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Introduction
Throughout the Jewish and Christian Scriptures, we see the uniquely intimate relationship
between the nation of Israel and its Supreme Ruler, YHWH. As we read through the Old
Testament, in particular, YHWH reveals himself as the divine cosmic being par excellence. The
other foreign gods are but nothing when compared to Him.1 When put to the ultimate test, it is
He, not Baal, who brings down fire from heaven when His children call upon Him.2 It is His
presence that caused the image of Dagon to be smashed into pieces, cut up, and instilled fear
among his priests.3 He is not a boring god devoid of personality; He shows Himself in an array
of ways. He describes himself as “gracious, merciful, and abounding in steadfast love” to Moses
(Exo. 34:6-7). YHWH, as revealed through the Holy Bible, is both multifaceted and yet
For the purpose of this paper, I will be exploring the theme of YHWH‟s justice and how
it is intricately woven throughout the Tanakh. Time after time, YHWH reminds Israel that He is
the Ultimate Judge of all creation. Time after time, the faithful children of Israel turn to YHWH
in their time of distress and afflictions, demanding justice when injustice overwhelms them. This
paper will look at how justice is defined and demonstrated in the Law, the Prophets and the
Writings. It will also examine how the theme of YHWH‟s justice found in the Old Testament is
further fulfilled in the New Testament through the person of Jesus Christ. It is this author‟s intent
to maintain the claim that a proper understanding of justice is needed to understand the character
of God and how He interacts with His creation. As His children, we are called to be justice
workers in the same way as our Just Father metes out justice regularly and unceasingly.
1
Craig, "Psalm 82."
2
1 Kings 18:17-39.
3
1 Samuel 5:1-5
1
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From the very beginning of Genesis to the final words of Deuteronomy, one can see the
concept of justice being evident throughout the first five books. It is from the Hebrew word מִשְׁ פָט
that we derive our understanding of the word justice. “In the OT the stem שפתcarries the double
sense of „to rule‟ and „to judge.‟”4 In the Garden of Eden, the story of the first humans, Adam
and Eve, unfolds. YHWH, as creator of both flora and fauna, allows Adam and Eve full
dominion over everything He has created. There is only one caveat: they are free to eat of any
fruit-bearing tree in the Garden save from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve, deceived
by the serpent, partakes of the forbidden fruit and invites her husband to join her as well. Due to
this act of rebellion, YHWH Himself judges the three transgressors in the story of the Fall. Man,
woman, and serpent bring down specific curses from YHWH. From this story, one can
The Israelites seemed to have this same idea of YHWH‟s justice as displayed to us by
Joseph‟s brother in Gen. 42:21-22. Joseph‟s brothers, because of their hateful jealousy, sold their
father‟s favoured son to slave-traders. After several years, a great famine came upon all of Israel.
In order to survive, Jacob‟s sons went to the land of Egypt to buy grain. When they went to
Egypt, they were unaware that their brother was now the governor of the whole land. Joseph,
upon seeing his brothers, tested them. He accuses them of spying, puts them in prison, and on the
third day tells them that the only way to prove their innocence is to go home and bring back their
youngest brother in exchange for the life of a brother who shall be left behind. Before they left
4
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 923.
5
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 924.
2
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for Egypt, Jacob prevents Benjamin from joining his brothers lest misfortune fall upon him and
Jacob enter Sheol with much sorrow and despair. The importance of the life of their youngest
brother in the life of their aging father, Jacob, is not lost on the brothers. After Joseph‟s verdict
was pronounced, “they said to one another, „alas, we are paying the penalty for what we did to
our brother; we saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why
this anguish has come upon us‟” (42:21 NRSV). From their reaction, they seem to display an
understanding of justice primarily framed in punitive terms. Because they have done something
evil in the sight of YHWH, YHWH is now punishing them for their evil act. YHWH‟s justice is
completely inappropriate and misleading to maintain that this is the only way to explain the idea
of justice since “the justice commanded by Yahweh ... is not the retributive justice of „deeds-
consequences‟ wherein rewards and punishments are meted out to persons and the community
must also be understood as “that norm of behaviour which arises out of the relationship of God
and people, and out of the interrelationships of God‟s people with themselves and others.”7 By
rooting our comprehension of justice within a relational framework, we can come closer to a
In Gen. 18:22-33, we read about Abraham‟s bargain with God to save the city of Sodom.
