Justice for All: How the Jewish Bible Revolutionized Ethics

by Jeremiah Unterman

Justice for All demonstrates that the Jewish Bible, by radically changing the course of ethical thought, came to exercise enormous influence on Jewish thought and law and also laid the basis for Christian ethics and the broader development of modern Western civilization.

Jeremiah Unterman shows us persuasively that the ethics of the Jewish Bible represent a significant moral advance over Ancient Near East cultures. Moreover, he elucidates how the Bible’s unique conception of ethical monotheism, innovative understanding of covenantal law, and revolutionary messages from the prophets form the foundation of many Western civilization ideals.  Justice for All connects these timeless biblical texts to the persistent themes of our times: immigration policy, forgiveness and reconciliation, care for the less privileged, and attaining hope for the future despite destruction and exile in this world.

Genres: Theology, History, Christian, Biblical Studies, Faith

320 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2017

Reviews

[Jethro Wall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer - review written for study.

Justice for All: How the Jewish Bible Revolutionized Ethics by Jeremiah Unterman is all about the unique and just ethics that the Jewish scriptures upheld particularly in comparison with the dominant ancient Near Eastern thought of the day. Unterman’s overarching argument “conclusively show[s] that in each category the Bible, in ethical terms, far outstrips the literature of the surrounding ancient Near East societies.” (p.63).

Such a conclusion was gathered by Unterman surveying a range of biblical literature. The Mesopotamian creation account is pinned against the biblical account revealing the Near Eastern god’s slavish and self-centered desires as opposed to the sacredness of humanity that is upheld in the Jewish story. The rest of the chapters follow in this line of thought - the underlying ethics of the flood story are shown, the laws of Sinai are examined, the Bible’s relationship to the alien, widow and the poor is surveyed, the significance of rituals are analysed, and the role of repentance is discussed. And through this, the resounding conclusion is the superiority and goodness of the Jewish ethics presented in the scriptures over and above ancient Near Eastern literature.



Overall, Justice for All was informative and beneficial. It might be cliché, but so often for most people (myself included), it's easy to view the Old Testament as being harsh, stand-offish and disconnected. Regardless of the validity of such thinking, it's a barrier that is rife amongst the modern general public. That is what makes Unterman's work so impactful - Justice for All serves as a tangible, definitive resource in the defence of the Old Testament’s high ethics and humane justice.

One of Unterman’s most valuable arguments comes early on in the comparisons of the Babylonian creation account and the biblical account. First of all, just the mere similarities between the Enuma Elish and the Genesis account in terms of storytelling was fascinating. Secondly however, the way the Enuma Elish portrays humanity as impersonal slaves to the various gods is quite shocking, especially when placed side by side with goodness of the Jewish texts. And goodness is the very thing that flourishes from the biblical story - even though Unterman’s emphasis is on the good ethics of Genesis, by virtue of this emphasis the theology of Genesis is revealed - a good God.

Ethically, Unterman’s examination of the Mosaic Law is compelling, with his main area of argument being how this law upholds the value of human life. A concrete example can be found in Unterman’s comparisons of Babylonian, Assyrian and Jewish law regarding crimes against property. When a thief is seized in a night home invasion in both Babylonian and Assyrian law, the death penalty is to be enacted (p.51). Yet, in Jewish law the only similar scenario in which the death penalty may be enacted is in the case of self-defence (Exo. 22:1-2). Further comparable evidence builds to reach this conclusion - “the standard in biblical law is that human life cannot be substituted for vicariously or ransomed.” (p.51). This research and similar comparisons are the strengths of Unterman’s work.

The strengths of Unterman’s ethical arguments then continue into his conversation around slavery, as well as his research into ‘ethics over rituals’ proving to be one of the more worthwhile portions of the book. Unterman surveys the Torah and conclusively presents that the essence of its laws are ethical - not purely ritualistic. Further evidence is built through the dissection of the prophets, and the findings are summarised in this - “In sum, the Lord wants right, not rite.” (p. 113). As one of the book's strongest sections, it would serve as a helpful resource for those wrestling with the apparent ethics vs ritual tension.

