As part of my preparation for preaching about justice on Sunday (June 20th) I looked up the underlying Hebrew words that are translated ‘justice.’ I was awed by the depth and breadth of what God says on this subject.
Here’s a pdf which lists almost 130 uses of the word ‘justice’ in the Old Testament. The verses are given in the New American Standard Version, which is the most consistent of the modern versions in its translation of this word.
I also pursued some of the common Biblical recipients of justice. Here is a list of 43 occurrences of the term ‘widow’ or ‘alien’ in the Old Testament. These are given in the New International Version. Note that in Old Testament times an alien was usually a refugee from a foreign country or a slave, usually taken as booty in war. A widow was usually left without any property or source of income.