Mafico argues that when Abraham heard about the city of Sodom, it was not the word rášá that
bothered him. Instead, it was the ִִזַעֲקתִסְׁד ֹםthat caused him to be alarmed. “There is much
6
Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament : Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, 421.
7
Lind, Monotheism, Power, Justice : Collected Old Testament Essays, 82.
3
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biblical evidence to establish that once the the "(ִִזַעֲקתoutcry") of the oppressed reached God, his
response was swift and dire consequences on the offender were immediate and unavoidable.”8
answer from God on the ethical problem paused by indiscriminate destruction.”9 The shocking
point in this story is not that YHWH destroyed Sodom for their wickedness; it is the fact that
Sodom‟s decimation was a result of YHWH hearing their outcry. This is a realization that
“Yahweh‟s justice does indeed have a preferential inclination for the poor and the marginated.”10
All through the Pentateuch, the oppressed and the needy are the most frequent recipients of
YHWH‟s justice.
Fretheim claims that “the prime example of divine justice in the Old Testament is God's
deliverance of Israel when they were enslaved in Egypt.”11 He continues to say that this message
is “often repeated in the Old Testament: the Israelites were the helpless victims of abuse and
exploitation at the hands of the most powerful nation of that age, and God, who identified
himself as compassionate (Exo. 22:27), delivered them.”12 In fact, Israel‟s initial portrayal of
YHWH was not that of a king. The pagan nations which surrounded Israel were full of kings that
laid heavy burden on their people. Instead, YHWH‟s chief title was “Deliverer from Egypt.” It is
clear that “from the outset Yahweh was understood as the One who sets slaves free.13 This title
showed YHWH‟s uniqueness in contrast with the neighbouring foreign gods and monarchs. The
justice of YHWH frees and delivers those within the Yahwistic community in spite of, and
8
Mafico, "The Crucial Question Concerning the Justice of God (Gen 18:23-26)," 12.
9
Mafico, "The Crucial Question Concerning the Justice of God (Gen 18:23-26)," 12.
10
Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament : Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, 422.
11
Fretheim, "The Prophets and Social Justice: A Conservative Agenda," 162.
12
Fretheim, "The Prophets and Social Justice: A Conservative Agenda," 162.
13
Wolff, "Masters and Slaves : On Overcoming Class-Struggle in the Old Testament," 261.
4
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As far back as the Creation Story, the Bible presents us with a vision of YHWH as Judge.
The decision to banish Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after they have committed a
grievous sin against Him is a prime example of such a judgment. However, what is often de-
emphasized from the conception of YHWH as Judge is the idea that “as Judge, YHWH is also
Helper of His people.”14 Before Adam and Eve left the Garden, YHWH made “garments of
skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). He did not leave them naked
and destitute. Although they have disobeyed His rules, He does not completely withhold His
compassionate hand from them. This is yet further evidence that the justice of God cannot be
While sin can, and does, provoke the hand of YHWH against those who transgress Him, the
negative consequences it incurs has, at its very core, the desire to restore a broken human-divine
relationship. It is his desire that none should perish but instead all would come to Him that they
and also from the abstract notion of an ethos or idea of virtue or law.”16 Recovering this notion
of מִשְׁ פָטallows us to have fresh eyes to see YHWH‟s justice within the Pentateuch. The laws
which YHWH gives to Moses are not only to be seen as moral and ethical codes; instead, it must
be seen as a way of life that involves having YHWH at the center of it.17 שפָט
ְׁ ִמ, understood
14
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 925.
