Speaking of Kings (21:1-23:8) 113in the morning. Hebrew labboqer means "in the morning" or "until the
morning" (Exod 34:2, 25; Deut 16:4; Amos 4:4; 5:8; Zeph 3:3; Ps 30:6[Eng
30:5]; Ezra 3:3; l Chr 9:27; and elsewhere), not "each morning" or "every
morning," even though daily action in a given case may be implied. The idea
of "each/every morning" is expressed by the idiom babboqer babboqer (Zeph
3:5), and by the plural labbeqarfm (Isa 33:2; Pss 73:14; 101:8; Lam 3:23). Zie-
gler ( 1950: 286) translates "jeden Morgen" in the present verse, but his com-
parison is to a plural in Ps l 01:8. Ehrlich ( 1912: 297) and Rudolph propose
emending to a plural, but this should be rejected. The Versions all read "in the
morning" (so also Kimi.ii; AV; RSV; NRSV). The emphasis in the oracle is on
executing justice, not when or how often to do it. Nor is the point that justice
be rendered as quickly as possible (pace Giesebrecht; McKane; cf. NEB and
REB: "betimes"), however desirable this might be. The royal house, king in-
cluded, is simply being called upon to render judgments as it is supposed to do
and see to it that justice is done. On the city gate as the place where judgments
are rendered, see Kohler 1956a: 149-75. Doing it in the morning was a custom
from early times, when people passed through the gate, and witnesses could
readily be summoned (Ruth 3: 13; 4: 1-2).
and rescue the robbed from the oppressor's hand. Hebrew weha$$flu gazul
miyyad <oseq. Equitable decisions in the city gate included rescuing victims of
robbery and other crimes. The defining act of grace in the OT is Yahweh's res-
cue of Israel from an oppressor in Egypt, for which reason the covenant people
must also be about rescuing the oppressed. Justice in the OT therefore has a
close association with rescue and deliverance (Num 35:24-25; Ps 76:10[Eng
76:9]; P. Ramsey 1949: 273-75; Berkovitz 1969: 190-97). Ramsey says that
"True justice receives its decisive definition by reference to the standard of
God's righteous judgment," and in biblical thought this righteousness is in-
vaded by the "vocabulary of salvation" (cf. Snaith 1983: 69). The close associa-
tion of ~esed ("covenantal love"), mispat ("justice, judgment"), and $edaqa
("righteousness, deliverance"), best seen in Jer 9:23[Eng 9:24], is not under-
stood in modern Western thought, according to Berkovitz, where justice is usu-
ally thought to be opposed to acts of kindness and mercy. One either loves or
judges. It is not so in the Bible, where the concepts are coordinated. The king
and the royal house bear a particularly heavy responsibility for rescuing the op-
pressed, because often-quite often-help will not otherwise be forthcoming.
If the royal house is not rescuing the oppressed, it is a good bet that they are en-
gaged in oppression themselves, or in league with those practicing it (Isa 3: 14-
15; l 0: 1-2; Mic 3:9-II ). Jehoiakim certainly fits the description of a king who
practiced oppression (22: 17). Robbery and oppression are closely associated in
the OT (Deut 28:29; Lev 19:13; Ezek 18:18; and Ps 62:ll[Eng 62:10]), where
"oppression" (<oseq) may also mean "extortion." Extortion practiced by the
royal house could be a confiscation of property (e.g., Naboth's vineyard in
l Kgs 2l:l-16; cf. Hos 5:10; Isa 5:8). The Qumran Temple Scroll (l lQT 57:19-
21) says regarding the king: "And he shall not pervert justice (msPf), and he
shall not take a bribe to pervert righteous judgment (msPt $dq), and he shall not