Matthew 23:2

23:2 “The ¹  experts in the law ²  and the Pharisees ³  sit on Moses’ seat.

Deuteronomy 1:15-17

1:15 So I chose ⁴  as your tribal leaders wise and well-known men, placing them over you as administrators of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and also as other tribal officials. 1:16 I furthermore admonished your judges at that time that they ⁵  should pay attention to issues among your fellow citizens ⁶  and judge fairly, ⁷  whether between one citizen and another ⁸  or a citizen and a resident foreigner. ⁹  1:17 They ¹⁰  must not discriminate in judgment, but hear the lowly ¹¹  and the great alike. Nor should they be intimidated by human beings, for judgment belongs to God. If the matter being adjudicated is too difficult for them, they should bring it before me for a hearing.

Deuteronomy 16:18

Provision for Justice

16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants ¹²  for each tribe in all your villages ¹³  that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly. ¹⁴ 

Deuteronomy 17:9-12

17:9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. 17:10 You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. 17:11 You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you. 17:12 The person who pays no attention ¹⁵  to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict – that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel.

Deuteronomy 33:8-10

Blessing on Levi

33:8 Of Levi he said:

Your Thummim and Urim ¹⁶  belong to your godly one, ¹⁷ 

whose authority you challenged at Massah, ¹⁸ 

and with whom you argued at the waters of Meribah. ¹⁹ 

33:9 He said to his father and mother, “I have not seen him,” ²⁰ 

and he did not acknowledge his own brothers

or know his own children,

for they kept your word,

and guarded your covenant.

33:10 They will teach Jacob your ordinances

and Israel your law;

they will offer incense as a pleasant odor,

and a whole offering on your altar.

Malachi 2:4-9

2:4 Then you will know that I sent this commandment to you so that my covenant ²¹  may continue to be with Levi,” says the Lord who rules over all. 2:5 “My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me. 2:6 He taught what was true; ²²  sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin. 2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge of sacred things, and people should seek instruction from him ²³  because he is the messenger of the Lord who rules over all. 2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ²⁴  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ²⁵  says the Lord who rules over all. 2:9 “Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent to which you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your ²⁶  instruction.”

¹ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

³ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

⁴ tn Or “selected”; Heb “took.”

⁷ tn Or “you.” A number of English versions treat the remainder of this verse and v. 17 as direct discourse rather than indirect discourse (cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

⁸ tn Heb “brothers.” The term “brothers” could, in English, be understood to refer to siblings, so “fellow citizens” has been used in the translation.

⁹ tn The Hebrew word צֶדֶק (tsedeq, “fairly”) carries the basic idea of conformity to a norm of expected behavior or character, one established by God himself. Fair judgment adheres strictly to that norm or standard (see D. Reimer, NIDOTTE 3:750).

¹⁰ tn Heb “between a man and his brother.”

¹¹ tn Heb “his stranger” or “his sojourner”; NAB, NIV “an alien”; NRSV “resident alien.” The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger) commonly means “foreigner.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “you,” and throughout the verse (cf. NASB, NRSV).

¹¹ tn Heb “the small,” but referring to social status, not physical stature.

¹³ tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice.

¹⁴ tn Heb “gates.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).

¹⁹ sn Thummim and Urim. These terms, whose meaning is uncertain, refer to sacred stones carried in a pouch on the breastplate of the high priest and examined on occasion as a means of ascertaining God’s will or direction. See Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8; Num 27:21; 1 Sam 28:6. See also C. Van Dam, NIDOTTE 1:329-31.

²⁰ tn Heb “godly man.” The reference is probably to Moses as representative of the whole tribe of Levi.

²¹ sn Massah means “testing” in Hebrew; the name is a wordplay on what took place there. Cf. Exod 17:7; Deut 6:16; 9:22; Ps 95:8-9.

²² sn Meribah means “contention, argument” in Hebrew; this is another wordplay on the incident that took place there. Cf. Num 20:13, 24; Ps 106:32.

²² sn This statement no doubt alludes to the Levites’ destruction of their own fellow tribesmen following the golden calf incident (Exod 32:25-29).

²⁵ sn My covenant refers to the priestly covenant through Aaron and his grandson Phinehas (see Exod 6:16-20; Num 25:10-13; Jer 33:21-22). The point here is to contrast the priestly ideal with the disgraceful manner in which it was being carried out in postexilic times.

²⁸ tn Heb “True teaching was in his mouth”; cf. NASB, NRSV “True instruction (doctrine NAB) was in his mouth.”

³¹ tn Heb “from his mouth” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV).

³⁴ tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

³⁵ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

³⁷ tn Heb “in the instruction” (so NASB). The Hebrew article is used here as a possessive pronoun (cf. NRSV, NLT).