone had to follow it.

Moses then described future leaders. If Israel ever asked for a king, the king had to be chosen by God and be an Israelite, not a foreigner. He must not pile up horses, send people back to Egypt for more, collect too much silver and gold, or take many wives. Instead, he had to write for himself a copy of the Torah, God’s Teaching, and read it all his life.

The priests from the tribe of Levi would not receive land like the other tribes; they would live from offerings and gifts. The people were also told not to chase magic or fortune-telling. God would raise up a true prophet from among them, and they were to listen, while testing claims by whether the message came true.

Moses commanded that cities of refuge be set aside. If someone killed another person by accident, without hatred, he could run to one of these cities and live. Moses pictured two men cutting wood; the ax-head flies off and strikes the other. The runner would be protected from a furious “blood-avenger” until the case was understood. But if a person attacked an enemy on purpose and then tried to hide in a refuge city, the elders had to send him back for punishment.

In court, Moses added, one witness was not enough. If someone lied as a false witness, the judges had to investigate, and the liar would receive the penalty he planned for the other.

Moses also spoke about war. When Israel saw horses and chariots, they were not to panic, because God went with them. Before battle, the priest would speak, and officials would send home anyone who had unfinished life events or was afraid. When besieging a city, Israel could not cut down fruit trees for siegeworks.

Finally, if a murdered person was found and no killer was known, the nearest town’s elders would bring a heifer to an everflowing wadi, break its neck, wash their hands, and ask God to remove guilt for innocent blood.