Been thinking about the idea of “justice” in the OT in the context of a broader inquiry into the question of how to translate metaphors. I’m fairly convinced that it’s a mistake to translate words that are concrete in the original languages using abstractions in the target language (e.g. English).
As an instance of this, there is the word “mishpat” and its associated word “shapat”. In Psalm 82:3 it says, in ESV, “Give justice to the weak and fatherless….” But the actual word in Hebrew is “shapat” which means “judge” (take a look at v. 8, where “shapat” is translated as “judge” in the phrase “judge the earth”).
Why is it bad to translate “shapat” as “give justice”? Because it divorces the idea from the process. How do you ensure justice apart from some process (at least in human terms)? Even God uses “books” — see Revelation 20:12. The exercise of a process ensures that it will be in accord with truth. Recall that in Pilate’s interrogation of Jesus he (Pilate) confessed his ignorance of what truth was. The result was that he handed Jesus over to be crucified apart from any conviction about his guilt (or innocence).
To “judge the weak and fatherless” means to bring their case to trial. Give them access to the machinery of judgment. One of the major ways in which the powerful oppress the weak is to exclude them from the legal process. This is a common trope in procedural crime dramas, for example — investigations are “quashed” by the powerful.
By contrast there is a view of “justice” that Thomas Sowell calls “the quest for cosmic justice”. In this view, the mechanism of the law is called into play to mitigate inequalities that are inherent in the human condition. But the Bible actually speaks to this: “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” (Leviticus 19:15). Note that the word “injustice” above literally means “perversity” or “evil”, i.e. “You shall do no evil in court….”
In other words, the Bible calls for equal application of due process as humans judge one another. The perverse notions masquerading as justice in this day and age are actually injustice and power seeking.