August 30, 2025: Torah Portion Parashat Shoftim - "Judges"

In this study, we will explore the Torah Portion Shoftim - "Judges"

• Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

• Haftarah: Isaiah 51:12-52:12

• Brit Chadashah (New Testament): John 1:19-27; Acts 3:22-23

📜Torah Portion Shoftim - "Judges"

Main Torah Themes:

• Judges and Officers — Israel is commanded: “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof — Justice, justice you shall pursue” (Deut. 16:20). Justice is the foundation of covenant society. Corruption and favoritism are forbidden.

• The King — If Israel appoints a king, he must not rely on horses (military strength), wives (alliances/pleasure), or wealth. Instead, he must write his own Torah scroll and read it daily, keeping his heart humble before ADONAI.

• Prophets — God will raise up a prophet like Moses; Israel must listen. But false prophets, speaking in ADONAI’s name falsely, must be rejected.

• Cities of Refuge — For manslaughter cases, showing the balance between mercy and justice.

• Warfare Laws — Israel is not to fear in battle; the priest encourages them, reminding them God fights for them. Certain men are exempt from battle (newly married, building a house, planting a vineyard).

• Unsolved Murder — A ritual of atonement is commanded when someone is found slain, showing how seriously God values every life.

Parashat Shoftim begins with the commandment that the people of Israel should appoint judges - shoftim: שׁפטְיִם and officers - shoterim: שׁוֹטרְים in all the walled cities allotted to the tribes, so that justice would be enforced throughout the Promised Land.

These judges were to be above reproach, neither showing partiality nor accepting bribes on behalf of the wealthy:

"Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you." Deuteronomy 16:20

In practical terms this meant that every town in Israel was to have its own law court with a police force to enforce the decision of the appointed judges.

Judges at the Gate: 

Moses commanded the Israelites to enforce theocratic law in every Jewish city of the Promised Land. Shofetim (judges) were to be appointed in every city to decide cases of civil, domestic, and even religious controversies. These judges were to act with mishpat (justice) and tzedakah (righteousness) and were to be entirely impartial in their findings.

Moreover, the shofetim were vested with executive powers of state, so that they directed the enforcement of judicial matters (by means of the services of the shoterim, the police of ancient Israel). The idea of shofetim derived Yitro's advice to appoint a hierarchy of sarim (princes) over the people just after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 18:19-26).

Among other things, this meant that every town in Israel was to have its own Bet Din (law court or "house of judgment") with its own shoterim (police force). In smaller towns, a Bet Din was to have no less than three judges to render binding decisions; in larger towns 23 were required.

Later in Jerusalem, the Sanhedrin, a group of 70 shofetim and a nassi (leader) formed the Supreme Court of the nation. The idea of the Sanhedrin goes back to the 70 elders who ate the covenant affirmation meal at Sinai with Moses.

(The covenant affirmation meal at Sinai is described in Exodus 24:9-11, where Moses and Aaron, along with seventy elders of Israel, ascended to see ADONAI. They were able to see YHVH and then ate and drank in His presence, signifying the ratification of the covenant between God and Israel. This event underscores the communal aspect of the covenant and the peace established between God and His people.)

In ancient walled cities, the city gate was the place of most traffic, and the visible presence of shofetim and shoterim there was meant to indicate to fellow Jews that the town was a lawful and God honoring place.

There were very strict prohibitions against idolatrous forms of worship (e.g., Asherah trees and stone monuments or idolatrous pillars), and the prohibition of offering blemished (mum) animals to the LORD, following these commandments to establish justice in the land.

Idolatry (avodah zarah) is to be punished with death by stoning, but a conviction must be established on the testimony of two or more witnesses (not merely one).

"The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you." Deuteronomy 17:7

If a local Bet Din finds a case too difficult to decide, it was to be referred to a higher authority (i.e., the supreme court of the priests at the Sanctuary) whose decision was considered final. The courts and judges are hereby invested with the authority to interpret and decide all matters of Torah case law (halachah).

