Cases of law were heard by the judges and elders of each community.

“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you…” Deuteronomy 16.18

The local judges were also called “elders” (cf. Deut. 21.19), a reference to their seniority within the community, but also a term meant to imply some kind of anointing from God related to their ability to handle the Law of God (cf. Num. 11.24, 25). The elders/judges would meet in the gates of the local community, where their activities and discussions could be observed by any interested parties, and where, symbolically, they sat as guardians of the community against any outside influences which might be contrary to the Law of God.

It was the responsibility of the members of the community to “appoint” the judges who would rule over them. Presumably, they would select only such individuals who demonstrated in their own lives a love for justice – love for God and neighbors – and a keen knowledge of the content and requirements of God’s Law.

These officials met as a “congregation” to hear cases and deliberate their outcomes (Num. 35.25; cf. Ruth 4). Trial by a jury of one’s peers was not practiced in ancient Israel. God preferred matters of justice to be conducted by those entrusted by the community with its care and oversight. As the judges and elders would have been elected, at least in part, by virtue of their superior grasp of the Law and justice, anyone charged with injustice would surely prefer to be tried by such individuals, rather than by a jury of one’s peers, whose understanding of the Law and sense of partiality may not have been as acute.

The judges of a community were responsible to hear cases of injustice, decide between opposing parties, and determine the actions to be taken in order to restore justice to the community. There is no indication in the Law of God of what the terms of such judges might have been. Presumably, they could be voted out of office if the community lost confidence in their ability to fulfill the requirements of justice.

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