Resources sought: categorizing the Law

Sean · 2025-03-06T12:21:37+00:00

There was an error rendering this rich post.

I want to word this carefully as I genuinely do not seek discussion of the underlying question but want resource suggestions.

It is frequently said of the Law (by which, predominantly but not exhaustively, the law of Moses/Torah is meant) that since the coming of Christ (=NT times), the ceremonial and civil commands of the Law are no longer in effect, only the moral commandments. As an example, here's just the most recent reference to this I have come across:

It has been suggested that only the ceremonial regulations have been abrogated, especially the circumcision, food, and festival laws, and that moral commandments (exemplified by the prohibition of adultery), i.e. the ethical demand of the law, were left untouched by Christ or, even better, were established in their true light and glory. Indeed, those specific legal observances are of ceremonial character which Paul calls “works of law” (or “works”) and declares unfit for justification.

Barth, M. (2008) Ephesians: Introduction, translation, and commentary on chapters 1–3. New Haven; London: Yale University Press (Anchor Yale Bible), p. 287.

Again: I DO NOT WANT TO DEBATE THIS POINT OF VIEW.

My question: has anyone actually gone through the Torah and classified/categorized the commandments as to whether or not they are ceremonial or civil or what have you? I have not come across any such resource, but I'd interested in any available in Logos that do so. They don't have to be academic ones either.

(Ideally I'd like something like we have with the AFAT where each verse or part is tagged or color-coded as to which source of the documentary hypothesis the editors think it belongs to! RED: sacrificial. GREEN: festival. BLUE: moral etc.)

Thanks in advance for any leads you can give me.

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MJ. Smith

Have you looked at the categories shown in Brannan, Rick, ed. Commandments of the Law. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2015 and the resources listed under About?

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DMB

Good question; I've always wondered what each claimant (not questioning) thought was included/excluded exactly.

MJ. Smith

Have you looked at the categories shown in Brannan, Rick, ed. Commandments of the Law. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2015 and the resources listed under About?

Francis

If you have the Jewish encyclopedia, check this out: https://ref.ly/logosres/jewshencyc?ref=VolumePage.V+3%2c+p+654&off=3808

From there you can try to track down the resources mentioned.

ASUNDER

Utilizing the highlighting colours this way is a great idea.

Morgan

Sailhamer's The Pentateuch as Narrative has an appendix dividing commands and prohibitions into categories such as in relation to the temple, sacrifices, vows, ritual purity, etc. It'd be a good starting point.

Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1361388#Comment_1361388

Perhaps you'd want to create passage lists for each category. Passage lists can be used as visual filters but are also handy for searches and other purposes. They can also be shared.

Sean

Thanks all for your responses.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1361322#Comment_1361322

This is very useful and close to what I am looking for, thank you.

I would like other lists like this as well. Specifically, I'm looking for ones from a Christian perspective that specify which of the commandments the author thinks are abrogated and which ones are still in force. One thing missing from Rick's excellent interactive is a category explicitly labeled "moral" or "ethical." That is the categorization I most want to see.

MJ. Smith

I would like other lists like this as well. Specifically, I'm looking for ones from a Christian perspective that specify which of the commandments the author thinks are abrogated and which ones are still in force. One thing missing from Rick's excellent interactive is a category explicitly labeled "moral" or "ethical." That is the categorization I most want to see.

There are a number of additional classifications available online on Jewish site. I intentionally know next to nothing about Christian classifications because few Christians seem to have made the effort to understand them in the original context. However, this post may be of help (God's) Commandments classification chart — Logos Community. Okay, I wrote that too and didn't want to repeat myself.

After calling the AI bot out for utter stupidity and inconsistency, I finally got this vaguely helpful response:

I apologize for the misunderstanding. You are correct, and I appreciate your clarification. The Christian classification of Old Testament laws into moral, ceremonial, and civil categories is indeed a relevant approach to distinguishing which laws may still be applicable in the Christian dispensation. Here are some sources where you can find information on this classification:
CARM.org (Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry) provides a detailed breakdown of the Old Testament law into these three categories4. They explain:Civil laws: Dealt with disputes between individuals and expired with the end of the Jewish civil government.Ceremonial laws: Expired with the fulfillment of Christ's priestly work.Moral laws: Have no expiration as they are based on God's character.
GotQuestions.org discusses how Christians view the Old Testament law, mentioning that while none of it is binding on Christians today, many commands fall into the categories of "loving God" and "loving your neighbor"1.
The Evangelical Magazine article explores which Old Testament laws Christians should obey, discussing how Jesus reinterpreted the Law of Moses and how it relates to the New Covenant2.
Watkinsville First Baptist Church provides guidelines for interpreting Old Testament law, including the "Principle of Classification" which involves knowing whether a law is moral, ceremonial, or civil9.
The Christian Institute offers a PDF document specifically on "The threefold division of the law," which discusses how Evangelical Reformed theology has long held this distinction10.
These sources should provide you with detailed information on the Christian classification of Old Testament laws, particularly focusing on the distinction between ethical (moral) and non-ethical (ceremonial and civil) laws in the context of Christian theology.
Citations:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-law.html
https://www.evangelicalmagazine.com/article/which-old-testament-laws-should-christians-obey/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Testament
https://carm.org/about-doctrine/what-are-the-main-divisions-of-the-old-testament-law/
https://preparedtoanswer.org/article/8293-the-christian-and-old-testament-law
https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/LawintheOldTestament
https://www.reviveourhearts.com/blog/how-is-the-old-testament-organized/
https://matthewruttan.com/2024/05/02/are-old-testament-laws-still-relevant-for-christians/
https://www.watkinsville.org/collegeblog/how-to-interpret-old-testament-law
https://www.christian.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/the-threefold-division-of-the-law.pdf

Sean

Thanks for the info, M.J. I'll look through these links.

I'd really like to see a work from an advocate of the third use of the law to give some, uh, precision to their answer…