276. Judicial Precepts: Definition, Nature, and Division

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Definition and Nature of Judicial Precepts #

• Judicial precepts are precepts instituted to order men to one another according to justice and equity
• They derive obligatory force from divine institution rather than from natural reason alone
• Two essential elements distinguish them:
  1. They pertain to ordering men to one another
  2. They derive binding force from institution, not reason alone
• Distinguished from moral precepts (obligatory by natural reason; e.g., “do not commit adultery”) and ceremonial precepts (instituted to figure something pertaining to divine worship)

Figurative Character: Primo et Per Se vs. Ex Consequente #

• Ceremonial precepts are figurative primo et per se (primarily and essentially)—instituted chiefly to figure the mystery of Christ
• Judicial precepts are figurative ex consequente (consequently)—not instituted to figure, but the whole status of the Jewish people as a nation was figurative
• Citation: “All things happened to them in a figure” (1 Corinthians 10:11)
• This fundamental distinction explains why judicial precepts, though figurative, differ entirely from ceremonial precepts

Cessation After Christ’s Advent #

• Judicial precepts are evacuated (deprived of obligatory force) through Christ’s coming, but in a different way than ceremonial precepts
• Ceremonial precepts are mortiferous (death-dealing) after Christ; observing them prejudices faith
• Judicial precepts are merely dead (lacking obligatory force); a prince may order them without sin, unless intending them as obligatory from the Old Law itself
• The reason: the status of the Jewish people changed; the law was a “pedagogue” leading to Christ (Galatians 3:24)
• Justice itself remains perpetual, but the determination of what is just must vary according to the status of a people

Four-Fold Division of Judicial Precepts #

Judicial precepts are distinguished according to four orders found in any people:

1. Order of rulers to subjects: Precepts concerning institution of princes and their reverence
2. Order of subjects to one another: Precepts regarding buying, selling, judgments, and punishments
3. Order to foreigners/extraneous ones: Precepts about war against enemies and reception of strangers
4. Domestic order: Precepts about servants, wives, and sons (reflecting the three-fold distinction in St. Paul’s epistles)

Key Arguments #

On Definition: Does the Ratio of Judicial Precepts Consist in Ordering to One’s Neighbor? #

• Objection: Some ceremonial precepts also pertain to one’s neighbor or oneself (e.g., observances of food and clothing), so the ratio cannot consist in ordering to neighbor
• Response: Judicial precepts are specifically those ordering men to one another, while ceremonial precepts pertain to divine worship. The order to neighbor is more subject to reason than the order to God; therefore more judicial precepts exist than ceremonial ones
• Authority: Ezekiel 18:8 speaks of “good judgment between man and man”

On Figurative Character: Do Judicial Precepts Figure Something? #

• Objection: If judicial precepts figure something, there would be no difference between judicial and ceremonial precepts
• Counter-objection: Other peoples received judicial precepts but these do not figure something; therefore Jewish judicial precepts should not figure either
• Response: The distinction is between primo et per se and ex consequente. Ceremonial precepts figure because they were instituted to figure. Judicial precepts were instituted to order a people justly, but because the entire status of that people was figurative, the precepts are figurative ex consequente
• The whole status of the Jewish people was figurative because Christ was to be born from them

On Perpetual Obligation: Are Judicial Precepts Perpetually Binding? #

• Objection 1: Justice is perpetual and immortal (Wisdom 1:15); therefore judicial precepts should be perpetual
• Objection 2: Divine institutions are more stable than human institutions; yet human judicial laws are perpetual
• Objection 3: The apostle says ceremonial precepts were abolished due to weakness and uselessness (Hebrews), but judicial precepts were useful and efficacious; therefore they should not be obsolete
• Counter: The priesthood was translated from Aaron to Christ (Hebrews 7); therefore the whole law is translated
• Response: While justice is perpetual, the determination of just things must vary according to diverse statuses of peoples. When the status of the Jewish people changed with Christ’s advent, the judicial precepts necessarily changed. Observing them is not sinful unless intended as obligatory from the Old Law

