Justice in the Hebrew Bible

The article examines to what extent justice is a value and an attribute of mutual human relations and actions and to what extent justice relates humans with God, in the Hebrew Bible, in the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. The term justice is often connected with the law, although justice does not only involve fulfilling the rules of the law, but also includes solidarity in the family, in the community and in the world. The biblical understanding of justice liberates humans from destiny; it presumes freedom and responsibility. Justice is always treated in the context of human life and relations in the Hebrew Bible and in the context of earthbound life. The biblical understanding of justice surpasses, however, the human as homo economicus and homo politicus because justice relates humans to the living God who is just and merciful.