TorahLegal Lexicon › Cause

The Legal Lexicon of Scripture
Entry No. 116H7379

116Cause

rib — Hebrew

A cause is the legal case itself — the matter in dispute before the court. “Judge me, O Yahuah... plead my cause” (Psalm 43:1) asks the bench to rule on a filed claim, not to console a feeling. A rib is a controversy formally lodged, awaiting adjudication. This is why Yahuah is repeatedly asked to “maintain the cause” of the afflicted and the poor (Psalm 140:12) — to take their case and see it justly decided. The cause is the substance of the suit, the thing the court exists to settle.
The Root

rib (H7379) — a dispute, controversy, legal case; the matter contended before the court.

Shares a Root With
rib (H7379) — 115. Plead

The case and the arguing of it share the root: the cause (rib, the matter) and to plead (rib, to contend it before the bench).

The Courtroom Word

A case term — the controversy formally lodged for the court to decide.

Its Role in the Court

A court exists to settle causes — real disputes brought for judgment. To have a cause is to have a claim on the docket; to have it maintained is to have the court take it up and rule. The afflicted appeal to Yahuah to judge their cause because the case is real and the bench is just. The cause is what the trial is about.

Proof Texts

Psalm 43:1 “Judge me, O Yahuah... and plead my cause.” The case brought for a ruling.

Psalm 140:12 “Yahuah will maintain the cause of the afflicted.” The court taking up the case.

Micah 7:9 “He shall plead my cause, and execute judgment for me.” The cause argued to a verdict.

Proverbs 22:23 “Yahuah will plead their cause.” The poor’s case taken by the bench.

In Plain Terms

A cause is the actual case before the court — the dispute to be decided. To ask Yahuah to ‘judge my cause’ is to ask Him to rule on a real claim, not to soothe a feeling.

Bring It Home

Every trial is about something — a specific dispute lodged for decision. That is the cause. When the afflicted cry ‘judge my cause,’ they are not asking for comfort; they are asking the Judge to take their case and rule. And He does.

Courtroom Roles
  • The petitioner (the party) brings the cause for judgment.
  • Yahuah (the Judge) maintains and decides the cause.
  • The cause (the case) the dispute the court exists to settle.
Where It Sits
IThere Is a Court
IIThe Court Runs on One Code
IIIYou Are Named on the Docket
IVThe Acquittal
VYour Life Is the Testing
VIIt Is All Entered as Evidence
VIIThe Bench Convenes

Movement VII — The Bench Convenes. The ruling is read, and each party is paid exactly what the record assigns.

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