Of course, the notion that rituals are more than mere rituals is the clear proclamation of the New Testament. From the mouth of our Lord Jesus came this clear fact - love for God and love for neighbour is on which “depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:36-40). Yet, Unterman makes no effort to make this observation - and thus begins my tension with some of the book.

The nature of this book is to examine the ethics of solely the Old Testament - I am aware of this. Still, I think much of Unterman’s discussion is lacking due to its disconnection from how the Lord Jesus Himself interprets the Jewish Bible. Regardless of the intention of the book, theologically Unterman leaves a severe void in neglecting the spiritual aspect of the law.

For example, Christ shows us the correct interpretation of the Jewish Bible when he states - “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39). To understand the essence of the law and prophets as something different to this, is to understand them differently to God and therefore incorrectly. And Unterman does rightly emphasise the love for neighbour that underpins all of the Jewish Bible - he goes to great efforts to point this out, as Jesus does (Matt. 7:12). Yet, there is no effort on Unterman’s part to acknowledge what Jesus simultaneously labels as the essence of the law and the prophets - love for God (Matt. 22:37).

Perhaps this quote identifies my concern succinctly - “The superior importance of obedience to God’s ethical commandments is for the purpose of creating a just, righteous, and caring society.” (p.186). Here, Unterman’s understanding of obedience is void of the first commandment - love for God (Matt. 22:37). Of course a caring society is in view, yet regardless of Unterman’s intentions, his picture is lacking.

Here, it must be noted that Unterman calls into question the inerrancy of scripture early on in the book - “It is not an attempt to claim that the Jews are innately morally superior or that the Bible or Judaism is perfect.” (p.20). Whether or not this is entirely representative of Unterman’s view of scripture, or even whether or not Unterman is a messianic Jew is beside the point. Unterman’s book is a good ethical resource, but any work that approaches the law without Christ in view will always miss the point, regardless of whether the intention is theological or not - for this reason I would recommend the book with notable reservations.



Regardless, there are undoubtedly transformative implications to glean from Unterman’s work.

Firstly, the book strongly emphasises the second commandment of love for your neighbour (Matt. 7:12, 22:37-39) that does underpin the Jewish bible. While missing the love for God, the clear demonstration of love for other humans throughout the Torah and the prophets is still a crucial and well needed reminder that never loses its significance. Again this was posited most convincingly in the ‘ethics vs rituals’ section, as its ramifications touch each of our day to day attempts at obedience; the heart of all this law is love - we must not forget this.

Secondly, although barely touched on by Unterman, the implications of examining the law so closely, is that ultimately you are examining the heart of God closely. To be reminded of the love and goodness that sits at the heart of the law reminds us of the love and goodness that sits at the heart of the one whose finger inscribed the law. To quote Unterman in conclusion - “In contrast to all the rest of the literature of the ancient Near East, the biblical texts in which these ethical advances are found all posit a good, just, caring God who created the world and humankind” (p.188).

[Jason Pettus]

DID NOT FINISH. When I first added this to my TBR list, I was under the impression that it was a history book, one that would take a look at the establishment of the first rabbinical courts back in the Age of Antiquity to show how they directly tie to our modern secular justice systems in the here and now; but it turns out to instead be an academic book of literary analysis, looking at select passages from the Jewish bible to argue that, out of all the societies that existed in the Age of Antiquity, it was the Israelites who invented many of the fundamental concepts of our modern ethical beliefs, such as that it's good to take care of the poor and needy, etc. As such, then, although I'm adding it here so that it'll count towards this year's reading challenge, and to remind me in the future that I did once already try to take this on, I actually read so little of it to not even have an opinion on whether or not it's any good, which should be kept in mind when deciding whether to pick it up yourself.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

just as it says this is a study of how ethics show up in the Hebrew Bible (old testament) starting with the assumption that the text (and its interpretations) "revolutionized" ethics.