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From Exodus 21:1~22:27, God gives laws that start with: "If" someone does something undesirable (and all these laws start with an undesirable scenario)... What kind of law would you call this? God is obviously not condoning these pre-existing, undesirable scenarios, but intends to curb worsening decadence of society. In our modern vernacular, what kind of law would you call this? I am thinking "case law" but looking at the definition of it, it doesn't seem to fit the nature of Exodus 21-22.

Thanks.

Edit: What I am trying to figure out is: If I were to try to explain the content of this passage to today's lawyers in their own legal vernacular, how would I concisely define these laws? There must be a category for laws that follow "If a certain hypothetical scenario happens, then do this."

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how would I concisely define these laws? There must be a category for laws that follow "If a certain hypothetical scenario happens, then do this."

The pattern and specificity as in Exodus 21-22 is primarily a condensed form of statutory law. I use the term "condensed" because nowadays many instances of that pattern are segmented in multiple, lengthy statutes or sections.

For instance, 15 U.S.C. § 291 describes a hypothetical scenario. Language such as "It shall be unlawful" and "Each [...] shall constitute a separate offense" indicates that that scenario is undesirable. The "then do this" portion is provided in 15 U.S.C. §§ 292-293: forfeiture and, depending on mens rea, imprisonment and/or payment of a fine.

To a lesser extent, provisions in the Torah generally resemble also the nature of legal principles compiled in the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, the Restatement (Second) of Torts, and akin sources of law. Many statutes and [supposedly] court rulings are in fact inspired by these sources. But the Restatements defer to, and can be overridden by, statutory law (i.e., actual enactments of legislation) whereas the Torah does not purport to be subordinated to an external body of law.

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  • You don't define what statutory law means to you. Under some definitions none of the laws of the Torah would be statutory since they originate not from a legislative governing body. Under others every God given law is statutory.
    – Austin
    Jul 30, 2022 at 16:58
  • @Austin "You don't define what statutory law means to you." This is not about me coming up with my own definition of this or that. Courts in the US routinely resort to Black's Law Dict. for legal definitions. My other comment provides a link to that resource. It defines statute, legislate, and so forth in terms such that their validity is not affected by whether the legislator is classified as god, human being, or committee. "Under some definitions none of the laws of the Torah would be statutory". Maybe, but forcing some artificially narrow context into the OP's inquiry is pointless.
    – Iñaki Viggers
    Jul 30, 2022 at 17:38
  • "This is not about me coming up with my own definition of this or that." Sure. But we still need to know how you understand the definition and how that definition applies specifically to the OP's question. You don't seem to interact with the definition much at all in your answer.
    – Austin
    Jul 30, 2022 at 20:49
  • Black's defines it as Body of written laws that have been adopted by the legislative body. Is it your view that God giving Israel the law through Moses is the same as a legislative body adopting those same laws? If so then wouldn't every written law given by God through Moses be a statute law and not just the specific type of laws the OP inquires about?
    – Austin
    Jul 30, 2022 at 20:50
  • @Austin "You don't seem to interact with the definition much at all in your answer." The term is self-explanatory, and the OP evidently understood the term as well as its analogy to current US legislation. "Black's defines it as [...]". It what? which entry in particular? Regardless, the god gave --rather than adopted-- those laws. "wouldn't every written law given by God through Moses be a statute law". Not necessarily. The god could have made a law by way of stare decisis, but I can't think of a concrete example from the Torah. You should give specifics and I will address them.
    – Iñaki Viggers
    Jul 30, 2022 at 21:22
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"Case law" is:

The law as established by the outcome of former cases.

There are three types of law in the Old Testament.

  1. Moral laws - the Ten Commandments for example
  2. Civil law - rules that govern daily living, property, negligence, etc.
    This is also called "casuistic law" or "case law" because they are thought to be based on previous experience.
  3. Ceremonial laws - rules that define rituals and festivals

Exodus 21 - 22 is civil law

For more information:
What are the main divisions of the Old Testament Law?
Understanding the 3 Types of Laws in the Old Testament
Case Laws in the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 21:1-23:33)

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    This is all very well except for two matters - such divisions are modern arbitrary divisions and some laws end up in more than one category (eg, health laws and quarantine laws). No such classification of laws is given in the Torah. While Calvin said in one place, the Torah was tripartite (as you have outline), in another place he says it is bipartite. Luther also said the law was bipartite. According to the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, no such division exists.
    – Dottard
    Jul 29, 2022 at 22:12
  • I am trying to figure out how Exodus 21:1~22:27 would be understood by today's lawyers. So I suppose it is reasonable to describe them as "case laws."
    – sam kim
    Jul 29, 2022 at 22:51
  • Not sure I understand the OP's question, but there are a few inaccuracies in the sources this answer provides. Examples: (1) Death penalty as in Exodus 21:16 hardly qualifies as "civil" law. (2) A basis on previous experience is common to both case law and statutory law. (3) Casuistry is mostly --if not entirely-- a misnomer for the provisions in Exodus 21-22, since these don't reflect analogies or comparisons to controlling cases. (4) One could resort to casuistry when assessing scenarios Exodus 21-22 does not encompass, but that is different from saying that Exodus has casuistic laws.
    – Iñaki Viggers
    Jul 30, 2022 at 0:04
  • @samkim "I suppose it is reasonable to describe them as "case laws."" It seems you have in mind the term "case scenario" as used in many disciplines. But that does not fit the concept of case law, which refers to jurisprudence (created by judges) as opposed to enactments (created by legislators). See the entry for case law in Black's Law Dictionary.
    – Iñaki Viggers
    Jul 30, 2022 at 0:18
  • Actually, I believe the modern term might be closer to something like, "procedures of tort law".
    – Dottard
    Jul 30, 2022 at 2:09

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