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 JUDGMENT

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JUDGMENT

writer of Judges was contemporary with some of the events which he narrated; used documents written by those who were contemporary, or all but contem- porary, with the deeds they told; and shows every sign of sincerity, care, and truth. The very concern of the writer to give the truth explains the manifold literary style of the book. He has preserved to us unchanged the style of the song of Debbora and that of the fable of Joatham. He has transmitted sayings peculiar to place and to person (ii, .5; iv, 5; vi, 24, 32; XV, 19; xviii, 12, 29). The rationalistic objections to the miraculous in the stories of Gedeon and Samson are generally accepted by Protestant writers, who look upon these portions of Judges as legendary; to Catholics these are as historical as any other portion of the work. The enemies to the historicity of the book in vain insist that these stories are set down as legends to please the Israelites. The writer of Judges so berates the Israelites for idolatry and inter-tribal dissension that it is unscientific to accuse him of truckling to their pride in their heroes.

(2) External Evidence. — (a) Catholic tradition is clear. The Fathers look upon the narrative of Judges as fact- narrative; their unanimity is admitted by all who deem that unanimity worth consideration, (b) O.-T. testimony is manifold. The opening summary (i, 1-ii, 5) gives details the historical value of which is attested by Josue (see Josue) : Juda's siege of Dabir (i, 10-15; Jos., XV, 14-19), the Jebusites in Jerusalem (i, 21; Jos., XV, 6.3), the Chanaanite in Gazer along with Ephraim (i, 29; Jos., xvi, 10), the Chanaanite dwelling with Manasses (i, 27; Jos., xvii, 11). Like details are the death of Josue (ii, 6-9; Jos., xxiv, 28- 31), the capture of Lesem by Dan (xvii, xviii; Jos.,_ xix, 47). The Books of Kings tell as facts much that we read in Judges: Israel's forgetfulness of Jahweh, her defeat by the foe and salvation by the judges (I Kings, xii, 9-11); the death of Abimelech, son of Gedeon (ix, 53; II Kings, xi, 21). The Psalms dwell proudly on the deeds of the judges: the fate of Sisara, Jabin, Oreb, Zeb, Zebee, and Salmana (vii, 22, 25; iv, 15; viii, 21; Ps. Ixxxii. 10-12); the entire history of Judges in outline (Ps. cv, 34-46). The Prophets refer to real facts given in Judges: the defeat of Madian by Gedeon (Is., ix, 4; x, 26); the crime at Gabaa (Osee, ix, 9; x, 9). (c) In the N. T., St. Paul mentions the judges in their proper place between Josue and Samuel (Acts, xiii, 20) ; praises some of the judges along with certain kings (Heb.. xi, 32).

VIII. Text. — (1) Hebreiv. — Kittel's edition shows that the Masoretic text is in very good condition. "It is better preserved than any other of the histori- cal books" (Moore, "Judges", 43). The only serious difficulties are in the song of Debbora. (2) Greek. — We have two distinct Septuagint forms (cf. Lagarde, " Septuaginta-Studien", 1892, 1-72): one is seen in the Alexandrinus (A), Coislinianus (P), Basiliano- Vaticanus (V), and many cursives; the other version is represented by the Vatican (B), and a considerable number of cursives. (3) Latin. — St. Jerome's version is one of his most careful efforts at translation of the Masnrah, and is of the greatest exegetical importance. Fritiipr^: TirRnDORET, QutEstiones in Librum J udicum in P. G., LXXX. IS',; Procopius of Gaza, Comm. in Judices in P. G., LXXX\'II._ln41 : .St. .\ugustine. Qumstiones inHeptateuchum in /*. L., XXXIV, 791. Modern commentators mentioned in the body of the article. See also BoNFRiiRE, Comm. in Jo.<<., Jud. el Ruth (Paris, 1631); Serarius, Jud. et Ruth eiplantili (Mainz. 1609); Clair, Les Juges el Ruth (Paris. 1878). Protestant commentators of worth are Moore, Keil, Budde, Bertheau. Walter Drum.

Judgment. See Procedure, Canonical.

Judgment, Divine. — This subject will be treated under four heads: I. Divine Judgment Subjectively and Objectively Considered; II. Pre-Christian Beliefs Concerning Judgment after Death; III. Particular Judgment; IV. General Judgment.

I. Divine Judgment Subjectively and Objec-

tively Considered. — Divine judgment (judicium divinum), as an immanent act of God, denotes the action of God's retributive justice by which the des- tiny of rational creatures is decided according to their merits and demerits. This includes: (1) God's knowl- edge of the moral worth of the acts of free creatures (scicntia approbationis cl reprobationis), and His decree determining the just consequences of such acts; (2) the Divine verdict upon a creature amenable to the moral law, and the execution of this sentence by way of reward and punishment. It is clear, of course, that the judgment, as it is in God, cannot be a process of distinct and successive acts; it is a single eternal act identical with the Divine Essence. But the effects of the judgment, since they take place in creatures, follow the sequence of time. The Divine judgment is manifested and fulfilled at the beginning, during the progress, and at the end of time. In the beginning, God pronounced judgment upon the whole race, as a consequence of the fall of its representatives, the first parents (Gen., iii). Death and the infirmities and miseries of this life are the consequences of that original sentence. Besides this common judgment there have been special judgments on particular individuals and peoples. Such great catastrophes as the flood (Gen., vi, 5), the destruction of Sodom (Gen., xviii, 20), the earthquake that swallowed up Core and his followers (Num., xvi, 30), the plagues of Egypt (Ex., vi, 6; xii, 12), and the evils that came upon other oppressors of Israel (Ezech., xxv, 11; xxviii, 22) are represented in the Bible as Divine judgments. The fear of God is such a fundamental idea in the Old Testament that it insists mainly on the punitive aspect of the judgment (ef. Prov., xi, 31; Ezechiel, xiv, 21). An erroneous view of these truths led many of the rabbis to teach that all the evil wiiich befalls man is a special chas- tisement from on high, a doctrine which was declared false by Christ.

There is also a judgment of God in the world that is subjective. By his acts man adheres to or deviates from the law of God, and thereby places himself within the sphere of approval or condemnation. In a sense, then, each individual exercises judgment on himself. Hence it is declared that Christ came not to judge but to save (John, iii, 17; viii, 15; xii, 47). The internal judgment proceeds according to a man's attitude to- wards Christ (John, iii, 18). Though all the happen- ings of life cannot be interpreted as the outcome of Divine judgment, whose external manifestation is therefore intermittent, the subjective judgment is co- extensive with the life of the individual and of the race. The judgment at the end of time will comple- ment the previous visitations of Divine retribution and will manifest the final result of the daily secret judgment. By its sentence the eternal destiny of creatures will be decided. As there is a twofold end of time, so there is likewise a twofold eternal judgment: the particular judgment, at the hour of death, which is the end of time for the individual, and the general judgment, at the final epoch of the world's existence, which is the end of time for the human race.

II. Pre-Christian Beliefs Concerning Judg- ment after Death. — The idea of a final readjustment beyond the grave, which would rectify the sharp con- trast so often observed between the conduct and the fortune of men, was prevalent among all nations in pre-Christian times. Such was the doctrine of metempsychosis or the transmigration of souls, as a justification of the ways of God to man, prevailing among the Hindus of all classes and sects, the Pytha- goreans, the Orphic mystics, and the Druids. ' The doctrine of a forensic judgment in the unseen world, by which the eternal lot of departed souls is deter- mined, was aLso widely prevalent in pre-Christian times. The Egyptian idea of the judgment is set forth with great precision of detail in the "Book of the Dead", a collection of formula; designed to aid the dead in