Laws, commandments, decrees and orders

Yaakov, Béla Orbán

We can find these very similar and almost synonyms words all through the Torah and the Holy Scriptures. They are often quoted one after the other as in a list in order to explain and precise the content of the Law.

Such the way when King David gave his precepts to his son Salomon:

″And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:...″ (1King 2,3)

Statues

Hok – engraved orders 
This word was originally used to refer to the laws that were first engraved in the rock before being revealed to the people (some good English versions of the Bible still use the word of Statue).

In the Jewish thought, this category gathers all laws that have no precise reason and explanation. 

(Ex.: the prohibition of consuming certain meats as pork).  
(Exodus 15, 25,26) 

In its feminine form, this word appears under the form of huka that means: 
- law, decree, order, way of life, custom, habit 
(Leviticus 18,3, 1King 3,3) 

In this case, we are talking about all these laws that do only concern Jewish people in the way we are living but which spiritual content applies for the whole People of God. 

Ex : the prohibition of wearing clothes made of mixed weave does symbolize that we should not worship other gods besides the Living God.   

Laws - mitzva

 

- The commandments of God (Leviticus 4,2) 
- The precepts (Proverbs 7,1) 


Judgments - mishpat(im) 

- Law, commandment (Exodus 21,1) 
Here, it is mainly a matter of a kind of civil code which is directly related to the individual rights and duties towards our neighbor and that were given by God. In some circumstances, the taking into consideration of these laws allows us to make a fair judgment.   
- Judgment (Leviticus19,15) 
- Right, disputes

- all that concerns somebody 
- Manner, ethics, order

God has always protected those who are the victims of disputes or injustice despite of themselves. God is the only one who is allowed to judge. He is the unique judge and our ″trials″ are in his hands.


Precepts - edut 

- Testimony, commandment, law (Psalms 19,8) 
Hebrew uses this word to appoint the Tables of the Covenant together with the Torah scrolls. We are talking about those scrolls that the king always has to carry with him and to read constantly.

God gives the visible testimony of his laws through us. The Law becomes engraved inside our hearths through the action of the Holy Spirit. His presence and the functioning of his Laws become visible in all situations of our life.

 

Translated from hungarian by Richard (Zeev Shlomo)

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