On Distinction: Do Judicial Precepts Have a Certain Division? #

• Objection 1: Things ordering men to one another are infinite and fall under no distinction; therefore judicial precepts cannot be distinguished
• Objection 2: Judicial precepts are determinations of moral things, which have no distinction except as reduced to the Decalogue
• Objection 3: The law hints at no distinction among judicial precepts (unlike ceremonial precepts, which distinguish sacrifices and observances)
• Key principle cited: “Ubi est ordo, oportet quatenus sit distinctio” (“Where there is order, there must be distinction”)
• Response: Since law is an art of ordering human life, just as any art has distinct rules, so must law have distinct precepts. Things ordering men can be reduced to the four orders found in any people

Important Definitions #

• Judicial precepts (praecepts iudiciales): Precepts instituted to order men to one another according to justice and equity, deriving obligatory force from divine institution rather than natural reason alone
• Primo et per se: Primarily and essentially; applied to ceremonial precepts instituted chiefly to figure something
• Ex consequente: Consequently; applied to judicial precepts that figure something as a consequence of the whole status being figurative, not by their own institution
• Evacuated (evacuata): Deprived of obligatory force; the condition of judicial precepts after Christ’s advent
• Mortiferous (mortiferia): Death-dealing, sinful to observe; the condition of ceremonial precepts after Christ
• Pedagogue (paedagogus): A guide or instructor; metaphorically, the law as leading people to Christ
• Ratio: The reason, principle, or defining character of something

Examples & Illustrations #

On Natural Reason and Moral Precepts #

• Aristotle’s example: Adultery is always wrong—there is no mean (extreme) to find. “Don’t commit adultery too much or too little” is absurd; it is absolutely forbidden
• Similarly with murder: there is no “right number of people to kill”
• Contrast with virtues: courage has a mean between cowardice and rashness

On Figure and Sign #

• Berquist explains how “figure” came to mean “sign” etymologically
• “Figure” first means the limit or boundary of quantity
• Extended to statues: the figure (shape) of a man is a sign of the man
• Example: When Lafayette returned to America and saw the statue of George Washington in Virginia, he recognized the man through the statue’s figure (shape), though the statue lacked Washington’s color and other attributes
• By extension, “figure” generalized to mean any sign

On Government Forms and Judicial Precepts #

• Not all laws suitable in a democracy (power of the people) are suitable in an oligarchy (power of the wealthy)
• As the form of government changes, the judicial precepts necessarily change

Questions Addressed #

1. What are the judicial precepts? — Precepts instituted to order men to one another according to justice and equity, deriving obligatory force from divine institution rather than natural reason alone. They consist of two elements: ordering to neighbor and deriving force from institution.

2. Do judicial precepts figure something? — Yes, but ex consequente, not primo et per se. They were not instituted to figure, but the whole status of the Jewish people was figurative, making the precepts figurative as a consequence.

3. Are judicial precepts perpetually obligatory? — No; they are evacuated through Christ’s advent. Unlike ceremonial precepts (which are mortiferous after Christ), judicial precepts are merely dead (lacking obligatory force). A prince may observe them without sin, provided he does not intend them as obligatory from the Old Law.

4. How are judicial precepts divided? — According to the four orders found in any people: (1) rulers to subjects, (2) subjects to one another, (3) relations with foreigners, and (4) domestic relations.

Notable Quotes #

“All things happened to them in a figure” (1 Corinthians 10:11) — Cited to explain how the entire status of the Jewish people was figurative, making judicial precepts figurative ex consequente

“The law was a pedagogue leading us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24) — Cited to explain why judicial precepts lost obligatory force after Christ’s advent; they had served to order a people destined for Christ

“Ubi est ordo, oportet quatenus sit distinctio” (“Where there is order, there must be distinction”) — Cited to establish that judicial precepts, which order men to one another, must have a certain division