Biblical Justice: The Passion of the God of Justice

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511657535.005

4 - Biblical Justice: The Passion of the God of Justice

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2010

Edited by

Matthew Anderson and

Austin Sarat: Affiliation:
Amherst College, Massachusetts
Matthew Anderson: Affiliation:
University of New England, Maine
Cathrine O. Frank: Affiliation:
University of New England, Maine

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Summary

The diverse and multivocal books of the Hebrew Bible may share a preoccupation with one theme that incorporates notions of reward and punishment, blessing and curse, compassion and anger: justice. As James Crenshaw writes, “The qualit[y] of justice…runs through the Bible like a red thread. [It is] intricately woven into the various literary forms that enliven its pages from beginning to end.” As prominent as this theme is, however, the Hebrew Bible never offers us a definition, theory, or “idea” of justice. Nicholas Wolterstorff notes that the biblical authors

speak a great deal about what is just and unjust; every now and then they step back a bit to speak about the role of justice in God's life and ours. What they do not do is step up to the meta-level and talk about how to think about justice. They do not articulate a conception of justice. We ourselves have to extract the underlying pattern of their thought from their testimony.

One such underlying pattern may indeed be the demand for retribution. It is perhaps an old cliché that the Old Testament is consumed with judgment and retaliation whereas the New Testament transcends these baser concerns with a Christian emphasis on compassion and love. Passages that align the Hebrew Bible with “primitive” notions of unthinking vengefulness include the famous “eye for an eye” law of talion, and the description of God (Yhwh) in Exodus as “a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation” (Exod 34:6–7).

Type: Chapter
Information: Law and the Humanities
An Introduction
, pp. 125 - 140

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511657535.005 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2009

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