It’s a Matter of Justice! The Old Testament and the Idea of Retribution

This essay in honour of prof. Gerrie Snyman aims to do justice to an often misunderstood aspect of the concept of biblical – in this case, Old Testament – justice, namely the doctrine of retribution. Following on some introductory matters regarding the terminology, the various facets of the Old Testament idea of retribution will be presented: individual retribution, collective and corporative retribution, and transgenerational retribution. Moreover, God's role within the Old Testament 'doctrine of retribution' will be dealt with. Finally, it will be shown that, in some instances, Old Testament authors also have highlighted some risky sides of this 'doctrine of retribution'.