earticle

영어

In order to theologically appreciate the “Fair Society,” a political catchword recently raised by the Government, this study probes two faces of the Old Testament law codes in their socio-political background, especially on the laws of debt easement and the liberation of the debt slaves. This study assumes that the Old Testament is (1) state literature, (2) a minority report, and (3) ideological writings by the interested parties, which are all politically interwoven with each other. As a result, such laws as the debt easement and the liberation of debt slaves appeared in the Deuteronomic Code, the Covenant Code, and the Holiness Code were designed not only to propagandize the good image of the rulers and ruling parties towards the majority of the helpless people but also to weaken the power of the rival parties. Josiah, king of Judah in the Deuteronomic Code, Jeroboam I, king of Israel in the Covenant Code, the returning priest groups in the Holiness Code seem to have intended to do so. However, the social reality effected by those laws appeared to be hardly improved because of the corruption and depravity of the judicial system of those societies, as witnessed by the prophets and the long history up to the days of Jesus. Thus the law codes or any political catchwords for “Fair Society” could not improve the unfairness of the societies. This is the two faces of the law codes expressing the fair society. The main cause creating such unfair society were due to the covetousness of the few ruling elites no other than the helpless majority. In a sense, one can conclude, the Old Testament law codes as the normative literature of Christianity instruct us, the leader of the faith community and the intellectual groups of our society no less than the other power groups, to give up the various ways of life to extend our own power, wealth and privilege.

한국어

이 논문은 우리 사회의 공정사회론에 대한 구약성서적 성찰을 위해 오경에 나타난 법전들(신명기 법전, 계약법전, 성결법전) 가운데 부채경감법과 채무 노예 해방법이 왕권이나 지도층과 어떤 관계가 있는 지를 탐구한다. 이데올로기적 문서라는 방법론적 전제를 갖고 살펴볼 때 위 법전들은 한편으로 민심을 수습하여 왕권에 대한 지지를 이끌어내고 다른 한편으로는 통치권을 강화하려는 정치적 의도를 내포하고 있었음을 저자는 지적하면서, 군주 시대 공정 사회론의 허와 실을 평가한다.