Casuist law: A form of law that is enforced by a « si. then » condition in which an action and its consequences are specified and extenuating circumstances or considerations are indicated. A biblical example is Exodus 21:12-13: « Whoever kills a man shall be killed. If it was not deliberate, but it was the case of an act of God, then I will name you a place where the murderer can flee. This is contrary to the *apodictic law. When God`s law is applied in various cases, we call it casuistry law (if a person does this and that, then it will be the punishment). Casuist law in Israel is often the development of laws for special personal and social needs in light of God`s holy and eternal apodictic law This chapter and the following chapter discuss the compositional logic associated with the creation of the apodictic laws of the covenant code. These laws most clearly show the ideological intent of the Federal Code, whether it seeks to create a legal composition that presents itself as a symbol of resistance to Assyrian hegemony in the late 8th or early 7th century BC. The chapter deals with the replacement of Hammurabi (and the Mesopotamian gods) by Yahweh, who is presented as the revelation and author of the biblical collection. It also describes the three current focal points of apodictic laws: the poor, worship (i.e., temple and related activities), and the proper pursuit of justice.
Unfortunately, as you might expect, casuistry law in Christian history has often been viewed negatively as excuses and exceptions where there should be none, and this has too often led to situational ethics. Situational ethics reduces the apodictic law of a system of legal rules to the « law of love alone, » in which the apodictic law is quickly treated as a « servant of love »; which became so popular when Debby Boone sang these words in the song You Light Up My Life decades ago – « it can`t be wrong if it sounds so right ». Just as there are larger genres in all biblical literature, there are also different categories in the genre of « law. » The two categories into which all laws fall are casuistry and apodictic. Therefore, true love motivates a believer to fulfill the requirements of the law (Romans 13:10). It is the love of God that spreads abroad in the heart of the believer, which is the dynamic motivator of our behavior, and this love manifests itself in harmony with and not separately from the apodictic laws and commandments of Sacred Scripture. The 10 commandments are examples of apodictic law: direct commandments without conditions or provisions, they are supposed to apply to all those who are under the Old Testament covenant between God and Israel. I hear theologians and some preachers talking about apodictic law and casuistry law. What are they talking about? For example, apodictic law forbids making false statements, but if you secretly hid a Jewish neighbor during World War II and were then confronted by a Nazi stormtrooper who asked you where Jews could hide, apodictic law would require you to reveal the truth. Or think of the case of Rahab, who, after receiving the Israelite spies, had the same choice to tell the truth or save the life (Joshua 2). This chapter presents the basic evidence of the common thematic and sequential correlations in the apodictic laws (« do this/don`t do that ») of the Federal Code (Exodus 20:23-21:2 and 22:20-23:19) and the prologue and epilogue of the laws of Hammurabi.
These sections of both texts appear in the same relative position as the bookends around their central casuistry laws. The apodictic laws of the Covenant Code reproduce three times the thematic sequence of what can be called the warning block of Hammurabi`s epilogue, and the themes of the Admonition Block explain the basic content of all the apodictic laws of the Federal Code. An important change to the text of Hammurabi was to replace the human king with Yahweh as legislator. Therefore, casuist law would argue that we should tell the truth to whom the truth is due. In both cases mentioned above, casuistry law can be seen as making the law more specific and eliminating confusion as to its application. We can argue that Rahab, who lived in the context of the war and shifted his loyalty from the king of Jericho to the god of Israel as his true king, had no obligation to give full disclosure to the soldiers. Their higher duty to protect the lives of God`s servants outweighed the general apodictic commandment to tell the truth, and their actions were acceptable to God. It is easy to see that these laws do not exhaust all cases, and here it is important to remember the paradigmatic nature of the law of the Old Testament. We will use Leviticus 19:14 as an example: This passage of apodictic law is specifically addressed only to the deaf and blind. Does this mean that it is acceptable to abuse people with other disabilities? No, this law is intended to be a paradigm for the treatment of people with disabilities.
This is not to say that casuist law should be discarded because of its abuses. In fact, God`s apodictic commandments must be elaborated in the challenges of our daily lives, and therefore some guidance must be offered, even if a person must form his own judgment and take responsibility for his own action as a last resort. The problem we all face is knowing what is good and then having the moral courage to do it. Although Christ condemned the casuistry of the scribes and Pharisees, who perverted the law through human speculation, he in no way trivialized the role of obedience specific to God`s commandments, but made specific obedience a test of the authenticity of the disciples` love (John 14:21). While obedience to God`s apodictic law can never be the basis for attaining His salvation (except through the supposed righteousness of Christ), Paul tells us that the law itself is holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12). Apodictic law includes absolute general orders given from above like « thou shalt not do it, » and as such it has little application in the courts. The Ten Commandments are an excellent example of apodictic law. For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management.
Find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more. Apoditic law was extremely rare in ancient legal systems, so it is important to see such a presence in Old Testament law. Arthur G. Patzia; Anthony J. Petrotta Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies (p. 23). Kindle Edition. The OT alliance not only follows this old precedent in the subject, it also follows in the structure. The format of the Confederation consisted of six parts: preamble, prologue, provisions, witness, sanction and document clause. All these parts are included in the OW alliance in which the law is included. Select this option to get remote access if you are outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution`s website and Oxford Academic.
To understand the old testament law books, they must be considered in the context of the covenant in which they were placed. The law was not an independent code of conduct, but an integral part of the covenant between God and the nation of Israel. Nor was the law a set of arbitrary rules and regulations, not the means of salvation, but it was « God`s gift to his people to determine the ways in which they were to live in communion with one another and provide for their relationship with Yahweh, their God, and their worship of Yahweh, their God » (p. 163), as well as a possibility to distinguish them from their pagan neighbors. Through the laws of the Old Testament, we gain a remarkable picture of a God who cares about justice for the poor and oppressed and behaves properly toward your neighbor and expects His people to do the same. It is amazing to see a God who does not want guests to fall from the roof of an unknown house (Deuteronomy 22:8). To begin with, you must understand the covenant, at least as it was understood and executed in ancient times. The covenant in antiquity came in a very specific way and form, which is strictly followed by the Old Testament covenant between Israel and Yahweh (of which the law is a part).
If you also know the context of the ancient codes of conduct (written and unwritten), you will see that the law of Moses is a huge improvement over them in many areas. There are no class differences in OT law: when a young woman is raped, regardless of whether she is the daughter of a nobleman or a slave girl, the punishment for the rapist is the same. There is a significant decrease in sexism: if a couple is caught committing adultery, both must be killed. Slavery, as described in the law, is also a huge improvement over slavery of the time and even better than American slavery! In this « demarcation » by law, Yahweh transmitted his own character and showed Israel the kind of people they were supposed to be like his children. The things that are important to Yahweh must be important to us. Even if individual laws do not apply directly to us (unless they are renewed in the Northern Territory), they still give us a precious picture of God`s character and how He expects His people to live. Apodictic law is a contrast to casuistry law: these are direct orders that are generally applicable. Pingback: Still here, I promise « A Radical Journey » Another aspect of this federal law is that it served to distinguish Israel from its pagan neighbors.