Administration of Justice in the Old Testament

The Old Testament contains many stories and texts about judges and the administration of justice. God is the supreme judge, and his laws are implemented by the leaders of Israel.

In the first books of the Old Testament we read that Moses is the one who passes on God’s Laws. Moses was also the person who administered justice. When this became too much of a burden for him, 70 wise men (elders) were appointed to help him on less important matters. These elders were given leadership over groups of a thousand, a hundred, fifty and ten.
At this time it was the task of the priests and Levites to teach the laws and regulations to the people. They also had to make judgements in cases that were too difficult for a local judge.

During the period of the judges from the biblical book of the same name (1400-1000 BC), the Israelites as yet had no king of their own. At this time the juridical function of the elders remained important. If a case was too complicated for the elders of a village or town, the priests were called in to help. People of high military rank could also be involved in the administration of justice. Justice was also administered at the city gate.

When the people of Israel gained a king, he became the highest judge available to the people. This was in the period between 1040 and 586 BC.
People could go to the king and present their case before him (1 Kings 3:16-28). His judgement was binding.

In the Persian period (539-333 BC) Persian laws applied, but the Persians permitted the Jews to deal with their own cases themselves. An example of this can be found in Ezra 7:25-26. This distinction was later adopted by the Romans as well.