Judge
The figure of the judge runs the length of scripture: Yahweh himself sitting in cosmic court, Moses appointing able men over thousands and tens, the deliverers raised up in the book of Judges, the kings who must execute justice, the prophets who indict bribed magistrates, and Christ Jesus to whom the Father gives all judgment. The qualifications never change — fear God, refuse bribes, do not show favoritism, hear small and great alike — because the office is delegated from the one who himself does not regard persons.
Yahweh, the Judge of all the earth
Abraham's question to Yahweh at Sodom names the office at the root of every other use: "will not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen 18:25). The Psalter says it plainly — "God is a righteous judge, Yes, a God who has indignation every day" (Ps 7:11) — and again, "the heavens will declare his righteousness; For God is judge himself" (Ps 50:6). The expectation extends to creation itself: he comes "to judge the earth: He will judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with his truth" (Ps 96:13), and again "He will judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with equity" (Ps 98:9). His character on the bench is fixed: "The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he" (Deut 32:4); "Yahweh executes righteous acts, And judgments for all who are oppressed" (Ps 103:6). He establishes equity in Jacob (Ps 99:4) and brings his justice to light "every morning" (Zeph 3:5). And he does not regard persons: "Yahweh your⁺ God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who does not regard persons, nor takes reward" (Deut 10:17). What is true at the throne governs every lower bench.
Moses appoints judges
The institution of judges in Israel begins with Jethro's counsel. Moses had been sitting alone "to judge the people" from morning to evening (Ex 18:13), and Jethro warns that "the thing is too heavy for you" (Ex 18:18). The remedy is delegation by qualification: "you will provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: and let them judge the people at all seasons" (Ex 18:21-22). Moses does so, reserving "the hard causes" for himself (Ex 18:26).
Deuteronomy retells the appointment from Moses' side: "Take yourselves wise men, and understanding, and known, according to your⁺ tribes, and I will make them heads over you⁺" (Deut 1:13). His charge to those judges sets the standing rule for every Israelite bench: "Hear [the causes] between your⁺ brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the sojourner who is with him. You⁺ will not show favoritism in judgment; you⁺ will hear the small and the great alike; you⁺ will not be intimidated by man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you⁺, you⁺ will bring to me, and I will hear it" (Deut 1:16-17).
The institution becomes permanent in Israel's settled life: "Judges and officers you will make for yourself in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they will judge the people with righteous judgment" (Deut 16:18). For the cases that exceed local capacity, Deuteronomy provides an appellate court at the central sanctuary — "the priests the Levites, and to the judge that will be in those days" — whose sentence is final on pain of death for contempt (Deut 17:8-13).
The qualifications of a just judge
The Mosaic code spells out the qualifications by way of prohibitions and demands. False reports and corrupt witness are cut off: "You will not take up a false report: don't put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You will not follow a multitude to do evil; neither will you speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert [justice]: neither will you favor a poor man in his cause" (Ex 23:1-3). And on the other side: "You will not pervert the justice [due] to your poor in his cause. Keep far from a false matter; and do not slay the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked. And you will take no bribe: for a bribe blinds those who have sight, and perverts the words of the righteous" (Ex 23:6-8).
Leviticus collects the principle: "You⁺ will do no unrighteousness in judgment: you will not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness you will judge your associate" (Lev 19:15). Deuteronomy reinforces it: "You will not wrest justice: you will not show favoritism; neither will you take a bribe; for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous" (Deut 16:19), and the positive command, "That which is altogether just you will follow, that you may live, and inherit the land which Yahweh your God gives you" (Deut 16:20). The fatherless sojourner and the widow are placed under specific protection (Deut 24:17). Solomon repeats the standard from the throne: "let the fear of Yahweh be on you⁺; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with Yahweh our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes" (2 Chr 19:7). Wisdom literature carries it forward — "A just balance and scales are Yahweh's" (Prov 16:11), "These also are [words] of the wise. To show favoritism in judgment is not good" (Prov 24:23) — and Sirach summarizes: "A prince, a ruler, and a judge are honored; But none is greater than one who fears God" (Sir 10:24). The judge's bearing toward the oppressed is also fixed: "Save the oppressed from his oppressors, And do not let your spirit be weary with right judgment" (Sir 4:9), and "Do not lay yourself down under a fool, And do not show favoritism before the mighty" (Sir 4:27).
The period of the Judges
After Joshua, Yahweh governs Israel through cyclical deliverers: "Yahweh raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who despoiled them. And yet they didn't listen to their judges; for they went whoring after other gods... And when Yahweh raised up judges for them, then [the Speech of] Yahweh was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge... But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers" (Judg 2:16-19). The named judges form a series.
Othniel is first: "Yahweh raised up a savior to the sons of Israel, who saved them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel... And the land had rest forty years" (Judg 3:9-11).
Ehud follows: "Yahweh raised them up a savior, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man" (Judg 3:15), and after his deliverance from Eglon "the land had rest 80 years" (Judg 3:30).
Deborah judges from Ephraim: "Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim: and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment" (Judg 4:4-5).
Gideon is commissioned against Midian: "Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: haven't I sent you?" (Judg 6:14); after his victory, "Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel... And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon" (Judg 8:28).
Jephthah, before he goes out against Ammon, names the office to its source: "Yahweh, the Judge, will be judge this day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon" (Judg 11:27). He himself "judged Israel six years" (Judg 12:7).
