Judge

How Nave’s arranged it

• Appointed by the PersiansEzra 7:25
• Kings and other rulers as2 Samuel 8:152 Samuel 15:21 Kings 3:16–281 Kings 10:92 Kings 8:1–6Psalms 72:1–4Matthew 27:11–26Acts 23:34Acts 23:35Acts 24Acts 25:11Acts 25:12
• Priests and Levites asDeuteronomy 17:92 Chronicles 19:8Ezekiel 44:23Ezekiel 44:24Matthew 26:57–62
• Women as, DeborahJudges 4:4
• Held circuit courts1 Samuel 7:16
• See Courts
• See Justice
• See Witness
• CHARACTER OF, AND PRECEPTS RELATING TOExodus 18:21Exodus 18:22Exodus 22:9Exodus 22:28Leviticus 19:15Deuteronomy 1:12–17Deuteronomy 16:18–20Deuteronomy 17:8–11Deuteronomy 19:16–19Deuteronomy 25:1–31 Samuel 2:251 Samuel 8:31 Kings 3:92 Chronicles 19:5–10Psalms 58:1Psalms 58:2Psalms 72:1Psalms 72:2Psalms 72:4Psalms 72:12–14
• See Justice
• See Courts
• CORRUPT, INSTANCES OF

The passages, in Bible order (85)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Exodus 18:21

   Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 18:212 voices

   “Hence Moses, who speaks with God, is judged by the reproof of Jethro, who was of alien race, because with ill-advised labour he devotes himself to the people's earthly affairs: and counsel too is presently given him, that he should appoint others in his stead for settling earthly strifes, and he himself should be more free to learn spiritual secrets for the instruction of the people.

   “Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people,.... Or look out (t) from among them; see Act 6:3, able men; or "men of power" (u); meaning not so much men of strong and robust constitutions, who, as Aben Ezra says, are able to bear labour; but men that have strength of heart, as Ben Gersom expresses it, men of spirit and courage, and are not afraid to do justice, to repress vice, and countenance virtue; or, as Maimonides says (w), have a strong heart, or courage and boldness to deliver the oppressed from the hands of the oppressor.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 18:21→

   Verse page →Original language →

2. Exodus 18:22

   Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you.

   Verse page →Original language →

3. Exodus 22:9

   In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guilty must pay back double to his neighbor.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 22:91 voice

   “All manner of trespass - He who was accused, and he who had lost the stolen property, were both to appear before the judges Exo 18:25-26.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 22:9→

   Verse page →Original language →

4. Exodus 22:28

   You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

   ›Commentary on Exodus 22:282 voices

   “Thou shalt not revile the gods - Most commentators believe that the word gods here means magistrates. The original is אלהים Elohim, and should be understood of the true God only: Thou shalt not blaspheme or make light of [תקלל tekallel] God, the fountain of justice and power, nor curse the ruler of thy people, who derives his authority from God. We shall ever find that he who despises a good civil government, and is disaffected to that under which he lives, is one who has little fear of God before his eyes.

   “Princes and magistrates are our fathers, whom the fifth commandment obliges us to honour and forbids us to revile. St. Paul applies this law to himself, and owns that he ought not to speak evil of the ruler of his people; no, not though the ruler was then his most unrighteous persecutor, Acts xxiii.

   Everything gathered on Exodus 22:28→

   Verse page →Original language →

5. Leviticus 19:15

   You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 19:151 voice

   "You shall not be partial to the poor," a precept given lest under pretext of showing pity we should judge an unjust judgment. For each individual is to be judged not by his personal importance but by the merits of his case. His wealth need not stand in the way of the rich man, if he makes a good use of it; and poverty of itself can be no recommendation to the poor if in the midst of squalor and want he fails to stay away from wrongdoing.

   Everything gathered on Leviticus 19:15→

   Verse page →Original language →

6. Deuteronomy 1:12–17

   But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself?

   Verse page →Original language →

7. Deuteronomy 16:18–20

   You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:18–202 voices

   “Judges and officers shalt thou make--These last meant heralds or bailiffs, employed in executing the sentence of their superiors. in all thy gates--The gate was the place of public resort among the Israelites and other Eastern people, where business was transacted and causes decided.

   “Judges and officers shalt thou make - Judges, שפטים shophetim, among the Hebrews, were probably the same as our magistrates or justices of the peace. Officers, שטרים shoterim, seem to have been the same as our inquest sergeants, beadles, etc., whose office it was to go into the houses, shops, etc., and examine weights, measures, and the civil conduct of the people. When they found any thing amiss, they brought the person offending before the magistrate, and he was punished by the officer on the spot. They seem also to have acted as heralds in the army, Deu 20:

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 16:18–20→

   Verse page →Original language →

8. Deuteronomy 17:8–11

   If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:8–112 voices

   “If there arise a matter too hard for thee - These directions are given to the common magistrates, who might not be able to judge of or apply the law in all cases that might be brought before them. The priests and Levites, who were lawyers by birth and continual practice, were reasonably considered as the best qualified to decide on difficult points.