15
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 926.
16
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 926.
17
Birch, Let Justice Roll Down : The Old Testament, Ethics, and Christian Life, 38.
5
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within relational terms, breaks free from the idea of iustitia distributiva into iustitia salutifera.18
Any appraisal of the Old Testament “which operates according to a fixed norm of absolute
morality will necessarily miss the mark” because “they fail to note that the judicial decisions of
Yahweh in the covenant people and its history serve a specific goal.”19 The goal of YHWH‟s
every page.
Jacobson insists that “justice is a social concept. It has to do with the order of society and
how that order shapes or fails to shape human relationships with one another.”20 Throughout the
Prophets, one can see the failure of Israel to embody and enact YHWH‟s justice. In its stead,
injustice rules the land and the nation of Israel finds itself once more in the position of the
oppressed. Whereas in the past, the oppressive forces that threatened Israel came from without,
now the oppressive forces are found from within. A nation that groaned under the heavy burdens
inflicted upon them when they were slaves to the Egyptians now enslaved its own people. Those
who were redeemed by the mighty hand of YHWH from the Egyptians who abused them are
now found abusing their own kith and kin. It is against this background that I wish to explore the
The Book of Judges provides us with a picture of Israel unravelling at its seams. The
book is but a description of the „downward spiral‟ that happens in the nation of Israel.21 In this
book, one can see that there is “deterioration in the quality of the judges and the effect of their
18
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 926.
19
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 926.
20
Jacobson, ""The Lord Is a God of Justice" (Isaiah 30:18): The Prophetic Insistence on Justice in Social Context,"
125.
21
Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 140.
6
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leadership.”22 It begins with Othniel who is “raised up by God and invested with his Spirit” and
ends with Samson who “is a shadow of what a judge was supposed to be. He is self-indulgent
and refuses to control his sexual appetite.”23 The deterioration was not limited to the judges and
their ungodly ways, it was also mirrored in the way that the people of Israel “did what was right
in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Even though the nation did not do that which was right in the
eyes of YHWH, still He came to their rescue when foreign bodies invaded their land and caused
the people of Israel to cry out in response to their suffering and pain. He raised up various judges
to rule and reign over the land. Despite the difficult times that Israel faced, there was a “periodic
divine intervention in the nation‟s leadership” that brought momentary relief and rest. YHWH‟s
מִשְׁ פָטproclaimed the fact that even if Israel had forgotten that her “obligation is do justice,” 24 He
In the Book of 1 Kings, Solomon is established as king over all of Israel. As the
established monarch over all of Israel, his empire was marked by forced labour for the sons of
Israel. The power and wealth he wielded enabled him to afford such luxury and extravagance
that even silver had no more value (1 Kings 10:21). The opulence he enjoyed came from laying
a heavy burden upon the house of Israel. Hyatt makes the bold argument that
it is to Solomon's day that we should attribute the beginnings of that social division
within Israel which led later to the outcries of the prophets against social injustice. The
commerce of his reign must have given rise to a wealthy merchant class and the
corresponding degradation of many of the masses who worked in the mines, in the
factories, and on his buildings. It was certainly not only the enslaved "Canaanites" who
thus suffered, but native Israelites as well.25
22
Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 140.
23
Longman and Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament, 140-41.
24
Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament : Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, 421.
25
Hyatt, ""Solomon in All His Glory"," 30.
7
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After Solomon‟s death, the nation was divided in two. As the years went by, the שפָט
ְׁ ִמof YHWH
continued to go unheeded.
King remarks that “contrary to the Mosaic covenant, wealth had created a social
imbalance, which resulted in two separate classes, the rich and the poor. Those at the top of the
pyramid exploited the weak and oppressed the poor by alienation of land, forced labour, and
heavy taxes.”26 This was the social backdrop to the clarion call of Amos and Hosea for justice.
