E21-5: Why Exodus 21:1 as it appears in most Bibles is a MISLEADING translation!

“These are the rulings you are to present to them”
-Exodus 21:1

All of the information I’ve provided so far concerning the ancient Hebrew mindset leads up to what we’re going to discuss today. 

In this post, we’re going to take a good look at the word “rulings” located right smack dab in the middle of Exodus 21:1.

 Depending on your translation, it is sometimes rendered as “judgements” or even “law”.

In Hebrew this word is MISHPAT.

In Exodus 21:1, it stands alone but is usually accompanied by the word TZEDEK which is usually translated as “righteousness“.

MISHPAT and TZEDEK.

It is absolutely necessary to examine these words closely because contained within them are some powerful and divine concepts that are totally lost on most (probably all) Christians.

In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that misunderstanding of these terms coupled with the anti-Semitism built-in to the gentile church since its inception has resulted in a stubborn negative view of the Old Testament that remains to this day.

This misunderstanding has also tainted our perception of how the Torah relates to the Covenant of Yeshua.

If you have read the all of the posts for Exodus chapter 21 leading up to this one, you should now fully understand that the Hebrews did NOT have a works-righteousness approach to their faith.

Rather, they had an obedience-righteousness approach that stemmed from their recognition that it was by God’s grace they had been chosen to be God’s chosen people.

You also learned that contrary to typical Christian thought, the Hebrews were not so focused on the afterlife.

As far as they were concerned, this earthly life was all there was and thus the only chance to please the God who had saved them by obeying His commandments.

The ancient Hebrew’s view of life, death and the absence of the afterlife is DIRECTLY CONNECTED to how they interpreted and felt about these foundational words MISHPAT and TZEDEK.

And in turn, how they viewed the meaning of these words affected how they viewed the Law of Moses, its purpose and how they were to relate to it.

So with all that in mind, let’s jump right into studying the REAL meaning of these words.

Let’s start with TZEDEK which is usually translated as “righteousness”.

There is a distinct difference between how Christians and Hebrews view this word.

For Christians, “righteousness” connotes ideas like “godliness”, “holiness”, and “piety”.

In other words, Christians see “righteousness” as an intangible or internal spiritual condition.

However, for the Hebrew, “righteousness” held a different meaning.

Think back to all that we’ve learned so far.

The Hebrew was focused on his physical life, on the here and now.

This resulted in them becoming ultimately concerned with living out their faith in terms of how they dealt with their fellow man on a day-to-day basis.

Hence, to the ancient Hebrew, “righteousness” equaled fair and equitable dealings with his fellow man, whether that fellow man was family, friends, business partners, or even his enemies.

It was not some hazy, ambiguous spiritual ideal as the Christians think about it.

See the difference?

The Christian wants God to recognize his or her purified internal condition as a result of his union with Christ.

The Hebrew wants God to recognize that he has been fair and equitable in his dealings with men.

 Let’s move on to MISHPAT.

Now MISHPAT is pretty much universally termed “the Law” by both Hebrews and gentiles.

The truth is for the longest time scholars have wrestled with the true meaning of this word.

Martin Luther also held a fascination with this word and translated MISHPAT to mean “to keep God’s Word” or “to do justly”.

While he somewhat captured the true meaning, he still didn’t quite get it.

Let’s take a look at a piece of Scripture that will enable us to home in on the proper meaning a bit more.

 “For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household after him to keep the way of Adonai and to do what is right and just, so that Adonai may bring about for Avraham what he has promised him.”-Genesis 18:19

This set of verses is a perfect example of Scripture defining Scripture for us.

Take a look at the phrase “to do what is right and just“.

In Hebrew this would be “to do TZEDEK and MISHPAT“.

Now take a look at the words before the phrase “to do TZEDEK and MISHPAT“.

It says to “to keep the way of Adonai”.

So TZEDEK and MISHPAT in some way involve “keeping the way of Adonai”.

But also notice that “keeping the way of Adonai” is in no way portrayed in a harsh, unforgiving nor rigid manner.

There is no sense of that it is negative or punitive.

However, when we read the prophets Isaiah and Micah, we encounter the word “judgment” (in Hebrew MISHPAT) about 50 times.

And let’s face it, to our ears, when we hear the word “judgement”, it carries with it a sense of wrath and punishment.

The fact is that due to the frequent appearance of the word “judgement” in the Scriptures, the gentile church has for the most part considered the Old Testament to be all about God’s wrath and the New Testament all about His mercy and grace.

However, about 600 years ago when the Bible was first translated into English, the meaning of the word “judgement” was quite neutral.

It did NOT indicate harshness or severity.

It was used more in the sense of “In my judgment, I think bananas are healthy”.

In this sentence, you’re obviously not saying “In my wrath, I think bananas are healthy”.

