The Bounding Line of Exodus' Legal Code

As the book of Exodus turns from the historical narrative of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt to the legal framework that fleshes out what it looks like to live a redeemed life, Exodus 21:1 marks a significant transition: “These are the judgments which you shall define for” the people. This verse serves as the header for what follows in Exodus 21-23, for all of what is presented in these chapters are “judgments” that are “defined” for the people. There are two key concepts contained in this verse. First, what follows are “judgments.” This is a word with a broad meaning centered on the idea of government. More than simply referring to judicial decisions, “judgments” are the product of a whole system of governance, inclusive of legislative, executive, and judicial aspects.[1] Second, these judgments are “defined” for the people. This verb also has a broad meaning, and its meaning is centered on the idea of “setting.” So, God “sets” a boundary for the waters (Ps 104:9), i.e. he defines the extent of the sea. God “sets” a place of refuge for someone who commits manslaughter (Exod 21:13), i.e. he defines the safe haven for the individual in danger of his own life. So also here in Exod 21:1, Moses sets these judgments before the people, i.e. he defines the extent of their actions and relations through the judgments that follow in Exodus 21-23.

A helpful way to make sense of what’s going on here is to think about these judgments as a “bounding line” for life in the covenant community. The idea of a bounding line comes from the 19^th century artist William Blake. Commenting on his drawing “Ruth,” he writes, “The great and golden rule of art, as well as of life, is this: That the more distinct, sharp, and wirey the bounding line, the more perfect the work of art.” Blake then applies this golden rule of art to a theological frame of reference:

How do we distinguish the oak from the beech, the horse from the ox, but by the bounding outline? How do we distinguish one face or countenance from another, but by the bounding line and its infinite inflexions and movements? What is it that builds a house and plants a garden, but the definite and determinate? What is it that distinguishes honesty from knavery, but the hard and wirey line of rectitude and certainty in the actions and intentions. Leave out this l[i]ne and you leave out life itself; all is chaos again, and the line of the almighty must be drawn out upon it before man or beast can exist.[2]

What we can then say about these judgments in Exodus 21-23 is that they draw a bounding line of rectitude and certainty around life in covenant community precisely because they are the “line of the Almighty.”

Now, at this point, it should be noted that the bounding line of Exodus 21-23 is not as sharp and distinct as it could be. These judgments are not exhaustive but selective and illustrative. For example, the master-slave relationship described in Exod 21:2 does not account for the kinds of contingencies that are described elsewhere in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Furthermore, these judgments do not establish the ideal but set limits on account of sin. Returning to Exod 21:2, it is not ideal that any Hebrew man would need to sell himself into slavery. But when that happens, certain limits are set to define the master-slave relationship according to “the line of the Almighty” rather than the line of human sin, particularly the notion that a Hebrew slave sold his production not his person to the master, thus bounding this unbalanced relationship.

Lastly, we must remember that Exodus 21-23 is followed by further divine revelation that progressively sharpens and distinguishes “the line of the Almighty” from the line of humanity. This idea of progressive revelation helps us to appreciate how the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom God has spoken to us in these last days (Heb 1:2) and who has made the Father known to us (John 1:18), is the most distinct and sharpest bounding line of life in covenant community. In Christ, the ideal becomes reality; through Christ, we come to know what it is to walk before God; by Christ, we are renewed in the image of God in true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness so that we might reflect God’s glory. Because Christ is the midpoint and center of God’s revelation, he is the one who turns chaos into life and defines for us the truly beautiful way to love God and neighbor.

[1] שׁפּט, TWOT

[2] William Blake, Exhibition and Catalogue of 1809, 63-65. https://blake.lib.asu.edu/html/blake's_exhibition_1809.html. Blake rails against “those plagiaries of Venice or Flanders,” which undermines his argument in part, but the basic contours of his words about the value of a bounding line remain valid.