During this time, the ruling elite which comprised of one to three percent of the population
owned fifty to seventy percent of the land.27 The land that was traditionally guaranteed by tribal
access “slowly gave way before the concentration of wealth in the state treasury and in the hands
of merchants and landlords who were largely urban-based and backed by explicit or implicit
state power, including a judicial system largely compliant to the newly enriched speculators.”28
These repressive socioeconomic factors are but a picture of how “injustice had become woven
into the very fabric of public life, permeating the whole power structure within the social
righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” becomes more pronounced and heart-wrenching. The
nation that was delivered from poverty is the same nation that impoverishes its own people.
YHWH‟s שפָט
ְׁ ִמis understood in a salvific and tangible way. The justice that He calls for and
asks His children to display is deeply rooted in physical expressions of liberation and
redemption. Justice, in this sense, “does not refer to abusing the judicial system per se, but rather
26
King, Amos, Hosea, Micah : An Archaeological Commentary, 22.
27
Coote, Amos among the Prophets : Composition and Theology, 25.
28
Crim, The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible : An Illustrated Encyclopedia Identifying and Explaining All
Proper Names and Significant Terms and Subjects in the Holy Scriptures, Including the Apocrypha, with Attention
to Archaeological Discoveries and Researches into the Life and Faith of Ancient Times : Supplementary Volume,
466.
29
Stek, "Salvation, Justice and Liberation in the Old Testament," 27.
8
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to the enactment of unjust laws.”30 The prophets remind Israel that YHWH “humiliates the
oppressed. For them judgment means help and deliverance.”32 YHWH‟s justice is firmly linked
Within the Torah, it is YHWH who constantly performs acts of justice towards His
people. He commands Israel to be a consecrated group who, like Him, should be defined as a
just people. “It goes without saying that for Israel a life characterized by justice and
righteousness (and their related qualities) must show the same special regard for the poor, the
weak, and the vulnerable that God‟s activity has already demonstrated and God‟s law urges.”33
Within the Prophets, there is an almost imperceptible, yet also pronounced, shift towards Israel
being the primary agents of YHWH‟s justice. While YHWH has indeed commanded Israel to be
agents of justice in the Pentateuch, it is within the Prophets that the call becomes a resounding
gong that continually goes unheeded. Perhaps, this is a sign of the evolution of the relationship
between Israel and YHWH. The Torah could be conceived of as the initial period of instruction
for Israel and as she matured, she was called upon to be more responsible. The Prophets provide
us with that stage when YHWH calls upon Israel to realize her full potential as a community
disenfranchised. Within the Prophets, there is a growing need for the שפָט
ְׁ ִמof YHWH to be
realized and performed within a particular social milieu. There is a greater push for Israel to be
30
Lind, Monotheism, Power, Justice : Collected Old Testament Essays, 239.
31
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 930.
32
Kittel, Bromiley, and Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 930.
33
Birch, Let Justice Roll Down : The Old Testament, Ethics, and Christian Life, 177.
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Within the Writings, there is a growing sense that the world is unfair and that the system
that YHWH endorsed has not come into fruition. This results in the children of Israel crying out
Through the act of lamenting, a complaint is lodged to YHWH that insists that “i) things are not
right in the present arrangement ii) they need not stay this way but can be changed iii) the
speaker will not accept them in this way, for it is intolerable and iv) it is God's obligation to
change things.”34 Things have reached such an unbearable level that something must be done.
According to Brueggemann, there are two directions that the lament can take: “i) the
complaint can be addressed to God against neighbour or ii) the complaint can be addressed to
God against God.”35 In both cases, there is an underlying assumption and presupposition that
YHWH is the final judge to whom we can voice our grievances to and who will bring about
redemptive restoration to the one who suffers agony caused by injustice. These two scenarios
Lam. 2:20-22 is a shocking account of the desperation and anguish of Daughter Zion who
Daughter Zion‟s outpouring to YHWH is an important illustration of the truth that all
pain, anger and torment can be brought to the throne of God. This may be a cry for mercy
and relief, but even when the judgment is inevitable or the discipline already enforced, as
in Lamentations, lament serves as a means to express, endure, and eventually survive the
suffering.36
34
Brueggemann, "The Costly Loss of Lament," 62.
