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of fee. The first problem with fees is that if there are court fees,
then no one will judge the case of the orphan or give a hearing to
the case of the needy ( Jer. 5:28), and the case of the widow does
not come before them (Isa. 1:23). Once the case is being heard, giv-
ing a fee can cause the judge to pervert justice (Prov. 17:23). Samuel
appointed his two sons as judges in Beersheba, but they lost the
right to succeed him as ruler when they took bribes to subvert jus-
tice (1 Sam. 8:1–3). Isaiah indicts “those who vindicate the wrong
after a gift and strip offthe vindication of those who are right” (Isa.
5:23). A wicked man might offer a bribe (Prov. 17:23), but the right-
eous judge is to wave away a bribe instead of grasping it (Isa. 33:15),
and never accept a fee against the innocent (Ps. 15:5). The man
who takes a bribe to punish and execute an innocent man incurs
the communal curse of Deut. 27:25.2.11.5 Written Petitions
Two of the very few extra-biblical documents that have survived are
pleas from a worker and a widow. They follow the same format,
indicating that there was a formal protocol for writing such a letter
(see 1.4 above).2.12 Services
2.12.1 Military Service
At the beginning of a campaign, “o†erim officials offered exemptions
to anyone who had built but not yet dedicated his house, planted
a vineyard and not yet harvested (four years after planting), or become
engaged but not yet married (Deut. 20:5–7). They offered release to
anyone who was afraid to go on campaign (Deut. 20:8). A new
bridegroom was also exempt for the first year of his marriage, so
that he would “give happiness to his wife” (Deut. 24:5).2.12.2 Corvée
The laws say nothing about enforced employment on public works
projects, but in the “Rule of the King,” Samuel warned that the
king would appoint ≤arimto oversee the people doing the king’s har-
vesting and plowing and would take slaves, young men and mules
(2 Sam. 8:11–18). Solomon conscripted thirty thousand workers to
build the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 5:13).westbrook_f27-975-1046 8/27/03 1:36 PM Page 993