Willis : Hebrew Law 
5 
fied this system by the addition of under- judges, probably 
chosen from the heads of families and priests . 7 Later the 
system was modified so as to give the king and the elders 
authority to hold court. The king was the final court of ap- 
peal . 8 The judgment of Solomon , 9 the Case of Adonijah, 
Abiathar, and Joab , 10 and the case of Naboth’s Vineyard * 11 
were decided in this period. Later the system was changed to 
a court of the Elders, or Hebrew Curia. A supreme court of 
Levites, priests, and heads of families was also established . 12 
Cases tried in this period were those of the Son of Shelo- 
mith , 13 the Trial of Jeremiah , 14 and Boaz and Ruth . 15 Still 
later there was established the Sanhedrin , 16 before which, for 
example, the Trial of Jesus 17 occurred. An assembly also 
sometimes acted judicially . 18 
The judgment of Solomon may have been legendary, but it 
shows the primitive character of early Hebrew procedure. 
It was not according to any fixed system of rules of pleading, 
evidence, and practice, for there was none. No other wit- 
nesses than the disputants were called, and the judge stated 
the theories of both sides. God was supposed to be present 
in these trials. “The voice of the people was the voice of 
God.” This was probably due to the fact that the offices of 
priest and judge were often united. Consequently disputes, 
and guilt or innocence, were sometimes decided by lot, or by 
divination, or by sorcery . 19 In early law there were no reg- 
ular sessions of the court. It convened at the door of the 
sanctuary whenever occasion required. The court generally 
consisted of one chosen by the plaintiff, one chosen by the de- 
fendant, and a third chosen by these two. One witness and 
circumstantial evidence were enough to convict. There was 
no presumption of innocence. The guilty was allowed to com- 
promise with the kin of the injured by paying blood-money. 
Corpses were taken down at the going down of the sun . 20 
7 17 Deut. 8-13. 
8 12 II Sam. 1-6 ; 15 II Sam. 2 ; 3 I Kings 16-28. 
9 3 I Kings 16-28. 
10 1 I Kings 5—2 I Kings 34. 
11 21 I Kings 1-29 ; 9 II Kings 22-26. 
12 19 II Chron. 8-11. 
13 24 Lev. 10-23. 
14 26 Jer. 1-24. 
13 1-4 Ruth. 
16 17 Deut. 8-11. 
17 14 Mark 53-65 ; 26 Matt. 57-68 ; 22 Luke 54-71 ; 18 John 12-24. 
18 35 Num. 22-25. 
19 14 Josh. 2; 15 Josh. 1; 16 Josh. 1; 18 Josh. 1-6; 19 Josh. 51. 
20 10 Josh. 27. 