35
Brueggemann, "The Costly Loss of Lament," 62-63.
36
Conway, Lamentations, 59
10
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As Brueggemann notes, “in regularly using the lament form, Israel kept the justice question
visible and legitimate.”37 Through these laments, one can see that “the claims and rights of the
speaker are asserted to God in the face of a system which does not deliver. That system is visible
on earth and addressed in heaven with the passionate conviction that it can, must, and will be
changed.”38 The call for justice grows loud and the call for YHWH to stir Himself up and
DeBorst remarks that “justice, as the visible face of love, brings wholeness of life
because it sets things right between people and God, people and other people, people and
creation— as it was in the beginning.”39 This conception of justice is brought to the foreground
in the Writings. There is a prevailing desire for the divine breakthrough of YHWH‟s שפָט
ְׁ ִמfrom
an individual and national perspective. Justice, in the Writings, busies itself with restoring
concept and how it concerns itself with establishing proper relations between two distinct
parties.
The Book of Proverbs gives us a glimpse of the wise sayings of King Solomon. From
these proverbs, he gives us practical insights on how to maintain good relationships with other
people. While Proverbs is traditionally linked to wisdom, I would argue that it should also be
linked with the notion of justice. In it, we find countless advices as to how we should conduct
ourselves in relation to other people and even towards people in authority. If we heed these
sayings as the Book calls us to do, we can live in a community that “is acutely alert to socio-
political differentiations and is aware that the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, live
37
Brueggemann, "The Costly Loss of Lament," 63.
38
Brueggemann, "The Costly Loss of Lament," 63.
39
DeBorst, "Scrabble, Injustice, and Me," 11.
11
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instruction manual on how to show justice to our neighbour. Justice, as portrayed in the
relationships. When faced with injustice, our final appeal is in YHWH‟s שפָט
ְׁ ִמ.
The extensive treatment of justice in the Old Testament is carried over and further
refined in the New Testament. While there may be different conceptions and “variations in New
Testament attitudes about justice, the law of love as derived from a precept in Old Testament
social legislation is central.”41 The command to love your neighbour as you love yourself was
traditionally applied only to members of Israel or to the stranger who joined the Yahwistic
indiscriminate manner. Anyone outside of one‟s self is now included in the new re-conception of
the neighbour. This means that race, gender, ethnicity or any other social construct that can be
love the neighbour “as expressed in tangible acts of caring or mercy that exceed the requirements
of Old Testament social legislation.”42 The agapaic love which Jesus demonstrated towards the
world must also find its expression among those who declare allegiance to him. As Phil. 2:3
reminds us, we should not look only to our “own interests, but to the interests of others.” While
the heart of YHWH for the marginalized remains the same, Jesus now demands that not only
40
Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament : Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy, 422.
41
Felder, "Toward a New Testament Hermeneutic for Justice," 17.
42
Felder, "Toward a New Testament Hermeneutic for Justice," 19.
12
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should we show justice to the needy, but that we should champion and help in ushering it among
Ultimately, the fulfillment of justice itself is revealed and embodied in the person of
Jesus Christ. “In God's dictionary, justice is defined as redemptive restoration of all things that
are wrong. Justice sets things right; it vindicates the victims; it gives them another chance.”43
This definition finds its fullest expression in the Second Person of the Trinity. Through his
crucifixion, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ mends and fixes the broken relationship
between humanity and YHWH. He buys back the people of God from their cruel taskmaster, sin,
and gives them the chance to be sons and daughters of the Most High. Justice in the New
Testament ceases to be an abstract idea; instead, justice in the New Testament came in flesh and
As members of the ἐκκλησία, the Body of Christ, we exist “solely to do the will of Christ
and in this way be his presence in the world.”44 Jesus‟ words in Matt. 5-7, the Sermon on the
Mount, provides us with guidelines as to what the justice of YHWH could look like here on
earth. Through the Beatitudes, Jesus expounds on the necessity of living a life that upholds and
others, Jesus‟ macaristic sayings impart to us words of wisdom on how to achieve it.
