Hebrew Word Study – Judges – Shoftim שפטים       Shin Pei Teth Yod Mem

Deuteronomy 16:20: “That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

Different translations of the Bible have a different take on this verse. The KJV says “that which is altogether just…”  The NIV says to “follow justice and justice alone.” The ESV says: “Justice and only justice.” The ASV says “That which is altogether just.” Other translations word this differently.  Who is right?  Of course, I believe they are all right. The ambiguity is of Divine intent. The problem is that we live in a scientific and mathematical culture where we live with precision.  Hence, in our minds there can only be one way to read this and one way only.  However, in the Semitic mind, which is more poetic rather than scientific, there can be many shades of understanding.

There is one understanding that is not really represented in our modern translations which I believe is a very important understanding. This is the one that comes from the Septuagint.  The Septuagint is a translation of the Hebrew Bible into the Koine Greek which took place two to three hundred years before the birth of Christ. According to tradition six scholars from each of the twelve tribes of Israel independently, that is 72 scribes/scholars produced identical translations. There was the fear that the knowledge of the Hebrew, which became a dead language during the captivity period in the seventh century BC, was waning and a translation of the Old Testament was needed to preserve the original intent of the Hebrew language. 

Deuteronomy 16:20 is a perfect example of the role the Septuagint could play in understanding the original intent of a passage. The words as expressed in the KJV “That which is altogether just…” are two identical words in the Hebrew – tsedeq tsedeq. Tsedeq which means righteousness and/or justice. It is literally rendered “Justice, justice.”  Of course, that sounds redundant in English so translators are forced to paraphrase and amplify the rendering. The general rule in Hebrew is that when a word is repeated twice it is done so to create an emphasis.  So, Western translators would be thinking in terms of “altogether just” or “pure justice.”   

The Septuagint renders this phrase very close to this interpretation with a little different nuance. It is “Thou shalt justly pursue justice.” We never stop to consider that there could be unjust justice. Yet, there is continually unjust justice going on all the time.  One person’s idea of justice may be another person’s idea of something that is unjust. The abortion issue is one such example. Many Christians feel that to repeal laws against abortion is unjust for the unborn.  However, another group who feels abortion is a given individual right would say it is justice to have the law banning abortion repealed.

So where does real justice lie? It lies within another nuance to “justice justice.”  That is the pure, true justice that is found only in the laws of God. In Judges 21:25 we learn “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” The word king in Hebrew is melek which means one that you consult to consider differing views. 

Today our king is Jesus who lives inside of each believer. Disputes and disagreements over how to interpret God’s will do arise among believers and Jesus describes the approach of resolving conflict in Matthew 18:17-20: “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. (18) Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (19) Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. (20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

Jesus was literally quoting from the Tradition of the Fathers which later became the Talmud.  In the Talmud, we learn that where two or three are gathered together in agreement, the Divine Presence is in their midst. This is a reference to resolving conflicts.  When there is a conflict between two people, once they agree they will experience or feel the Divine Presence of God as confirmation that they have reached the right conclusion. If they continue to disagree, they will not feel the Divine Presence so a third party, a melek, may be asked to enter and listen and consider the differing views. If all three come to an agreement and feel the Divine Presence of God they will all say “amen.” If just one member of the group does not say “amen” that one member is literally saying He does not feel the presence of God like the others and as a result, they will conclude that the dispute is not resolved within the will of God and continue to negotiate. If each does say “amen” and feels the presence of God then their agreement is bound on earth and heaven and whatever they ask God to do in the situation, He will do it because it will be His will. 

Ultimately, it is Jesus who resolves every conflict, not an earthly court ruled by judges that may not fear God. 

Hi there! Thank you for reading this Daily Word Study. Can I ask a favor? Share this Daily Word Study with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking one of the icons below.

Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!