Appointing a King:

Moses foresaw that a time would come when the people would desire a king to rule over them, as did other nations. When this occurred, the king was to be an Israelite chosen by the LORD who was not to misuse his powers to amass many horses, maintain a harem or accumulate great wealth.

He was actually to personally write a letter-perfect copy of the Torah that was to be verified by the priests, so that he would be God-fearing and Torah observant during his entire reign.

“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this Torah, approved by the Levitical priests." Deuteronomy 17:18

In this connection, Moses then grew in the prophetic and spoke of the coming MESSIAH - the true and rightful Melech Yisrael (King of Israel)!

 Moses Foretells the Messiah:

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—" Deuteronomy 18:15

In this parashah we find the only passage in the entire Torah where Moses explicitly identified himself as a prophet of the LORD.

Moreover, this is also the only passage where Moses identified the coming of the MESSIAH as "a Prophet like me" (Deut. 18:15)

"When the people saw the sign that YESHUA performed, they began to say, “This is most certainly the Prophet who is to come into the world!” John 6:14

Notice further that the coming prophet must be Jewish: "from your brothers", so the entire premise of Islam on this question is wrong!

In the New Testament we read that the scribes had sent a delegation to question Yochanon the Immerser (John the Baptist), asking him two questions: "Are you Elijah?" (John 1:21) - This referred to Malachi's prophecy, in Malachi 4:5-6, that Elijah would come as a messenger before the appearance of the Messiah:

"5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesomec Day of the LORD. 6And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6

To this day Jews around the world still set out a cup of wine for Elijah at Passover - in anticipation of his arrival as the forerunner of the Messiah!

"Are you the Prophet?" John 1:21

This referred to Moses' prophecy that ADONAI would send "a Prophet like me" (Deut. 18:15-19).

We further read that when Philip encountered Nathanael, he said:

"We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote - YESHUA minetzaret ben Yosef (YESHUA of Nazareth, the son of Joseph)" John 1:45

After YESHUA fed the five thousand, the people began to ask if this was "the Prophet who is to come into the world" (John 6:14).

Peter identified YESHUA as the Prophet (Acts 3:22-23), and in his statement before the Sanhedrin, Stephen the martyr declared that YESHUA was the promised MESSIAH:

"This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.'" Acts 7:37-38

YESHUA is the "Prophet Like Unto Moses"

In light of these passages of Scripture, here are 30 ways in which YESHUA minetzeret ben Yosef (YESHUA of Nazareth, the son of Joseph) indeed resembled Moses:

 1. Just as there were 400 years of silence before ADONAI sent Moses to deliver Israel from her bondage to Pharaoh, so there were 400 of years of silence before ADONAI sent His own Son, YESHUA the Messiah, to utterly deliver Israel from her ultimate bondage to sin and death.

 2. Both Moses and YYESHUA were sent from God (Exod. 3:1-10; John 8:42).

 3. Both Moses and YESHUA were Jews (Exod. 2:1-2; Matt. 1:1-16; Luke 1-2; Heb. 7:14).

 (Note: This is no small thing, since Muslims claim that Muhammad is the prophet Moses

 referred to here; which is obviously incorrect, since the Messiah must be a Jew, "from

 among your brothers" - see John 4:24).

 4. Both had faithful Jewish parents (Exod. 2:2; Heb. 11:23; Matt. 2:13-14).

 5. Both were born under foreign rule (Exod. 1:8-14; Luke 2:1).

 6. Both were threatened by wicked kings (Exod. 1:15-16; Matt. 2:16).

 7. Both Moses and YESHUA spent their early years in Egypt, miraculously protected from those who sought their lives (Exod. 2:10; Matt. 2:14-15).

 8. Both rejected the possibility to become rulers in this age. Moses was raised as a son in the royal family and could have enjoyed a lavish lifestyle as a powerful ruler, but he

 chose differently (Heb. 11:24); Satan offered YESHUA the rule over the kingdoms of this

 world (Matt. 4:8-9), but rejected that offer and chose to suffer and die for the sake of the people of Israel.