In Matt. 5:3, Jesus calls blessed those who are „poor in spirit.‟ “As Ambrose says, this
beatitude is not only the first in order, but also the one that in some way generates all other
43
DeBorst, "Scrabble, Injustice, and Me," 10.
44
Grenz, Theology for the Community of God, 466.
45
Betz and Collins, The Sermon on the Mount : A Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, Including the Sermon
on the Plain (Matthew 5:3-7:27 and Luke 6:20-49), 111.
13
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relational term, humility would allow us to “regard others as better than ourselves” (Phil. 2:3).
Humility also allows us to disregard wealth and social prestige which so often are the reasons
why injustice occurs. A humble individual cares not for positions of power nor will they actively
engage in power struggles purely for selfish reasons. Someone who is poor in spirit will only
engage in a power struggle if it is for the purpose of humiliating the proud and exalting the
lowly. By adopting a posture of humility, an individual is more likely to enact, embody, and
Humility, like justice, concerns itself with a right relationship with God and with others.
A New Testament understanding of justice must then show itself within a social context. Upon
examining our relationship with YHWH, one comes to the realization that we owe everything to
Him. “Justice in the full and proper sense of the term requires a perfect distinction between
debtor and creditor. No one can be bound in justice towards himself; justice essentially regards
others.”47 Because we are cognizant of our role within this human-divine relationship, we should
find ourselves (ideally) exhibiting the same justice which has been so lavishly bestowed upon us.
child who lacks male/female adult role models in their lives, or teaching kids in an impoverished
nation. Such actions reflect the helper aspect of YHWH‟s justice. It also mirrors his desire to
Conclusion
Throughout the Tanakh, the theme of YHWH‟s justice is interwoven in every story and
46
Betz and Collins, The Sermon on the Mount : A Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, Including the Sermon
on the Plain (Matthew 5:3-7:27 and Luke 6:20-49), 116.
47
Herbermann, The Catholic Encyclopedia : An International Work of Reference on the Constitution. Doctrine,
Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, 572.
14
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of judgment inherent in the term, it must be understood as restoration rather than condemnation.
of relationship between two parties. YHWH‟s justice can also be conceived as the redemption of
the oppressed and marginalized. These are just examples of the multifaceted way in which
YHWH‟s שפָט
ְׁ ִמis understood within the Yahwistic community.
Within the New Testament, YHWH‟s justice continues to be a dominant theme in the life
the cross and resurrection three days after his burial provides us with a concrete and tangible
expression of the ultimate reversal of evil into good. Through his life, Jesus exemplifies the
saving nature of YHWH‟s justice. Like YHWH, Jesus commands and exhorts us to show and
execute justice within our social and cultural milieu. As the church, we are called to be the Body
flourishing of life, and the realization of God's good purposes.”48 As princes and daughters of the
Most High, this is the type of judgment we are called to personify and establish here on earth.
48
DeBorst, "Scrabble, Injustice, and Me," 11.
15
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Conway, Mary L. "From Objective Observation to Subjective Participation: How the Speaking
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16
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Justice in Social Context." Word & World 30.2 (2010) 125-34.
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Stek, John H. "Salvation, Justice and Liberation in the Old Testament." Calvin Theological
Journal 13.2 (1978) 133-65.
Wolff, Hans Walter. "Masters and Slaves : On Overcoming Class-Struggle in the Old
Testament." Interpretation 27.3 (1973) 259-72.
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