Samson "judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years" (Judg 15:20; Judg 16:31).
Eli closes the era at Shiloh: when the ark was lost, "[Eli] fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died... And he had judged Israel forty years" (1 Sam 4:18). His sons did not walk in his ways and "took bribes, and perverted justice" (1 Sam 8:3) — the very disqualification the Mosaic code names.
Samuel takes up the mantle. At Mizpah, when the people fasted and confessed, "Samuel judged the sons of Israel in Mizpah" (1 Sam 7:6). His ministry runs lifelong on circuit: "Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he went from year to year in circuit to Beth-el and Gilgal, and Mizpah; and he judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah, for his house was there; and there he judged Israel" (1 Sam 7:15-17).
Sirach's recall of the judges
Sirach gathers them into a benediction: "Also the Judges, each with his name, All whose hearts were not beguiled, Nor turned back from [following] after God, Let their memory be for a blessing, May their bones flourish again out of their place, And may their name sprout afresh for their children" (Sir 46:11-12). Samuel is singled out as the hinge between judgeship and kingship: "Honored by his people, and loved by his Maker [Was] 'He who was asked' from his mother's womb; Sanctified in the prophetical office by Yahweh, Samuel, [who acted as] judge and priest. By the word of God he established the kingdom, And anointed princes over the people" (Sir 46:13).
Solomon's wise judgment
The king inherits the bench. Solomon's first request is judicial: "Give your slave therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people?" (1 Kgs 3:9). The hard case that follows — two women claiming the same living child — turns on the king's sword: "Cut the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other" (1 Kgs 3:25). When the true mother offers the child up to save its life, Solomon delivers the verdict: "Give her the living child, and in no way slay him: she is his mother. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice" (1 Kgs 3:27-28). David before him "executed justice and righteousness to all his people" (2 Sam 8:15); a worthy son succeeds in the same line — "if he will show himself a worthy man, not a hair of him will fall to the earth; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die" (1 Kgs 1:52). Joash refuses the older custom of executing fathers for sons or sons for fathers, citing the Mosaic statute: "every man will die for his own sin" (2 Kgs 14:6).
Prophetic critique of unjust judges
The prophets indict the same office when its holders betray it. Isaiah charges Jerusalem's princes: "Your princes are rebellious, and partners of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards: they do not judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them" (Isa 1:23). Micah accuses the heads of Jacob: "you⁺ heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, who are disgusted by justice, and pervert all equity... The heads of it judge for reward, and its priests teach for wages, and its prophets tell the future for silver" (Mic 3:9, 11). Naboth's vineyard gives a concrete instance: "the base fellows bore witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth cursed God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones" (1 Kgs 21:13). The Psalmist hears Yahweh prosecute the bench itself: "How long will you⁺ judge unjustly, And respect the persons of the wicked?" (Ps 82:2), with the counter-charge, "Judge the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and destitute" (Ps 82:3). Ecclesiastes notes the wreckage in plain prose: "in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there" (Eccl 3:16). Sirach matches the verdict: "And the righteous Judge executes judgement. Yes, the Lord will not tarry, And the Mighty One will not refrain himself, Until he smites the loins of the merciless" (Sir 35:22). When Israel's bench is corrupt, "justice has turned away backward, and righteousness stands far off; for truth has fallen in the street, and uprightness can't enter" (Isa 59:14).
Judging others under the great Judge
The New Testament does not abolish the office; it relocates judgment Godward and warns the brothers against trespassing on it. Jesus speaks plainly: "do not judge, and you⁺ will not be judged: and do not condemn, and you⁺ will not be condemned: release, and you⁺ will be released" (Lu 6:37). Paul to the Romans: "But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you set at nothing your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment-seat of God... So then each of us will give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge⁺ this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way" (Rom 14:10, 12-13). To the Corinthians he defers verdicts to the Lord's coming: "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then each will have his praise from God" (1 Cor 4:5). James fixes the seat itself: "He who speaks against a brother, or judges his brother, speaks against the law, and judges the law... There is [only] one lawgiver and judge, the one who is able to save and to destroy: but who are you that judge your fellow man?" (Jas 4:11-12). The same character transfers from heaven to earth and back: "for there is no favoritism with God" (Rom 2:11); "the same [Lord] is Lord of all" (Rom 10:12); the Father "without favoritism judges according to each man's work" (1 Pet 1:17); "he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done: and there is no favoritism" (Col 3:25). Believers themselves become judges with evil thoughts the moment they make distinctions among themselves (Jas 2:4).
Christ as eschatological judge
The bench ultimately resolves to Christ. Jesus locates the office: "neither does the Father judge any man, but he has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22), and "he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is Son of Man" (John 5:27). His own judgment is righteous because it is not his own: "I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I don't seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (John 5:30). Paul charges Timothy "in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead" (2 Tim 4:1), and tells the Corinthians that "we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that each may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he has participated in, whether [it is] good or bad" (2 Cor 5:10). The final scene at the throne completes it: "I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev 20:12). The song that goes up is the song of Moses and of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your works, Yahweh, the God of hosts; righteous and true are your ways, King of the nations" (Rev 15:3) — the same righteousness Abraham appealed to outside Sodom now revealed as the verdict of all the earth.