9. Both Moses and YESHUA were "sent from a mountain of God" to free Israel. Moses was sent from (physical) Mount Sinai in Midian, Arabia; YESHUA was sent from a spiritual

 "Mount Zion" in Heaven (Heb. 12:22).

 10. Both were initially rejected by the Jews (Exod. 32:1; Isa. 53: 3; Matt. 27:21-2;

 Rom. 11:25)

11. Both were accepted by Gentiles (Moses by the Midianites (Exod. 2:14-22); YESHUA by the world (Acts 10:45; 1 Tim. 3:16)).

 12. Both were criticized by their families (Num. 12:1; Mark 3:20-21).

 13. Both knew ADONAI panim el panim (face to face). YHVH spoke directly to both Moses and YESHUA (Exod. 3:1-10; Deut. 34:10; Luke 9:34-36). All other prophets received their revelation by visions or dreams (Deut. 34:10; John 1:18). Both were authoritative spokesmen for ADONAI (Matt. 17:5; John 3:34).

 14. Both were teachers (Deut. 4:1-5; Matt. 22:16; John 3:2).

 15. Both revealed YHVH's Name (Exod. 3:13-14; John 17:6, 11-12).

 16. Both were faithful to ADONAI (Num. 12:5-7; Heb. 3:1-2).

 17. Both gave the people bread from Heaven (Exod. 16:14-15; Matt. 14:19-20) and

 performed various miracles (Exod. 4:21-8; Deut. 34:10-12; John 5:36; 12:37-8).

 18. Both were appointed as saviors of Israel (Moses as Israel's deliverer from the bondage to Pharaoh; YESHUA as Israel's deliverer from the bondage to Satan).

 19. Both were shepherds of Israel (Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness (Exod. 3:1; Numbers), YESHUA led His followers as the Good Shepherd (John 10:10-11; Matt. 9:36).

 20. Both were humble servants of the LORD (Num. 12:3; Luke 2:46-7; Phil. 2:8-9).

 21. Both fasted for forty days in the wilderness (Exod. 34:28; Matt. 4:2).

 22. Both were Mediators of a covenant of blood: Moses of the older covenant (Exod. 24:7-8) and YESHUA of the New Covenant (Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Heb. 9:11-15; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6).

 23. Both offered to die on behalf of the people's sins (Exod. 32:30-33; John 17).

 24. Just as Moses instituted the LORD's Passover on Nisan 14 as the means by which the

 Angel of death would pass over those Israelites who trusted in ADONAI's promise regarding the blood of the lamb (Exod. 12:11-12), so YESHUA offered Himself as the sacrificial Lamb of GOD who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

 25. Just as Moses brought about the "resurrection" of the children of Israel as they passed through the Red Sea; so YESHUA became the Firstfruits of resurrection as He rose from the dead.

 26. Just as the Torah was given to Israel fifty days after the Exodus from Egypt (on Pentecost or Shavuot), so YESHUA sent the RUACH HA'KODESH (Holy Spirit) to form the Kehilah (congregation) fifty days after His resurrection.

 27. Both of their faces shone with the glory of heaven - Moses on Mount Sinai (Exod. 34:34-35) and YESHUA on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:2).

 28. As Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness to heal his people (Num. 21:8-9); so YESHUA was lifted up on the cross to heal all believers from their sin (John 12:32).

 29. As Moses conquered the great enemy of Israel, the Amalekites with his upraised arms (Exod. 17:11), so YESHUAa conquered our ultimate enemy of sin and death by His upraised arms on the cross (John 19:18).

 30. As Moses sent twelve spies to explore Canaan (Num. 13), so YESHUA sent twelve apostles to reach the world (Matt. 10:1); and as Moses appointed seventy rulers over Israel (Num. 11:16-7), so YESHUA anointed seventy disciples to teach the nations (Luke 10:1).

So how was YESHUA a Prophet like Moses? Like Moses, He was a Jew, a Leader, a

Prophet, a Lawgiver, a Savior, a Teacher, a Priest, an Anointed One, a Mediator between ADONAI and man -- speaking the words of YHVH -- and like Moses, He offered Himself to die for the sins of the people...

YESHUA is indeed the Living Torah!!

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