Here both civil and criminal law was to be decided. Here important matters of community defense and well-being were discussed and determined. Thus, each tribe had jurisdiction over its own territory, and had the duty to see that its cities, towns, and villages had proper civil government. The model of the Hebrew Republic provides for a locally oriented, decentralized civil rule, with various levels of government. In Israel, this consisted of the local magistrates in the gates, the rulers of the tribes, the council of the elders of Israel, and, eventually the king.
Biblical law stands against a centralized government embodied in an unitary state.
Civil magistrates are to govern justly, that is, according to God's law. Hence, this command means that the civil magistrate is not to pervert God's purpose for civil government by governing according to his own autonomous standards or by using the office to his own selfish ends. The magistrate is God's minister who is to serve the people under him by upholding God's standards and serving the interests of God's kingdom. Second, they must not respect persons, nor receive a bribe. The effect of either of these actions would be to corrupt justice.