You’re just expressing your well-reasoned out opinion on the matter.

The point I want to make is that most of the wrath and harshness we think we see in the Old Testament due to the frequent appearance of the word “judgement” is simply due to a misunderstanding of the word MISHPAT. 

Actually, the truth be told, most of the time when the word “judgement” (MISHPAT) is used in the Bible, it actually has a joyous and redemptive ring to it.

Now I just explained that Christians take TZEDEK to mean a spirit of holiness in us and Hebrews take it to mean fair dealings with his fellow man.

However, I want you to notice something.

Whether Christian or Hebrew, both of those definitions are about man’s righteousness, not God’s.

What we need to do is figure what God’s righteousness is.

When we study the Scripture, we find that God’s righteousness is directly connected to God’s desired salvation of mankind.

Ultimately, isn’t that what the Bible is all about?

And isn’t that why Yeshua came?

In the Bible, when we talk about God’s “righteousness” or TZEDEK, we are talking about His saving will or His saving purposes for mankind,

And it is all about the Lord’s desire to create a set-apart people for Himself.

So if from the Lord’s perspective, TZEDEK is all about salvation, then how should we interpret MISHPAT?

And again, keep in mind that these two words are usually paired together in Scripture.

MISHPAT is the detailed standard of how God wants us to live according to his system of justice.

Therefore, if a man is doing God’s MISHPAT, is he not acting in accordance with God’s saving will for him?

Luther’s definition was that MISHPAT means “to keep God’s Word”.

He was definitely on to something there.

However, it may be more accurate to translate MISHPAT to mean “to keep God’s Word of SALVATION” or “to keep God’s SAVING Word”.

And ultimately, God’s saving will is to redeem mankind so that it will NOT have to pay the penalty due them for sinning against Him.

As well all know, in order to accomplish this, the Lord Himself, in the person of Yeshua will be the one to pay the price for Mankind’s sin.

This is God’s MISHPAT in action.

Now take a look at this verse from the Book of Isaiah.

“Zion will be redeemed by justice;
and those in her who repent,
by righteousness.”
-Isaiah 1:27

Notice the usage of the word “justice” (MISHPAT) in this verse.

It’s NOT about the wrath of God.

It doesn’t mean he is going redeem Zion (another name for Israel) by pouring out his wrath on them.

In this verse, the Lord is clearly implying that He is going to exercise His MISHPAT or His Saving Will to redeem or save Israel.

Based on the negative and punitive sense of how the word “justice” is viewed in modern English today, I think it’s high time we substituted “justice” with another more appropriate word.

Well, there is actually a word that the church came up with that I think would be more appropriate.

That word is “the Gospel”.

Did you know that the scholarly definition of this term is “the revealed Word of God’s plan of salvation for mankind“?

In other words, it’s the exact same meaning of the word MISHPAT as I’ve explained it here.

That’s right folks.

MISHPAT is nothing more nor less than the Old Testament term for “the Gospel”.

Let’s pull this all together by taking a look at some verses from the prophet Isaiah again.

This time we’re going to look at a prophetic reference to Yeshua.

“Here is my servant, whom I support,
my chosen one, in whom I take pleasure.
I have put my Spirit on him;
he will bring justice to the Goyim.
He will not cry or shout;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
He will not snap off a broken reed
or snuff out a smoldering wick.
He will bring forth justice according to truth;
he will not weaken or be crushed
until he has established justice on the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his Torah.”
-Isaiah 42:1-4

Now let’s take a look at these exact same verses again, but this time we’re going to replace the word “justice” with “the gospel”.

“Here is my servant, whom I support,
my chosen one, in whom I take pleasure.
I have put my Spirit on him;
he will bring the Gospel to the Goyim.
He will not cry or shout;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
He will not snap off a broken reed
or snuff out a smoldering wick.
He will bring forth the Gospel according to truth;
he will not weaken or be crushed
until he has established the Gospel on the earth,
and the coastlands wait for his Torah.”
-Isaiah 42:1-4

Mind blowing, isn’t it?!

The Mosaic Covenant, what Christians have for so long incorrectly called “the Law”, is simply the continuous process of the Gospel.

The Old Testament is the Gospel Act One.

The New Testament is the Gospel Act Two.

And the second coming of Yeshua that will end history as we know it will be the Gospel Act Three.

The Gospel did NOT begin with the advent of Christ.

God’s Torah is NOT a legalistic, rigid, unfair nor an unattainable code of works-based righteousness that was abolished and replaced by grace as the church has incorrectly taught for so long.

It is the revealed Word of God’s plan of salvation for mankind.

Okay, after saying all that, the conclusion of my post today is this.

Exodus 21:1 should correctly read “This is the Gospel you are to present to them”.