JEWISH LAW. — In the writings of the New Testament, the term "Jewish Law" (L.) often refers not only to the Sinaitic legislation and the books containing it, but also to the Old Testament or Mosaic economy founded upon the Law, in contrast to the Christian economy, which is informed by faith and grace (cf. Rom. 6:14 ff.). Thus, it does not refer solely to the five books of Moses, as when the Law is distinguished from the "prophets" and the "other books," i.e., the "hagiographa" (Ecclesiasticus, prologue; cf. Lk. 24:44), nor even to the strictly legal parts of the Pentateuch alone. For the origins, content, and historical development of the Law, see MOSES; PENTATEUCH; HEBREWS. The relationship of the Law to grace, through which one attains salvation by faith, is especially elucidated by St. Paul.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews (q.v.), which at least shares considerable affinity with St. Paul’s thought, the contrast is drawn between the economy established through angels (cf. Acts 7:53), which was merely a law or revelation (ἀγός), and that inaugurated by Christ, which is salvation (σωτηρία), i.e., a religious institution that saves (Heb. 2:2 ff.). Between the first covenant, which was not without defect (ibid. 8:7), and the second, whose laws are written not on stone but in the minds and hearts (ibid. 8:8 ff.).
St. Paul’s judgments on the Law appear contradictory at first glance (F. Prat [see bibliography], I, pp. 214 ff.; A. Schweitzer, *Die Mystik des Apostels Paulus*, Tübingen 1930, pp. 184 ff.; J. Bonsirven [see bibliography], p. 135). On the one hand, it is said that the Law was given for life and is holy and spiritual (Rom. 7:10 ff., 14); that it was communicated through angels, with Moses as mediator (Gal. 3:19; cf. Heb. 2:2), and is Israel’s chief boast (Rom. 9:4), guiding it, like a pedagogue, to Christ (Gal. 3:24); that obedience to it is declared righteousness (Rom. 2:13; 10:5; Gal. 3:12); that it was a shadow of the future Christ (Col. 2:16), in whom it finds its fulfillment (τέλος: Rom. 10:4). On the other hand, the Law is accused of not bringing anything to perfection (Heb. 7:19); of provoking God’s wrath (Rom. 15), because it multiplies transgressions (Gal. 3:19; Rom. 5:20), arousing moral conscience (Rom. 3:20) without providing the strength to overcome sin; hence, those living under it are subject to divine curse (Gal. 3:10). The Law is the letter that kills (2 Cor. 3:6), a cause of death and condemnation (ibid. 3:7 ff.; cf. Rom. 7:6), since it operates in the realm of the flesh (Rom. 7:5; cf. Gal. 3:3).
How are such contrasting statements to be reconciled? It cannot be believed that the severe judgments stem from a dry defense of Paul’s "Gospel" of freedom from the Law against Judaizing attacks. Indeed, while the Epistle to the Galatians delves deeply into this controversy, the Epistle to the Romans is more theoretical and doctrinal. Nor, conversely, can the laudatory expressions about the Law be reduced to a missionary expedient to attract Jews, as might be suggested by the brief panegyric in Rom. 9:4 ff. It should be noted that praise and blame alternate, sometimes within the same context (Rom. 7:7-13 and Gal. 3:19 ff.), suggesting that the antitheses arise from different perspectives in considering the matter.
When Paul views the Law theoretically and in itself, he acknowledges its goodness: it comes from God and contains excellent moral precepts. But, with his characteristic realism, he immediately considers the Law in practice, where concupiscence and sin come into play—against which the Law is powerless; indeed, it worsens the situation, for by forbidding sin, it stirs up concupiscence without providing the strength to overcome II. Is not the letter that kills (2 Cor. 3:6)? The fault of the Law lay in commanding without giving the strength to fulfill the command. This fostered in man the illusion of self-sufficiency, the belief that one could be justified by one’s own works.
Yet justice, even under the regime of the Law, was a fruit of grace, obtained through faith in divine promises. The case of Abraham, highlighted in Gal. 3:6-18 and central to the Epistle to the Romans, exemplifies how faith operated before and above the Law. The Law, coming much later, could not nullify the efficacy of faith, which had already communicated grace to the righteous of the patriarchal age. For its part, the Law made humanity’s fallen relationship with God more difficult by multiplying transgressions; yet a providential plan used this to demonstrate practically man’s inability to be just without the aid of grace (Gal. 3:19; Rom. 5:20). Only through grace could the true heirs of Abraham’s faith and promises observe the Law—a yoke too heavy to bear (cf. Acts 15:10) with its countless and minute prescriptions, almost as many stumbling blocks on the path of moral and religious life.
Yet within the Law, understood as the divine revelation of the Old Testament, there was not only the transient element of strictly legal and ceremonial prescriptions, but also the patrimony of true religion—monotheism, with its morality and messianic prophecies. This is the Law that Jesus (Mt. 5:17-20) came not to abolish but to fulfill, teaching a more spiritual and perfect observance that aims to imitate the perfection of the heavenly Father (ibid. 5:21-48).
Regarding whether the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit dwelt in the righteous of the Old Testament—the heroes who acted under inspiration and by faith (Heb. 11)—see GRACE. Cf. G. Philips, *La Grâce des justes de l’Ancien Testament*, in *Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses*, 23 (1947), pp. 521-56.