   “For thee - He speaks to the inferior magistrates, who were erected in several cities. If thou hast not skill to determine, between blood and blood - That is, in capital causes.

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 17:8–11→

   Verse page →Original language →

9. Deuteronomy 17:9

   You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 17:92 voices

   “And he may be distinctly named, tho' he be one of the priests, because of his eminency, and to shew that amongst the priests, he especially was to be consulted in such cases. The sentence of judgment - Hebrew. The word, or matter of judgement, that is, the true state of the cause, and what judgment or sentence ought to be given in it.

   “Thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites,.... The priests that are of the tribe of Levi, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; for Aben Ezra says there are priests that are not of the genealogy of Levi; such there were indeed in Jeroboam's time, 1Ki 12:

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 17:9→

   Verse page →Original language →

10. Deuteronomy 19:16–19

    If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,

    ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 19:16–191 voice

    “Testify against him that which is wrong - Margin, more literally, “a falling away.” The word is used Deu 13:5 to signify apostasy or revolt; here it is no doubt to be understood in the wider sense of any departure from the Law.

    Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 19:16–19→

    Verse page →Original language →

11. Deuteronomy 25:1–3

    If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.

    ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 25:1–31 voice

    “Render it: (1) If there be a controversy between men, and they come to judgment, and the judges judge them, and justify the righteous and condemn the wicked (compare the marginal reference. and Exo 23:7; Pro 17:15); (2) then it shall be, etc. Deu 25:2 Scourging is named as a penalty in Lev 19:20. The beating here spoken of would be on the back with a rod or stick (compare Pro 10:13; Pro 19:29; Pro 26:3).

    Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 25:1–3→

    Verse page →Original language →

12. Judges 2:16–19

    Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

    ›Commentary on Judges 2:16–192 voices

    “Judges - Supreme magistrates, whose office it was, under God, and by his particular direction, to govern the commonwealth of Israel by God's laws, and to protect and save them from their enemies, to preserve and purge religion, and to maintain the liberties of the people against all oppressors.

    “An attentive consideration of them, therefore, is of the greatest importance to a right understanding of the strange and varying phases of Israelitish history, from the death of Joshua till the establishment of the monarchy. served Baalim--The plural is used to include all the gods of the country.

    Everything gathered on Judges 2:16–19→

    Verse page →Original language →

13. Judges 3:9–11

    But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.

    ›Commentary on Judges 3:9–112 voices

    “It calls the savior "Othniel," which means "the time of God for me." Through this first Othniel, then, the people were delivered from their humiliating servility and were restored to peace rather than having their longstanding pride and various deeds removed.

    “Raised up - Othniel, the son of Kenaz - This noble Hebrew was of the tribe of Judah, and nephew and son-in-law to Caleb, whose praise stands without abatement in the sacred records. Othniel had already signalized his valor in taking Kirjath-sepher, which appears to have been a very hazardous exploit. By his natural valor, experience in war, and the peculiar influence of the Divine Spirit, he was well qualified to inspire his countrymen with courage, and to lead them successfully against their oppressors.

    Everything gathered on Judges 3:9–11→

    Verse page →Original language →

14. Judges 3:15–30

    And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

    ›Commentary on Judges 3:15–302 voices

    “But the original word is rendered in some versions "both-handed," a view countenanced by 1Ch 12:2. by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab--the yearly tribute, which, according to Eastern fashion, would be borne with ostentatious ceremony and offered (Jud 3:18) by several messengers.

    “But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer - The very same words as are used at Jdg 3:9. See, too, Jdg 2:16, Jdg 2:18, and Neh 9:27. Ehud “the Benjamite” was of the family or house of Gera 2Sa 16:5, the son of Bela, Benjamin’s first-born, born before Jacob’s descent into Egypt Gen 46:21, and then included among “the sons of Benjamin.” The genealogy in 1Ch 8:6 intimates that Ehud (apparently written Abihud in Jdg 3:3) became the head of a separate house. Left-handed - See the margin.

    Everything gathered on Judges 3:15–30→

    Verse page →Original language →

15. Judges 3:31

    After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. And he too saved Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.

    ›Commentary on Judges 3:311 voice

    “From this verse and Jdg 5:6 we may gather that Shamgar was contemporary with Jael, and that he only procured a temporary and partial deliverance for Israel by his exploit. He may have been of the tribe of Judah. An ox goad - An instrument of wood about eight feet long, armed with an iron spike or point at one end, with which to spur the ox at plow, and with an iron scraper at the other end with which to detach the earth from the plowshare when it became encumbered with it.

    Everything gathered on Judges 3:31→

    Verse page →Original language →

16. Judges 4:1

    After Ehud died, the Israelites again did evil in the sight of the LORD.

    ›Commentary on Judges 4:11 voice

    “When Ehud was dead - Why not when Shamgar was dead? Does this not intimate that Shamgar was not reckoned in the number of the judges?

    Everything gathered on Judges 4:1→

    Verse page →Original language →