The Torah Legal System

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8. The Torah as a Legal Code: A Closed System

Deuteronomy 12:32 and Deuteronomy 4:2 Prohibit All Other Laws

Deuteronomy 12:32 and Deuteronomy 4:2 are procedural laws that say no law can be added to or subtracted from the Torah.

Deuteronomy 12:32

Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

Deuteronomy 4:2

You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

In this way, Deuteronomy 12:32 and Deuteronomy 4:2 place a seal around the Torah and prevent all other laws from becoming recognised as Jewish law.

If Deuteronomy 12:32 and Deuteronomy 4:2 existed on the own however, it would mean that the law of the Torah had become permanently fixed.

By Deuteronomy 17:8-11, the Torah deliberately includes an additional procedural mechanism that can be run by the Levite Priests and Judge of the day.

This official and authorised mechanism allows laws to be added to or subtracted from the Torah, without breaching the prohibition in Deuteronomy 4:2.

While Deuteronomy 12:32 and Deuteronomy 4:2 prevent other laws becoming Jewish law, Deuteronomy 17:8-11, provides a living and dynamic mechanism by which the Levite Priests and Judge of the day are able to resolve controversies that arise within the gates of the Israelite people and clarify what the Torah requires.

When the Levite Priests and Judge make the decision about the controversy, all the Jewish people have to follow it

According to the law which they shall teach you and according to the judgment which they shall tell you you shall do you shall not turn aside from the words which they shall declare to you to the right hand nor to the left.

In this way, the decision of the Levite Priests and Judge becomes part of the legitimate law of Israel.